pawsgo: PawsGo Baking Healthy Treats for Your Dog

The holidays are upon us, so don't forget your best friend! What better way to treat your dog than with homemade treats? And what a thoughtful gift for the dogs of your friends, co-workers and neighbors! Making your own dog treats is easy, inexpensive and fun! Do it on your own, or make it a party like we did!

My dogs love treats, and truthfully, I give them more than I should. Treats are rewards, treats are expected, and treats can quickly diffuse an annoying situation. Treats are a part of our day. But are treats healthy? Maybe, but probably not in the volume that my dogs coerce me into giving them. And, they get expensive.

So, PawsGo set out to create healthy treats that we could make at home. With the help of Kari Faherty, of True Health and Wholeness
http://true-hw.com/ in Arlington, Virginia, we hosted a dog treat cooking class (party). The idea was to create treats to share with dogs and their friends.

Kari developed two very easy recipes. One with peanut butter, the other with parsley (because who can't use a little breath freshener). All ingredients were found at our local grocery story and cost $11.73 -- what a deal! The end result can be consumed by both humans and dogs. All ingredients and steps are outlined below -- thank you Kari! (and yes, we served wine)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Breath Freshener

Ingredients:

õ 1 Banana

õ 3 tablespoons peanut butter

õ 1 egg

õ 1 cup oat flour

õ 2/3 cup rolled oats

õ 1 - 1½ cup chopped fresh parsley and/or mint

Recipe:

1. In a large bowl, mash the banana

2. Add the peanut butter and egg.

3. Add the oat flour and rolled oats. Allow the dough to sit.

4. While the dough is sitting, finely chop the parsley.

Peanut Butter Flax

Ingredients:

õ 1 Banana

õ 3-5 tablespoons peanut butter

õ 1 egg

õ 1 cup oat flour

õ 2/3 cup rolled oats

õ ½ cup flax meal (plus more, if needed)

Recipe:

1. In a large bowl, mash the banana

2. Add the peanut butter and egg.

3. Add the oat flour and rolled oats. Allow the dough to sit.

4. Add the flax, enough to make the dough moldable.

peanut butter base

grinding oats for oat flour

chopping parsley

5. Divide the dough into 24 balls, then press them flat into disks.

6. Lay the disks on the baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes, depending on the desired texture.

Notes on Baking and Storage:

õ If your dog prefers soft treats, bake the treats a shorter time. For crisp treats, bake the treats longer.

õ If your dog is small, make smaller disks. Smaller disk will need less baking time.

õ Softer treats will spoil faster than crisp treats. To extend the shelf life of the treats, no matter how they are prepared, keep them in an airtight container. Keeping the treats in the fridge will extend the shelf life even longer.

õ If your dog eats treats quickly, you can make a whole batch and store the treats in an airtight container at room temperature.

õ If your dog eats treats slowly, you can make a half batch, or freeze the treats after baking. Just make sure they are thawed before giving them to your dog.