Good festive treats for doggies

Libby Cochrane

Responsible owners  don’t need reminding of the basics in caring for their most precious four-legged canine companions, but being human, generally means there is nothing we love better than  spoiling them with special treats.

Lots of what we think of being ‘ treats’ are in fact horribly bad and in some cases toxic.

Always best to remember that just because you like it, doesn’t mean you are doing your dog any favour.

Animals have very different rates of metabolism so don’t let adoring, begging looks tempt you into breaking off a piece of chocolate and sharing.  In fact for their own good don’t give them ‘human’ snacks like nuts, corn kernels and especially chips which may contain garlic and onion powder which  happens to be rated  near the top of the  “The Worst Foods’ list.

Of course Christmas is coming and as well as the religious significance, it is a time for family, fun and festive fare but  we humans tend to overdo the whole thing and then spend months ‘paying’ for our indulgences and extravagances.

Whether you are young or old, Christmas is special.  Most importantly it is a time to think of others, including our four-legged best friends.  Don’t forget, they are  family too.

I remember a long-ago Christmas morning when a much-loved family dog, managed to ‘sniff out’  what  he was after from near the bottom of the heap of presents  piled up, waiting to be unwrapped by his human  family.

His name was Max and while he is no longer with us, that Christmas morning will not be forgotten.

Knowing how partial Max was to sardines IN OIL, as a festive treat, his grandma had individually wrapped two tins and written on the little cards….’For Max from Grandma’  and placed them under the tree amongst all the other gifts waiting to be opened by the family.

It might be said that Max was never considered a candidate for any other role in life other than a devoted family pet, but that morning he proved he had missed his calling as a top sniffer dog!

If you remember the song….’Who let the dog out….wuff, wuff, wuff’’ then this was a case of ‘who let the dog in’ because someone (no one every admitted to being responsible) left the lounge door opened giving Max all the time in the world to follow his nose and find one of his grandma’s prettily wrapped gifts.

Unable to open the tin in the ‘human’ way, Max simply chomped it like any self- respecting dog would, lapping delightedly at the taste of the oozing oil as it spread  everywhere, including  the still to be unwrapped presents.

I don’t think I need to tell you anything more other than many of the gifts went straight into the washing machine!.

Closer to home, Christmas means making a batch of special liver bread doggie festive treats for my two dogs, Miss Molly and Master Bertie to give as gifts to their friends.

One year they spent Christmas in kennels at Harmony Hills.  It was also Miss Molly’s birthday. A double celebration you could say which warranted something special. So off they went with a big Tupperware box of these yummy  biscuits (in place of a birthday cake) to share with all the other ‘guests’ spending Christmas away from their human families.

This is easy to make, economical, nourishing, treat is an absolute winner with all dogs – small, medium or large. Cats also love them.

This is what you will need.

1kg of liquidised chicken livers

2 Large eggs

1 Cup mealie meal or rolled oats which I prefer to use.

2 Cups cake flour or whole wheat

20mls Cooking oil and two dessertspoons of baking powder.

Method:

Mix altogether in a large bowl until it ends up a bit thicker than a cake mixture.

Grease large flat baking tray and sprinkle with flour.

Using a flat blade knife (dip it in water if it gets sticky) and spread mixture evenly less  than ½ inch thick and bake on moderate/high in a pre-heated  oven  for about 30-40 minutes.  Watch carefully so it is slightly unbaked  – over-done will result in it being crumbly.

Cool and using a pizza cutter, cut into bite-size squares accordingly.   (Definitely smaller squares for small breeds and cats).

The bread freezes brilliantly.  So pack in small bags and freeze.   In this way, your four-legged best friends (cats too) will be tucking into treats long after the festive season.

A word of warning – the treats are in every way nourishing and delicious, but not a substitute for a meal.  Your doggies would love that, but remember, they quite rich, so my best advice is only a few at a time.

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