"Growing up Southern is a privilege, really. It's more than where you're born - it's an idea, a state of mind that seems imparted at birth. It's more than loving fried chicken, sweet tea, high school football, country music, and acoustic guitars. It's being hospitable, being devoted to front porches, magnolias, the good Lord, and each other. We don't become Southern - we're born that way."

7.19.2010

Homemade Dog Treats

So, let me just get this out of the way right off the bat.
YES, I cook for my dogs.
Not all the time, not all of the dogs.
But I cook for Sofia on a regular basis. She is the most recent addition to our family, a boxer mix we adopted back in February. When we adopted her she was thin, and then she lost even more weight. So I went on a mission to get her up to a healthy weight. In the morning she gets regular kibble, but at night along with the kibble she gets rice, scrambled eggs, or sometimes some of what we are eating, mixed in with her food. Sometimes I even buy liver and cook some of that up for her. She is looking WONDERFUL, and it makes me happy to see her healthy again.
My poor Sofi also has a dental problem. She has a condition with a long name which I can't remember, but basically, her teeth break very easily. So she can't eat anything crunchy or chewy. Also, my old dachshund, Suzie, is very old and just has terrible teeth which cause her discomfort. For general feeding, I just soften their food with warm water or give them canned food. But the problem was, treats!
Every dog deserves treats, and these two dogs are the sweetest, best dogs ever. I've looked for soft treats for them everywhere, but they are just nearly impossible to find. Everything is either super-crunchy or super-chewy.
So, finally, yesterday, a light bulb went off - make them yourself!
I even found recipes in a cookbook I've had for years.
So this weekend I made two different types of soft treats for my canine kiddos, and I'm going to share one of the recipes with you today.

Puppy Cookies
3 small jars of baby food, chicken or beef flavor
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup dry milk
(I also added a tablespoon of peanut butter because my doggies LOVE it.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients and drop with a tablespoon onto a well-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.

So simple, and the dogs LOVED them!

4 comments:

  1. Easy enough! I'm sure they were very much appreciated.

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  2. ooh i may have to try this. and i can guarantee that i wont be snacking on this cookie dough!

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  3. I will have to try these, I am sure Skye would love them.

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  4. I will have to try this for my dog, Chloe. She
    is 10 and just has bad breath from poor
    teeth, I can't afford to get them cleaned
    so, this sounds like a great treat! I will
    tell you how it turns out and how she liked
    it!

    ReplyDelete

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xoxo