Bluberry and Banana Dog 'Ice Cream'

I made these treats recently for my dog during a four-day heatwave that broke a forty-year temperature record and almost brought the UK to a standstill.  We do emergencies terribly well in the UK, not so much extremes of weather!

You just need :

500g pot of plain yoghurt (I used Total 0% fat because that’s what I always buy)

200g blueberries (about a cup)

1 banana

Pop everything into a blender and blitz, or pop into a batter jug and blitz with a stick blender.  Pour into silicone cupcake cases and pop into the freezer.  Once the ‘cupcakes’ have frozen they can be tipped into a freezer bag for easier storage.

This works very well poured into a Kong, just make sure to wrap it in cling film first (leaving the top open of course!).

Oatmeal Dog Biscuits

Holly’s grumbling tummy problems are continuing and in desperation I’ve had to withdraw all commercial dog treats from her diet.  I made her a batch of sweet potato and oatmeal biscuits which she loved and were unbelievably simple to put together. 

I’ve made a few variations on them: honey and cinnamon; tummy bones with fennel, parsley and mint; and nightie night bones with chamomile tea.  She loves them and sits in the kitchen patiently waiting for them to cool ....... and by patiently I mean barking almost incessantly! 

These biscuits have no preservatives in them so they need to be kept in the fridge.  I find a 1lb oatmeal batch makes about 32 bones so I freeze most of them and defrost a handful every few days to keep them fresh.  The actual number of treats you make will depend on how thick or thin you roll out the dough, and the size of your cutter.  I have used a giant bone cutter to make big thick bones as a kind of home-made dental cleaning treat.

The basic recipe is :

1lb porridge oats

8 fl oz water

Options inclusions are:

8 oz carrot/butternut squash/sweet potato

4oz honey and 2tsp cinnamon

1tsp each parsley, fennel, mint

Chamomile tea in place of water

To make veggie bones simply peel and dice the carrot/squash/sweet potato, cut into chunks and pop in a blender with most of the water.  Blitz to a puree and add to the oatmeal, using the reserved water to rinse out the blender and then add that to the oatmeal (waste not want not!).

For the herb bones, grind the fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle and add with the dry herbs to the oatmeal and mix well, then add the water.

For the honey and cinnamon bones, I added the honey to boiling water and then allowed it to cool, add the cinnamon to the oatmeal and stir in before adding the liquid.

Kneed to form a ball of dough, adding a drop or so of water if necessary.

Roll out to your desired thickness and cut shapes.

I bake mine at 150^oC (300^oF / gas mark 2) for approximately 20 minutes each side.  Actual cooking time will vary depending on the size and thickness of the treats, they need to be cooked until they are hard.  The giant bones were cooked for 30 minutes each side, brought out to cool for 15 minutes and then put back into the cooling oven to bake hard.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Dog Treats

Like most dog owners, I sometimes find myself with a poorly pooch on my hands.  Holly has quite a sensitive stomach so these episodes are not infrequent!  I had heard that pumpkin was helpful in settling down tummy upsets in dogs so went on a search for a suitable cookie recipe.

I found this lovely recipe, and charming story while hunting one day, and adapted it very slightly to suit us.

The original recipe can be found here :

http://simmertilldone.com/2009/10/07/retriever-retriever-pumpkin-eater/

The recipe and method I used was :

2 eggs

½ cup mashed butternut squash

2tb dried milk powder

Scant ¼ tsp salt

Generous ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

2 ½ cups brown rice flour

You need to prepare the pumpkin well ahead of time by peeling, steaming and mashing.  Drain in a sieve for several hours, or overnight, before using.

Beat two eggs and add the prepared pumpkin, beating well together.  Add the milk powder and beat again, then beat in the salt and cinnamon.  Add the rice flour and combine with a wooden spoon, and then your hands.  If the dough is a little dry and won’t come together properly, add a teaspoon or two of cold water.

Roll out fairly thinly and then cut into shapes.  Place on baking parchment on a baking tray.

Bake at 200^oC (400 ^oF / gas mark 6) for approximately 30 to 40 minutes – until the biscuits are firm to the touch.  Leave to get cold before giving to your dog.