Makin' Dog Biscuits

We keep a jar of dog biscuits for our 2 dogs.  They get a "treat" when they "crate up" in the morning and also at bedtime.  

They have become so accustomed to getting their treat that they will trip over each other running up the stairs to see who can get there first.

Our lab mix (Betty) weighs 68 lbs. and our Basenji, Jenny is 22 lbs.  I want to point out that they are both around 5 years old and have maintained the same healthy weight.

Typically, we give Betty one of these homemade biscuits at morning and night, and break one in half for Jenny.  This suits them just fine.  I hate seeing the dog treats in the store, especially the ones for "large dogs".  What I see is a lot of garbage and filler in a huge snack.  Once at the dog park, I saw an overweight guy with his 2 overweight dogs.  He had a bag of "snausages" that he was feeding them.  Those things, although fun to say, are full of junk.  Fattening junk.  It would be like us eating circus peanuts and Cheetos every day.  Gross.  

I don't know, maybe that sounds good to you.  

Maybe your dog is fat.

So, here is another one of those things I prefer to make myself than buy in the store:

 

Dog biscuits.  

The ones I'm making tonight come from my dog biscuit bible:  The (Small Dogs) Doggy Bone Cookbook by Michele Bledsoe.  This cookbook comes with a small cookie cutter.  As the title suggests, it is intended for small dogs.  Doesn't matter, as I mentioned earlier.  A small treat is just as good as a large one.  

I have made and tasted every biscuit in this cookbook, and they're delicious!  Every recipe contains things that you normally have in your kitchen, and with the exception of beef and chicken bouillon (I use veggie), everything is vegetarian.   The only real difference between dog biscuits and people biscuits (cookies) is the absence of sugar, fat and salt which although delicious, are not good for dogs.

The biscuits I'm making right now are the Trick & Treat biscuits which are pumpkiny and very fitting for this fall weather.  They smell FANTASTIC.  I'm not sure whether I can do this or not, but here is the recipe.  If I credit the source, it's okay, right?

Trick & Treat

1/2 c. canned pumpkin

1/2 c. water

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 c. oatmeal

2 c. whole wheat flour

Preheat overn to 375.  Combine pumpkin, water, oil, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl.  Stir well.  Gradually add oatmeal and flour.  Form a dough. 

pumpkiny.

Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut with cookie cutter.  

the directions say 1/4 inch, but i like to go a little thicker.

Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 375 for 40 minutes.  Makes 4 dozen.

It's okay to put them really close together on the baking sheet, they won't spread out or puff up.

After 40 minutes, I take them out of the oven.  I decide they're done when I can shake the pan and they move around.

Eat one!

I almost always just allow them to cool along with the pan.  I believe that is part of what makes them really crunchy.  After they are completely cool, I put them in a decorative jar that my dogs must think is really pretty.  They always gaze at the jar admiringly, anyway.

OH, the other awesome thing about pumpkin treats is that the pumpkin is really good for firming up stools.  Yep.  If your dog has loose poops, add a spoonful of pumpkin to its food.  You needed to hear that... and, you're welcome.