George has a sensitive tummy, and it seems he is not alone! From the comments I received after my last blog it seems that many dogs out there suffer as he has. Some due to the after effects of illness and infection, like George, some because they eat unsavory things on walks.....I think we all know what sort of things!
It also seems that I am not alone in cooking for my dog, and my love of the humble sweet potato! Even though I have preferred cooking for my dogs over ready made food I had never baked for them. When Frankie and Bruno were young - I'm going back over 10 years - there wasn't such a trend for Dog Birthday Parties, Pup Cakes, or Dog Cake Delivery companies! In the last couple of years there has been a massive increase in Dog Friendly Cafes - to be applauded for sure - who serve a multitude of dog delights making sure you and your dog are happy!
So, when I found that I had a book on my shelf called Cooking for your Dog by Ingeborg Pils - that I didn't know I had! - I decided to explore Baking for your Dog and Why it's so good.
The recipe I chose was a simple one, A Crunchy Cure for Wind! it seemed appropriate and we had all the ingredients:
9 oz (250g) Gluten-free flour
1 Egg
3 tablespoons of Olive Oil
4 fl oz (125ml) skimmed milk
1 teaspoon each of chopped mint and parsley
All you have to do is combine all the ingredients except for the herbs, when you have a dough, mix in the herbs.
Preheat your oven to 345 degrees F (175 C) and cover a baking sheet with baking paper.
The book tells you to put the dough in an icing bag and pipe the shapes out onto the baking sheet, but we aren't that sophisticated in our house, so we just rolled and patted them out into long and round shapes. They don't really get bigger in the oven so don't worry too much about how close they are together.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes - don't be tempted to leave them longer if they haven't browned because after this time you turn off the heat but leave them in the oven to dry for another hour.
We did leave ours a little long in the heated oven and they are a little, shall we say, hard! George hasn't complained though!!
So, why is baking for your dog so good? Put simply, the sheer joy that your dog will share when you present them with a home baked biscuit makes it all worthwhile not to mention the fact that you know they are fresh and exactly what went in them. they also work out a whole lot cheaper than any of this quality you might buy. Plus the added bonus is that you can bake and not feel guilty because you won't be consuming the calories!!
Who wouldn't want to see a face like this?
So I urge you to have a go, especially if your dog has a little wind issue, and the mint is also good for fresh breath - win win at both ends!!
Debbie and George x
