Fun

6 DIYs To Perfectly Pamper Your Pooch

Written by: Dr. Katy Nelson

January 25, 2015

Note: Always check with your vet before introducing new pawducts to your pup. If your dog shows any signs of discomfort or illness, consult a vet immediately.

Sweet potatoes and oats and peanut butter, oh my! Did you know with just a few simple ingredients you have in your pantry, you could create healthy delicious treats and shampoos for your own snuggle muffin? Because after all, they deserve the best!

1. Grain Free Treats

Image via Primally Inspired
Image via Primally Inspired

Ingredients:

½ cup chicken or beef broth
½ cup fat or oil of choice (bacon fat, coconut oil, olive oil, etc.)
1⅓ cup tapioca flour
⅓ cup coconut flour
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons brewers or nutritional yeast (I use THIS)
2 tablespoons flaxseed meal (sometimes called ground flax or milled flax)

Instructions:

– Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
– In a small pot over medium heat, bring the chicken broth and fat/oil to a boil.
– While that is coming to a boil, mix tapioca flour, coconut flour, sea salt, brewers yeast and flax meal in a medium bowl.
– Once the broth/fat mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat and add to the flour bowl. Mix well.
– On a piece of parchment paper, press out the dough into a ¼-inch thick rectangle. Either cut into squares with a pizza cutter or use cookie cutters for desired shape.
– Bake for 15 minutes on a parchment lined cookie sheet. When the timer goes off, shut off the oven, crack the door and leave in the oven until cool (about 10-15 more minutes).

2. Carrot & Banana Treats

Image via 17 Apart
Image via 17 Apart

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup corn meal
1 bunch fresh carrots, finely chopped or grated
2-3 fresh bananas, peeled and mashed
1 beaten egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar (*optional, we went without)
1/2 cup cold water

Instructions:

– Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease cookie sheets.
– Combine dry ingredients (flour, cornmeal & *brown sugar) in large mixing bowl, then incorporate carrots, bananas, egg, oil, and water until well blended into workable dough.
– Flour your workspace and roll out dough to desired thickness. These treats used about 1/2 inch thickness to allow for some expansion once baked. Cut cookies to desired shape and size.
– Place dog cookies on baking sheet and bake 35 minutes.
– After baking, turn oven off and leave cookies inside for another 30-45 minutes until crisp. This step is important to make sure your treats harden up, otherwise they will remain like soft cookies.
– Once crisp, remove dog cookies from oven and let cool. Transfer to zipper bags or airtight containers and freeze to preserve freshness for your little one!

Note: Both the carrots and bananas were chopped into large pieces, then slowly pulsed in the food processor. This not only saves time, but creates semi-regular sized carrot chunks and smooth banana mash to blend right into the rest of the base ingredients. The pulsed carrot pieces can be left fairly chunky instead of pureeing them, so that you can see the actual carrot pieces throughout each treat.

3. Oatmeal Banana & Peanut Butter Treats

Image via Miss Molly Says</a
Image via Miss Molly Says

Ingredients:

1 egg
1/3 cup peanut butter (chunky or creamy)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup mashed banana

Instructions:

– Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
– Combine all ingredients in your mixing bowl. The order doesn’t really matter.
– Knead dough until ball forms. Add a little more flour if the dough is sticky.
– Flatten dough on counter or cutting board, either with your hands or a rolling pin. If the dough is sticky, add a little more flour.
– Use some adorable doggie cookie cutters to cut them.
– Prepare cookie sheet by spritzing olive oil on it, or use parchment paper.
– Bake at 300 degrees F for about 20 minutes.

Note: This recipe will make a few dozen cookies. All ingredients are safe for human consumption. Because of the egg, I would not recommend feeding this dough to your pup while it’s raw.

4. Chicken Jerky Treats

Image via Your Dog Has Diabetes
Image via Your Dog Has Diabetes

Ingredients:

About 3 lbs of raw boneless and skinless chicken breasts (yields 1 lb of dry chicken jerky).

Instructions:

– Slice the raw chicken meat to about 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch thick.
– Lightly spray a cookie sheet or two with cooking spray. Lay chicken slices out on cookie sheet without chicken slices touching each other. Bake for 4 to 6 hours at 250 degrees F. Turn once or twice while baking. Bake until chicken slices are dry and to the point that they do not have any flex to them.
– Freeze in a bag (up to 6 months) or store in fridge for up to 10 days at a time. How long they take to dry to the no flex stage depends on the moisture content, oven, thickness of the chicken and so on. Final dry weight will be about 1/3 of what your raw skinless/boneless chicken breast weight was.
– You can make these in a food dehydrator and dry them for about 24 to 48 hours in the dehydrator. Dehydrators cost about $30 and up. You don’t need a fancy one, but try to get a 5 level one. 1 chicken breast will take up to 1 level.

Note: Chicken Jerky Treats should always be limited in any dog’s diet. They are high in protein and some dogs do not do well on high protein diets. Make sure to do your research, and do not use these as your dog’s main source of food.

5. Homemade Oatmeal Dog Shampoo

Image via Doggie Buddy
Image via Doggie Buddy

Ingredients:

1 Cup of Oatmeal
1 Cup of Baking Soda
4 Cups of Warm Water
1 Teaspoon of Dishwashing Liquid
Empty Starbucks Frappuccino bottle (Optional)
Avery Oval Labels, 22814 (Optional)

Instructions:

– The first thing you’re going to want to do is grind up the oatmeal. For oatmeal baths to work, your oatmeal has to have the consistency of flour. A Cuisinart Wand Blender was used to blend the oatmeal into a powder when we did it.
– Grab an empty 2-liter or so bottle, and after rinsing, pour all of the ingredients into the bottle. Mixing is a cinch: replace the cap on the bottle and shake! This is also great for storing the remaining shampoo after bath-time. Just replace the cap, and store in a cool, dark place (just don’t forget to shake thoroughly before using it again!).

6. Homemade Dog Shampoo

Image via Naomi
Image via Naomi

Ingredients:

Add in this order:
1 cup water
3 tablespoons Dr. Bronner’s Liquid Castile Unscented Baby Soap
1-2 tablespoons organic unpasteurized apple cider vinegar (not white vinegar)

Instructions:

– Get an empty shampoo or detergent bottle. Rinse and clean it well.
– Replace top and shake to mix.
– Wet your dog’s fur. Apply generously and sud your dog up well, up to the ears. Avoid using this on your dog’s head near the eyes.
– For a large or super-furry dog, just double or triple the amount. Make sure you make enough to thoroughly saturate your dog’s coat. When in doubt, make extra.
– Leave on for 5-10 minutes or so, and then rinse well.

Note: Make sure to check with your vet to ok any soaps and shampoos that aren’t specifically made for pups before you apply!

Featured Image via news.com.au

 

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Written by: Dr. Katy Nelson

January 25, 2015

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