Black Beast Doggy Treats

The Early Days

Hello good people! Wow it's been a long time since I've been here with news from the holler and of course, lots of changes have taken place, with more to come.

After my last post, spring hit fast and hard here and I was determined to make a valiant effort to win the battle over the weeds, brush, rogue trees and the like. I had fabulous plans for landscaping and gardening and lovely evenings entertaining amid the beautiful results. I did accomplish alot of hosta and daylilly digging and dividing and transplanting, some weed removal and planted flats and flats of seeds, which subsequently drown on the front porch during a surprise downpour and were never revived. 

After the initial spring fling in the yard, I moved quickly into the "I really want a puppy" campaign with Darlin' Mark. After agreeing that no more pooches would share our humble abode after the loss of Sweet Annika last summer, I caved. I simply had run out of things to talk to myself about and needed another living creature to communicate with on a daily basis. And I love puppies. And so the puppy search began! I made a visit to the Dubois County Humane Society after seeing a littler of perfectly adorable Boxer/Lab mix puppies on the website and filled out my adoption application. Which of course required a background check, fingerprints, DNA testing, a psychological evaluation, home visit, references, parenting classes, credit check and agreement to donate all my vital organs to dogs in need. Well, maybe not quite that extensive, but not far off. 

But then Darlin' Mark, who I affectionately refer to as "the dog snob" determined that if we were to embark on parenthood again, we would get a "real dog." So one Sunday afternoon, we loaded up in the Expedition to go meet the lovely people who advertised a fine littler of Labrador pups for sale in Leitchfield KY. While in route, I received a text from the lovely woman stating that the Chocolate had just sold, leaving only 1 Black boy. "But my husband says he's the best." Well, of course he does! 

After carefully inspecting the pup, performing several very objective tests to determine his health, temperament and intelligence and I hugged, held, petted, kissed and squeezed on him, Darlin' Mark happily handed over a significant sum of hard earned dollars and Edsel Henry Rainford came home to the holler!

And I am happy to report that the lovely woman's husband did not exaggerate. Despite Edsel's tendency to eat anything at anytime in any quantity, jump approximately 5 feet straight up when excited, tear through the house like a lunatic for no good reason, roll in mud, dive into any body of water within sight, destroy paper, cardboard and toys with amazing efficiency, retrieve until he nearly passes out, eat peaches and green apples until he poops himself senseless, run off to the neighbors to sneak cat food and chase children, he is a fine pup!

That brings me back to changes and where I've been....Darlin' Mark has made a tour through Memphis TN and northern Mississippi. We bought and sold and bought another RV and made a trip to Gulf Shores with Edsel in tow. I've made multiple trips to Mississippi and up north to home. A bad tonsil led to a tonsillectomy in Brother in Law Lou and ended up in lymphoma. So he and Big Sis Marybeth have been spending time with the fine folks at the oncology office and learning more about chemotherapy than they ever cared to know. Pops has had an ongoing battle with a new leg brace and the kind professional who crafted it. Amazingly enough that good man has not strangled Pops with the Velcro straps that hold it on his leg. Darlin' Mark has now moved on for a multiple year project in lovely Pryor, Oklahoma and I am in process of obtaining a nursing license and going to be helping set up a second home there. So I'll be coming to you from either the holler or the prairie!

Many days cookies, bread, cakes and pies have had to take a back seat to work, travel, doctor visits, games of fetch and trips to the vet. Some weeks I have managed to crank out some general purpose bread for daily consumption. Some weeks the oven has grown cobwebs. But that's how life goes. I've come to learn that the only thing that comes of planning is the need to change the plan. 

Now, on to today's recipe! This is inspired by Edsel. The dog who will eat anything but tolerates nearly nothing at all. How can something that will ingest cardboard, plastic, dirt, rocks and any manner of human food have such a sensitive tummy? We've had one scare with a partial bowel obstruction and I spend way more time than I ever imagined wondering what the poop consistency of the day will be. After a protracted period of progressively runnier poos than normal, I decided to cut out anything but his kibble and daily dental bone to see what might be the culprit. This meant no extra treats, which in Edsel's mind is just one step short of utter starvation. The excretory process improved leading me to suspect that purchased treats and snacks might be contributing. Many pups don't tolerate wheat products well so I decided to put some of my gluten free flours to use and get busy making canine cookies. 

 

I am happy to report that Edsel enthusiastically endorses these! But Edsel eats toilet paper. 

I made this recipe twice. Once using a gluten free all purpose flour blend and the other using brown rice flour only. The flour blend will give you a slight rise in the treats while the brown rice flour treats will be uniformly flat. Edsel doesn't seem to have a preference. 

Gluten Free Pumpkin Carrot Ginger Dog Cookies

Makes 24-36 Cookies (depends on size and shape)

Ingredients

2 1/2 Cups Brown Rice Flour

2 Tbsp Milled Flax Seed

1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger

3/4 Cup Pureed Pumpkin

1/2 Cup Grated Carrot

2 Large Eggs

Process

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper

Find 1 very patient and hungry puppy to assist you in the kitchen.

Are they done yet?

Assemble all your ingredients 

In a large mixing bowl, combine the brown rice flour, flax seed and ginger

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin and eggs

Stir in the grated carrots

Are they done now?

Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture

Mix until well combined and resembling sugar cookie dough consistency

Pat dough into a disc between two pieces of wax or parchment paper and using rolling pin roll to about 1/2 inch thick

What is taking so long?

Dust the counter top with rice flour, turn the dough out and roll to 1/4 inch 

Cut into desired shapes and place on parchment line baking sheets

Prick them with a fork and if desired, make an egg wash out of 1 egg beaten with 1 tsp of water and brush the cookies before baking. This just gives them a darker, shinier appearance. 

Bake for 20 minutes, take out and turn over. If using egg wash, brush this side and then bake another 20 minutes. 

I'll just keep an eye on these

Cool completely before serving to pooch

Geez this is ridiculous

Finished cookies from both recipes. Brown rice flour and egg wash on left, gluten free flour blend on right.

After three attempts to snap a pic of Edsel enjoying his treat before he inhaled it, I gave up. Here he is lounging about in the yard waiting for me to heave this plastic lid until he drops of exhaustion.

Hope you enjoy making treats for your pooch. This recipe should adapt easily to using some of your pups favorite ingredients such as applesauce, peanut butter, sweet potato. Just remember, not all foods are safe for our pets. We all have heard the warning about chocolate but many others are dangerous as well. Follow this link for a list of some of the most hazardous foods for dogs Hazardous Food List

Edsel is currently raising funds for our local no kill shelter, The Dubois County Humane Society. And vying for supermodel status as the featured pet on the 2015 calendar! All donations go directly to the shelter. Follow the link below to donate and/or vote. All donations are tax deductible!

 Edsel Photo Contest