Bake some delicious doggie treats this Christmas
Christmas is special. Most importantly it is a time to think of others, including our four-legged best friends.
Responsible owners don’t need reminding of the basics in caring for their most precious four-legged canine companions, but being human, generally means there is nothing we love better than spoiling them with special treats.
Lots of what we think of being ‘treats’ are in fact horribly bad – and in some cases toxic.
Always best to remember that just because you like it, doesn’t mean you are doing your dog any favours.
Animals have very different rates of metabolism so don’t let adoring, begging looks tempt you into breaking off a piece of chocolate and sharing. In fact, for their own good don’t give them ‘human’ snacks like nuts, corn kernels and especially chips which may contain garlic and onion powder which happens to be rated near the top of the ‘worst foods’ list.
Of course Christmas is coming and as well as the religious significance, it is a time for family, fun and festive fare. But we humans tend to overdo the whole thing and then spend months ‘paying’ for our indulgences and extravagances.
Whether you are young or old, Christmas is special. Most importantly it is a time to think of others, including our four-legged best friends. Don’t forget, they are family too.
I remember a long-ago Christmas morning when a much-loved family dog, managed to ‘sniff out’ what he was after from near the bottom of the heap of presents piled up, waiting to be unwrapped by his human family.
His name was Max and while he is no longer with us, that Christmas morning will not be forgotten.
Knowing how partial Max was to sardines IN OIL as a festive treat, his grandma had individually wrapped two tins and written on the little cards … ’For Max from Grandma’ and placed them under the tree amongst all the other gifts waiting to be opened by the family.
It might be said that Max was never considered a candidate for any other role in life other than a devoted family pet, but that morning he proved he had missed his calling as a top sniffer dog!
If you remember the song….’Who let the dog out….wuff, wuff, wuff’’ then this was a case of ‘who let the dog in’ because someone (no one every admitted to being responsible) left the lounge door opened giving Max all the time in the world to follow his nose and find one of his grandma’s prettily wrapped gifts.
Unable to open the tin in the ‘human’ way, Max simply chomped it like any self- respecting dog would, lapping delightedly at the taste of the oozing oil as it spread everywhere, including the still-to-be-unwrapped presents.
I don’t think I need to tell you anything more other than many of the gifts went straight into the washing machine!
Closer to home, Christmas means making a batch of special liver bread doggie festive treats for my two dogs – Molly and Bertie – to give as gifts to their furry friends.
One year they spent Christmas in kennels at Harmony Hills. It was also Molly’s birthday and a double celebration you could say – which warranted something special. So off they went with a big Tupperware box of these yummy biscuits (in place of a birthday cake) to share with all the other ‘guests’ spending Christmas away from their human families.
This easy to make, economical, nourishing, treat is an absolute winner with all dogs – small, medium or large. Cats also love them.
What you will need:
1kg liquidised chicken livers
2 large eggs
1 cup mealie meal or rolled oats (which I prefer to use)
2 cups cake flour or wholewheat
20ml cooking oil
2 dessert spoons of baking powder
Method:
Mix altogether in a large bowl until it ends up a bit thicker than cake mixture.
Grease a large flat baking tray and sprinkle with flour.
Using a flat-blade knife (dip it in water if it gets sticky) and spread mixture evenly less than half an inch thick and bake in a moderate to high preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes. Watch carefully until it is slightly under-baked – overdone will result in it being crumbly.
Once cooled down, use a pizza cutter to cut into bite-size squares. (Definitely smaller squares for small breeds and cats).
The bread freezes brilliantly, so pack in small bags and freeze. In this way, your four-legged best friends (cats too) will be tucking into treats long after the festive season.
A word of warning – the treats are in every way nourishing and delicious, but not a substitute for a meal. Your doggies would love that, but remember, they are quite rich, so my best advice is only a few at a time.
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