I don’t know about you, but there are very few things in this world that I love more than my puppies. My beautiful Ruby and Charlie are such an important part of our family and I would do just about anything for them. I mean how could I resist?! Just look at those faces!!!
Ruby, our little Cavalier, is a food monger. Her nickname in our household is “Sous Chef Rubes” because if I am cooking anything in the kitchen, she is directly under my feet waiting to Hoover up the little fallen bits that escape my cutting board. Due to this less than charming trait, Ruby has developed a bit of a weight problem, so we are trying to be more conscientious of what we feed her, leaning more toward all-natural items. Sadly, this has created some difficulty with our more discerning doggie, Charlie. You see, our dear Charles is a bit of a food snob. If you offer him a treat, he will most often sniff it for a few seconds, look at you askance, sniff it again, and then sloooooooooooooooowly mouth the offered morsel before actually consuming it. As you might imagine, the more natural treats we have been introducing lately have not been well received by our big monster. Charlie is definitely a Beggin’ Strip kind of dog.
Knowing I wanted to do something special for my little furry brats on Valentine’s Day, I immediately thought of something to do with food. (SHOCKING, right?! I’m always thinking about food…) I thought, “If someone I loved made me an extra special treat, I would feel super-duper cared for and treasured. Surely the little monsters will feel the same way if I make something for them!” OK – I know I’m stretching here, but you feel me a little bit on this, right??!
Regardless, it makes me feel so good to know that I am doing something special, just for them, that they will ultimately love. I also like the thought of knowing EXACTLY what ingredients they are ingesting.
I found these adorable cookie cutters on Amazon and knew it was meant to be. The best part is that BOTH of our doggies gobbled up the goodies! Yay for homemade treats!
Homemade Doggie Treats (Recipe adapted from Cesarsway.com)
Ingredients:
- 1 cube chicken or beef bouillon
- ½ cup hot water
- 1 egg
- 1 Tablespoon molasses
- 2 cups whole wheat flour (You can grind up some oats in a blender or food processer if your dog is sensitive to wheat)
- 1 cup oats
Instructions:
Start out by dissolving your bouillon cube in a small bowl with the hot water, mixing it well with a whisk or spoon. In a large bowl, beat the egg and molasses together. Dump in the flour, the oats, and about half of the bouillon water. Mix everything together well – it will be very dry. Gradually add in more of the bouillon water until the mixture is a stiff dough-like consistency. I had to get in there with my hands and really work the dough to fully blend everything.
Form your dough into a big ball. On a wooden cutting board or clean countertop, roll out the dough until it is between 1/3 inch to a 1/2 inch thick. Due to the high viscosity of the dough, I didn’t need to flour my work surface very much at all; I just lightly pulled up on the corners of the dough if it stuck to the work surface. Cut out the dough using your cookie cutters. (If you don’t have cookie cutters, you can cut the dough into small squares or strips – I promise your doggie won’t miss the cutsey shapes!) Place the cutouts on a greased cookie sheet as you go along. You can fit a bunch of these suckers on the cookie sheet because the dough does not spread during baking. Once you have cut out as many of the treats as your dough will allow, bunch up the leftover scraps into a ball, roll it out on your work surface again and start cutting out the shapes. Repeat this process until you have used all of the dough.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes. Let the treats cool completely before serving them to your pet. You can store these in a Tupperware container or plastic baggie for up to a week. If you have way more than your doggie could eat, store the excess in the freezer and thaw before using.
The beauty of these treats is the fact that you can customize them anyway you like. Does your doggie like pumpkin? Add some canned pumpkin puree to the dough and cut back on the water. Does your pup go gaga for cheese? Put in some shredded cheddar and watch how happy they get! Bacon bits, dried apple pieces – the possibilities are endless!
