Pumpkin Peanut Butter Doggie Treats

This is a really easy treat recipe courtesy of Betty Crocker. I got the rice flour just for these, which is perfect since my Roxy can't deal with wheat. And she looooves both pumpkin and peanut butter. Today has been one of those cold, dreary winter days that I just felt like baking. I tried one out of curiosity and they are really not bad. A friend came over and ate one before I could explain that they are for the dog (hehe) and thought that with a little sugar or frosting.... :) Now I just need a dog bone cookie cutter so that my homemade treats will be more self explanatory!

3 cups brown rice flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
Directions
1. Heat oven to 350° F. In large bowl stir all ingredients until soft dough forms.
2. Divide dough in half. Using brown-rice-floured rolling pin, roll each dough half to 1/2 inch thickness on brown-rice-floured surface.
Cut with 3-inch cookie cutter. On ungreased cookie sheet, place cutouts about 1 inch apart.
3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until dry and golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely,
about 30 minutes.
4. Store in dog treat jar at room temperature up to 1 week. For longer storage keep in refrigerator or freezer.
Prep Time: 15 Minutes Start to Finish: 1 Hour 35 Minutes Makes: 36 puppy treats

Joy

And the art of enjoying life...as demonstrated by Roxy.

Roxy Loves Boomer's Biscuits

I'm always looking for good treats for the dog that are good for her, too. She has digestion issues with wheat and corn, so I feed her a good, natural dog food that is free of those, and don't want to mess up her system with treats. So many of the dog treats readily available out there have either corn, wheat, or both. ugh! Sometimes I just give her small chunks of apple because she is crazy about apples. But I also like having easy to grab treats around for her, and it helps reinforce training and good behaviors. I happened to find Boomer's Biscuits on Etsy and found a good match.

From BoomersBiscuits:

We know that dogs may have food allergies. Three of the most common food allergies for dogs are wheat, corn and soy. Because of this, we do not include any of these ingredients in our dog treats. Instead, we use alternative flours such as organic oat flour and organic brown rice flour in all of our dog treats. Plus we don't add any sugar or butter to our treats. All sweetness is from natural ingredients such as molasses, natural applesauce or carob chips (a dog-safe chocolate alternative).
At "Boomer's Biscuits", we like to do what we can to help save the earth. Our packaging boxes are 100% recycled! The ribbon we use is also 100% recycled (70% post consumer waste and 30% post industrial scrap). And instead of using styrofoam peanuts for shipping, we use shredded newspapers.

So, in addition to great treats, they are packaged in super easy to recycle boxes. And they have Apple Pie Bites! Apples! Roxy is crazy about them. And actually, they smell so good I had to try a crumb. Tasty indeed! :) You can find Boomer's Biscuits at
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BoomersBiscuits

Lessons from the Doggin

When my son was learning his first words, he had trouble with words ending in consonants. He couldn't stop at the "g" in dog so he said "doggin". It was the (of course) the cutest thing ever. Now 15 years later I finally got him his own doggin. And this creature has taught me (and hopefully him) a lot. Here are a few of the lessons I have learned from the Doggin:

*Boundless Joy--as soon as I say let's play and throw a stick, the happiest tail wagging, tongue flapping running ensues. This dog is ~so~ happy running. You can see the joy all over her doggie face. Just pure happy. It's a good reminder to enjoy the small things and to be in the moment. It makes me smile every time.

*Unconditional Love--my dog freely gives her love. There's not a person, dog, cat, or other living being she doesn't try to make friends with. She loves everyone until they give her a reason not to (like that incident with a certain German Shepherd which it turns out is NOT a friend). Even if I've had to yell at her for chasing the kitty next door and running around and around the neighbor's house. Yep, still loves me.

*Naps--sometimes you just need one. Especially if you are saving up energy to run around the yard a few dozen times.

*Routine--the doggin craves routine. She likes her food at the same times each day, picks up our subtle cues as to when we are leaving (she is still crated when we're gone) and she happily bounces over to her crate. She's very happy when she knows what to expect. It certainly reduces stress.

I'm sure there are others. I really never expected to be this head-over-heels about a dog, but here we are and she tail wagged her way into my heart.