DOG BISCUIT (TREAT) RECIPE

I made these using the cookie mold below
I found it on Amazon

DOGGY HEALTH STICKS (GLUTEN FREE)
2 cups brown rice flour
¼ cup apple sauce
1 carrot, shredded and chopped
½ cup pumpkin puree
1 banana, mashed
¾ cup fresh mint, chopped
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 180° C. (350° F.) and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until well combined.
Spread by hand onto the prepared baking tray, approximately ¼ inch thick and take a pizza cutter and cut the dough into sticks.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Cool and break into pieces, then refrigerate.

DOG BISCUIT RECIPE

BETTY’S GOLDEN DOG COOKIES
 2 cups wholemeal flour
1 cup rolled oats, regular or quick
1 cup peanut butter, crunchy or plain
1 tbsp. dried mint or 2 tbsp. chopped fresh mint
½ cup dry milk or non-fat dry milk powder
½ tsp. salt
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tbsp. honey
½ cup water
1 tbsp. extra cold water, enough to make cohesive dough if too crumbly.

Preheat the oven to 170° C. (340° F.).
Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
Mix together the flour, oats, mint, dried milk, and salt. Add the eggs, peanut butter and honey, stirring to combine; the mixture will be crumbly.
Add enough water to bring the dough together.
To make dog “biscuits” using a dog-bone cutter, roll the dough about ¼ - ½ inch thickness, and cut with a 3 inch cutter (or the size of your choice).
Gather and re-roll the scraps, and continue to cut biscuits until you've used all of the dough.
To make dog "cookies," take heaped teaspoonful of dough and roll into a ball. Place balls on prepared baking sheet and flatten each ball with a fork to about ¼ - ½ inch thickness.
Bake the biscuits for about 40 to 60 minutes, smaller around 40 minutes, larger around 60 minutes.
When finished, the biscuits will be dark golden brown, and will be dry and crisp. Remove from the oven, and let cool on the baking tray.

Yield: about 42 larger (3 inch dog-bone) biscuits, 60 smaller (round) biscuits.

Pumpkin Dog Cookies

It turns out PUMPKIN, a faithful addition to pies, soups, and cakes, works a certain enzyme magic on stomach irritation in dogs. Does it work on people? I don’t know.
Another couple of interesting facts, PARSLEY is great for your dog's breath and MINT is an excellent anti-depressant for your dogs too.
Now my 3M's will just about eat anything, but I wanted to see if I could make it a treat for them.
The review is in - paw licking delicious!
I hope your fury kids like my recipe for PUMPKIN DOG COOKIES as much as Mac, Maesie and Mattie do....

MAESIE'S PERFECT PUMPKIN COOKIES
2 eggs
½ cup mashed pumpkin
2 tbsp. dry milk powder
¼ tsp. sea salt - optional
2½ cups brown rice flour or rye flour (you can use wholemeal)
1 tbsp. dried parsley or mint - optional
1 tbsp. honey - optional
Preheat oven to 180° C (350° F).
In large bowl, whisk together eggs and pumpkin to smooth consistency.
Stir in dry milk, and any or all of optional ingredients.
Add flour gradually, combining with spatula or hands, to form a stiff, dry dough.
Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead lightly until mixture comes together smoothly.
Roll dough to ½ inch thickness and cut using desired cookie cutters.
Knead scraps lightly, re-roll and cut shapes, continuing this process until all dough is used.
Place shapes on paper lined cookie sheet. If desired, use tines of fork to decorate, lightly pressing down to only halfway through dough.
Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully turn biscuits over, then return to oven and bake an additional 20 minutes.
Allow to cool completely on wire rack.

Miss Matilda aka Til Til in her Christmas hat

Aural Haemotoma's & training....

Our beautiful fury family, Mac, Maesie and Matilda, aka the "M's", aka our three Golden Retrievers, are all doing great. 

Mac and Maesie are now 10 and 11 years old respectively and Miss Matilda or Til Til as we call her, is now 18 months old.
What's been happening in their lives.....
First, let's talk about Mac. He developed an Aural Haematoma, basically a large blood blister in the underside of his ear flap. He was successfully operated on, but the stress of the operation and the anaesthesia, when combined with his age, really took it's toll on him.  It has taken months, but thankfully he seems his happy self. 
Let's now move to second....As if not to be outdone, Maesie decided, if Mac can do it, so can she.  She also developed an Aural Haematoma. 
OK, now I'm thinking I may need to explain just how these Aural Heamatoma's develop. When a pet scratches its ear or shakes its head vigorously in an effort to rid itself of an itch/irritation, it may unknowingly cause some damage to the ear flap. As a result, an accumulation of fluid can often build up between the skin layers and the ear flap, a blood blister, or as it is medically known, a Aural Haematoma forms. 
After our experience with Mac's haematoma/surgery/recovery, we were really hesitant to put Maesie through the same trauma, so it was a relief when our Vet suggested he would prefer not to operate, but to monitor her. Now several months and Vet visits later, Maesie and her ear are doing great. The blood in the blister has slowly been reabsorbed and apart from a little scaring to her inside ear flap, she is doing great. No trauma.
How I wish we were given the same option or that we decided against surgery with Mac's ear. Lessons learned though. 
Now on to Miss Matilda.....as I mentioned earlier, our dear Til Til is 18 months old. She is an absolute treasure, such a loveable girl, so happy with her life, her tail always wagging. It's great to see her with Mac and Maesie, she adores them. She has learnt so much from them, picked up many of their mannerisms, mostly good. 
It's beautiful to watch them interact, amazing to see how much they have come to rely on one another. 
Thanks to Holdfast Dog Centre, Til Til made it through to secondary school in her training. She absolutely loved going to her lessons, so much so, it became a battle to get her to come home after each lesson. No easy undertaking lifting her into my SUV, especially as she weighs 40 kgs.  
I guess you could say, it's been a good year for our fury family.

The hole in the garden...Don't know anything about it.....Why do you ask??

I don't know where I got this photo from, but I just had to share it.....