I think this is the first time I’ve ever purposely made food not for human consumption.
I mean, sure, I’ve had my share of kitchen disasters that ended up in the dog bowl – or the trash, if it’s really bad – but I’ve never made non-people-food purely for the sake of feeding the dog. It feels a little liberating, to tell you the truth.
It’s also a little bittersweet, posting a recipe for puppy treats the day after I left my shadow, the worst personal assistant ever, aka Zipper the Stubborn Poodle, at my parents for two weeks. I was home in Michigan for a few day on work purposes, and I’ll be back again at Thanksgiving, so the dog got left with mom and dad on the interim. Show me someone who is willing to carry a whiny, shivering puppy on a plane ride (and pay the airline handsomely for that privilege) more times than necessary, and I’ll show you what crazy looks like. I’m not that crazy, so I brought her up with me this time and will take her back after the holidays.
To be honest, I think it’s my big, tall husband that misses that small, fluffy dog the most. He’s spent the last two months since we acquired her sneakily undoing all my training. I’ll spend a week patiently moving her from our bed to her dog bed at least four times a night, and it was working – she was jumping up less and less – until one night, she discovered she only needs to head on over to his side of the bed and he’ll not only let her up but will cuddle with her, too.
I worked for weeks on not letting her leap onto the couch uninvited, and him? He gets home from work, sits down to relax on the couch, and she jumps straight on to his lap with nary an invite or a shred of retribution.
If we’re this messy when it comes to disciplining a smart little dog, God help us when the kids come along.
It’s not like all I do is discipline, however, though some days it feels like it. When I first decided to make these puppy treats it took a while of messing around with the dough to get the right consistency. And even she was a little apprehensive at first to try them:
But before long, as I photographed the remaining treats, I looked down to this patient face, wanting more:
And man, who could say no? Maybe I’m starting to understand why my husband is such a big softie when it comes to this dog.
It’s Cookie Week, so here’s a cookie for the four-legged, stubborn lovers in your house.
Bacon & Parsley Puppy Treats Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup squash or pumpkin puree
- ½ cup freshly chopped parsley, including the stems
- ½ cup bacon grease, room temperature
- 1 cup golden flaxseed meal
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350*F. Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the refrigerator and pat one small handful flat onto a baking sheet. Press with a cookie cutter and scrape away any leftover dough from the edged of the sheet. Repeat until all of the dough has been flattened and shaped.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the bottoms of the biscuits are crispy and can be easily liften from the baking sheet. Allow to cool completely, so the treats can crisp a bit.
- Will keep at least one week if covered tightly and stored in a cool, dry place.
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