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You bake ‘em
Posted on January 26, 2010
As promised last Tuesday I will give you my personal two cents on the dog baking book I purchased recently.
I have to say, the journey started out a little rocky. I had checked out a friends book before and tried some recipes from magazines like The Bark and Modern Dog. So I had things like oat flour and rolled oats already handy. What I had to find out, though, was that this book uses loads of oat and wheat germ and basically no oat flour and rolled oats. So for me it felt like I kept looking and looking and their was nothing i could find to bake right away with what I had in the house. So I got a little annoyed, because I’m impatient like that. After that first little annoyance I just decided to substitue. I think it works just as good. Long story short: to save yoursekf the trouble I had, I advise you to read the introduction before you start baking and stock your pantry with a few basic items that will last you for quite a while! Easy as that. I wish I wouldn’t be so impatient.
Anyway, my initial reason for buying THIS book was that it promised to include a few recipes for training treats. You might know my love for Zuke’s, but I always look for a way to mix things up and why not try to save some money that way, too. So the first thing I baked were Salmon Cheese Treats. And you know what? If I don’t bake any other treat out of this book, I think those alone made it worth the $10 I paid. Or at least my husband would say so. Because it saves him from spending lots and lots of money on my beloved training treats. (And please nobody tell him that this saved money will now go to more rawhides!) Admittedly, the salmon isn’t the cheapest ingredient, but you are supposed to use the canned one, so I would say one whole batch of these treats cost me about $4, depending on where you shop. And it filled a quart-sized ziploc bag. And I mean it FILLED it! Maybe one day I’ll sit down and count the treats one batch makes and compare them to the amount of treats I get in the store bought bags… but not today.
Here is where I’m going with all this. All in all I am pretty happy because it is the first home made treat I found that is small, moist and chewy. Perfect for training. Because in all reality, I’m not one who gives cookie after cookie to my dogs. I enjoy to bake them. I enjoy to bake, period. And then since I’ve already baked them I decide to use them to fill kongs and similar toys. But that is about the extend of it. What I need is training treats. Small and LOTS of them.
And you know what, even if it doesn’t compare to the inexpensive treat you get in every grocery store, at least I know what’s in them. And not only that, the book also gives me nutrition tips along the way, and I like to learn.
Wasn’t that an insightful review?
I’m sorry!
Really!
“Super important edit: Christi added that many commercial chicken stock contain onion, which are toxic for dogs! Homemade chicken stock is pretty easy (and dogs love it frozen into ice cubes), she said. I have not, yet, made any treats with chicken broth, but this book actually does contain a few recipes that call for it. So stay alert and know what your dog can and can’t eat!*
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Something to think about when making your own treats is that onion is toxic for dogs and many commercial chicken stocks contain onion.
Just something to keep in mind! Homemade chicken stock is pretty easy (and dogs love it frozen into ice cubes).