Flaxseed, Blueberry & Spinach Smiles
A warm and tail-wagging welcome to Give the Dog a Bone!
I’m a cookbook author and the proud owner (albeit sometimes not-so-proud owner) of a very loving and playful miniature dachshund named Darcey. I have always loved making treats for Darcey: from biscuits to jerky, birthday cupcakes to ‘oh no, I’ve run out of kibble’ impromptu dinners, I’ve become quite inventive over the years and while the prospect of making biscuits, treats and other food for your dog might seem both whimsical and daunting, I assure you, it’s extremely easy and a satisfyingly fun thing to do.
Despite our best intentions to feed our dogs the best it’s always difficult to know what exactly goes into their treats. We’ve all heard the stories of junk being added to bulk out dog food, or the dangers of chemically bleached cow hide bones and hidden nasties in dog treats, making it hard to monitor what our pets are eating. The best way to really do this is to make food and treats yourself at home.
I’m aware that some dogs, just like us humans, have a wheat or nut allergy and so this book includes a number of gluten-free and nut-free options. However, for those dogs who enjoy peanut butter as much as Darcey, I urge you to make your own peanut butter from scratch. It takes minutes and is incredibly simple to do. A lot of cheaper supermarket brands contain oil, salt and artificial sweeteners, most notably a product called xylitol, a sweetener that is extremely toxic to dogs. The best way to avoid any doubt is to make your own nut butters yourself – you can even help yourself to some homemade peanut butter on toast for breakfast; it’s 100 per cent peanuts and tastes delicious. If your dog has a peanut allergy, you can use cashews instead; although too many cashews can cause tummy problems, they are fine in small doses as treats.
As part of a varied diet, incorporating the right ‘human foods’ into your dog’s mealtimes can be extremely beneficial for their health, so I’ve included a chapter that caters to easy treats and dinners, using ingredients that you might well be cooking for yourself and have going spare. Meatballs are an obvious hit, while egg-fried-rice muffins have saved me on those days when I’ve run out of dog food. Cooking broccoli or cauliflower that is a day or two past its best is the perfect way to avoid any food wastage and can be stored in the freezer until needed to add a nutritious and tasty accompaniment to your dog’s meal.
While some recipes might be more appropriate to certain dogs than others, none of these recipes are breed-specific and will on average make about 12 or more treats. This will obviously depend on the size and breed of your dog and, when making biscuits, the size of the cookie cutter you’re using. For Darcey I use a small cookie cutter, which is a good treat size for a dachshund, meaning there are always a few biscuits left over from the dough mixture. I tend to freeze leftovers (many of the recipes are suitable for freezing – see instructions in the recipes). If you’re feeding a larger dog you’ll want to use a larger cookie cutter, so you won’t have as many left over, but it’s important to remember that nobody knows your dog better than you and you’ll know better than anyone what is a good-size treat and how often they should be allowed it. As with every treat, remember to give them as part of a varied diet and don’t overdo it or you’ll end up with a roly-poly; I speak from experience, Darcey was at one point a ‘sausage roll’!
Making homemade dog treats is not only fun and a fantastic treat for the dogs in your life, it’s also a great way to keep children entertained. All of the biscuit recipes are simply a combination of ingredients that require hands in bowls (the more the better) and rolling out dough, providing entertainment for kids who like playing with play dough, but with the added bonus of being able to feed the family pet something that they made themselves. To make things really easy, most recipes use a mug (rather than scales) to measure ingredients; mine is 300ml.
Many of the biscuits and treats will also make fantastic gifts, layered into a mason jar and tied with a ribbon as a small present or stocking filler, perfect for any dog owner or pampered pooch.
So I hope you enjoy making treats and other doggie delights from Give a Dog a Bone. My aim is to inspire all dog lovers who want to give their pets healthy and nutritious treats to get into the kitchen with their dogs and the family to make some homemade goodies. With meat, vegetarian and gluten-free recipes, all made with 100 per cent natural ingredients and available to buy in your local supermarket, I hope that this book of natural, healthy and easy recipes gets a paws up. Tried by me and tested by Darcey, these are some of her and her pals’ favourites that I hope will become a firm favourite in your home too.
Love Milly and Darcey
PEANUT BUTTER, OAT & CHICKEN STOCK BONES
A firm favourite with Darcey and friends, but then again anything with peanut butter in it always is! You can store these in an airtight container for up to a week or pop any you don’t need in the freezer for up to 3 months.
YOU WILL NEED
Bone-shaped cookie cutter (or a round one works just as well)
1 mug wholemeal flour, plus extra for dusting
1 mug rolled oats
2 tbsp homemade peanut butter (see here)
½ mug warm chicken stock
Makes 12+
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas 4.
2. Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and knead well to form a dough (add a little water if it seems a bit dry).
3. Turn out onto a floured surface, roll out to about 5mm thick.
4. Cut out shapes with a cookie cutter, place on a non-stick baking sheet and bake for 18–20 minutes until golden.
A gluten-free biscuit for pups who suffer from a wheat allergy. If you can’t access brown rice flour then white rice flour is just fine. These will keep in an airtight container for a week, or can be frozen for up to 3 months.
YOU WILL NEED
Cookie cutter
1 mug brown rice flour
½ mug grated apple
¼ mug grated Cheddar cheese
½