Eddie's Blog
About Eddie: I'm a dog on a mission. With your help, I'm going to change legislation in the U.S. to make sure chemicals are safe before they're put on the market. Read more or contact Eddie.
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Paw lickin' good
I asked my fellow pet crusaders for some delicious and healthy pet treats, and my email inbox filled up with tons of yummy concoctions. Below are some of the best recipes as tested by me and Cleo.
So the next time you get bummed out by the icky ingredients on pet food labels, don't despair--put on your chef hat!
Simple Peanut Butter Cookies for Dogs
from Luca
Eddie says: "I'm a sucker for peanut butter. Very tasty."
- 3 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1-1/2 cup milk
- 1 and a 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon molasses
Preheat oven to 350. Mix flour, oats and baking powder in a large bowl. Mix milk, peanut butter, and molasses then add to dry ingredients. Knead dough until firm. Roll out to about a 1/4" thick and cut (use cookie cutters if you want, I use the rim of a glass to press out circles). Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool completely. Store in a Tupperware in the fridge. Makes about 25 medium cookies.
Tuna Pops
from Chef Skylar
Cleo says: "These are mighty tasty (and fun to bat around on the floor) but be careful not to eat tuna more than a few times a month! Canned tuna has high levels of mercury--that's a big deal when you're a cat that weighs 8 pounds."
Drain liquid from tuna packed in spring water. Freeze liquid in small ice cube trays; cocktail ice cube trays work nicely, as well as little square pill boxes available at most drug stores. You can make a second batch of tuna-pop water by recovering your drained tuna with filtered water overnight.
Quick yeast treat
from Sweetie
Yeast flakes sprinkled on your food. That's it!
Liver brownies
from anonymous pet-chef
Eddie says: "Cat and dog approved!"
- 1 lb chicken livers (organic or free range is best)
- 1/2 lb kamut or rice flour
Put chicken livers in blender with very small amount of water to help blend easier. Grind thoroughly to a liquid and pour into a mixing bowl. Add kamut or rice flour, mixing thoroughly to a consistency of brownie batter. If it's too runny, add more flour.
Pour mixture into a baking dish lined with parchment paper (it will stick otherwise) to a depth of about 1 inch. Bake at 300 degrees for 15-20 mins, until a knife comes out clean. Peel off parchment paper and cool.
Can be frozen for months when cut into 1 inch squares. Liver brownie can be given one square as a treat every couple of days.
Turkey rolls
from the Great Dane who owns Sascha
Eddie says: "I think I'd add a little spinach to my wrap, and maybe some carrots on the side."
Organic turkey wrapped in a multigrain tortilla makes for a tasty treat.
Hula Cookies
from Cricket
Eddie says: "I tried this one, and my humans liked them too!" Cleo says: "I liked them better after they were broken up a bit and moistened with a little leftover the pineapple juice."
- 8 ounces canned unsweetened crushed pineapple
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups white flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain pineapple and set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine oil and honey. Add egg, pineapple and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda in a separate bowl. After blending, add this into the wet mixture and stir well. Drop tablespoon size amounts of the mixture onto a greased baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Cool on a rack, then serve. Store in an airtight container.
Thanks for all the good news and I'll enjoy the recipes.
I tried my hand at making dog treats....once.!. My guy, being the polite gentlemen that he was took the treat and looked for safe place to "dump" it. He put them under things, behind things and covered them with clothing. My friend's dog played with them like a ball. Pitching it around and eventually buried it. So I gave up making "homemade" dog treats. I'm slow but I did get the idea.
Can doggies have soy milk? I would love to make the peanut butter recipe for my little Jasper, and have all the ingredients except whole milk! Should I make a special run to the market??
Dogs should not be fed wheat, corn, or soy!!!
Dogs should never be feed wheat, corn or soy,Period! Spouted grain products are ok. In these recipes substitute for wheat flour: rice flour or other gluten free flour (without corn, buckwheat,etc) You can also grind some of their food into a course flour like consistency and use it.
For the Lady who asked about soy: Soy is very bad for humans, but even worse for pets. They get enough hormone disruptors( from soy, meat, byproducts etc) in cheap pet food but soy milk will hurt their little thyroids and reproductive systems. You can substitute unsweetened almond milk, or rice milk. However milk is often added to pet treats for protein and you can simply use water instead. Cost is often a issue.
If your pet is crazy for tuna pops, you can substitute canned organic chicken so that mercury is avoided.
Here is a healthier peanut butter dog treat:
1 large banana
1 egg
1/3 cup natural peanut butter
1 T honey (more if you plan on eating them too)
1 cup gluten free flour
1/2 cup flax seed, ground
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Mash the banana with the back of a fork in a medium bowl until very few clumps remain. Add the egg, peanut butter and honey until thoroughly mixed. Stir in the flour and flax seed and mix well.
3. Place dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to about 1/4″ thick. Cut into desired shapes. If you don’t have a rolling pin, like myself, use a washed wine or alcohol bottle to flatten the dough. If you don’t have any cookie cutters, also like myself, use the screw cap from a spice bottle or get creative and roll the dough out to make the little “piles” .
Soy for humans has been reported to be good, reported to be bad.... Who really knows.
Here is the breakdown on it. Phytoestrogens are phytochemicals, or natural chemicals found in plants. Phytoestrogens, imparticular, exerts weak, estrogen like effects on the body. Isoflavones are a type or group of phytoestrogens which are thought to be positive. Again, this group of isoflavones is thought to aid in preventing cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis and menopausal symptoms.
Scientists say that there are also drawbacks to the isoflavones which might be the source for negative reports. Of course there are first off some people who are allergic to soy. There are also warnings for pregnant and nursing women as they are not sure of the long term affects of the soy isoflavones on babies. Men with prostrate cancer should avoid soy products, as well as women with certain types of tumors. It is also important to note that soy has been associated with hypothyroidism in some.
Overall, I’ve decided to stick with using soy milk. From my research, I found that many of the negative reports or studies on soy milk were funded by dairy associations - or book authors spouses. I would hesitate however after reading reports to make soy a major part of my diet I believe that soy definitely has it's benefits, but as with anything else, it is best consumed in moderation.
Thanks to everyone for the "sit up and beg for" recipes. One comment I would like to add is the following: I asked our vet about using organic cold milled flax on our dog's food for the Omega-3 advantage, but she said that flax does not give dogs the same benefit as humans, and suggested that we give him fish oils rich in Omega-3 instead. She did not say flax was bad, only that it is not assimilated in dogs as it is in humans. The bottom line is that dog biology is different than human, and we have to be careful about what we give them especially since some foods can be harmful instead of healthy.
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