I don’t think many of us dog parents could’ve made it through 2020 without the companionship of our fur babies. Even as I hollered in frustration (and often in disgust) at my television over the mind-boggling stupidity of the current administration, Violet has been calmly and steadfastly at my side, perched over my shoulder on her favorite spot, nestled in between the back cushions of the sofa, one paw casually draped across the top. To her nothing of real importance exists beyond the comforts of our home, so she looks at me slightly perplexed as if she can’t understand why I’ve got my knickers in a twist. It probably helps that she’s deaf so she can’t actually hear the angry pitch in my voice. If Violet could, she’d shrug her shoulders and tell me to just chill. I imagine when we run into our canine neighbors on our daily walks, Violet and her friends exchange stories, in between the obligatory butt sniffs, about their stir-crazy humans, all of whom would be in worse mental states were it not for our dogs.

For this reason, I carved out some time in the midst of holiday baking for the humans to create some yummy, healthy dog treats to thank our canine family and friends. While some, like Violet’s cousin Rex, will eat just about anything, others like Chips and Ranger (both of whom have sadly moved out of state) require special consideration of their dietary needs. This meant I had to come up with a very low protein recipe to accommodate Ranger’s protein allergy and a fairly low protein, low fat, gluten-free recipe for Chips, who’s battling kidney disease.

Coming up with flavor combinations to please everyone is no easy task. To avoid over-complicating things, I came up with one base recipe I could adapt for Ranger’s and Chips’s dietary restrictions. The “eats everything” group got to have peanut butter, chicken jerky, sharp cheddar, and bacon. According to his mom Krislyn, Chips could have a small amount of tiny bacon bits so long as the bacon was well-crisped, meaning most of the fat rendered out. To give Ranger a bit more umami without the protein, I added a little nutritional yeast instead.

The base dough for the dog treats is a mixture of whole wheat flour, pulverized rolled oats (aka oat flour), egg, a small amount of good fat (e.g. peanut butter or coconut oil), and a vegetable or fruit puree. It comes together quite quickly in a food processor and takes about 30-35 mins. to bake at 350F degrees. Even Violet, who normally turns her nose up at anything not made of at least 90% animal protein (though strangely enough she’ll eat well-seasoned tofu, go figure), deigned to sample the freshly baked Chicken & Cheddar and Peanut Butter Pumpkin Bacon Dog Treats. Her friend Rocky was an enthusiastic fan of both, leaping onto a table to snag the entire bag.

And her cousin Rex…well, he was simply happy for any treats, home-baked or otherwise.

Chips loved his Apple Sweet Potato Bacon Dog Treats so much his mom has placed a standing order to be sent monthly. According to his mom Rosie, after finally receiving their holiday treats package following a two-week delay (Priority Mail not so priority), Ranger gave his low protein version the paws up.

Who knows, maybe I’ll offer dog treats at the next bake sale.

If you want to make the treats gluten-free, simply replace the whole wheat with all ground oats.

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Bacon Dog Treats

Yields: about 4 dozen large bones

• 1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 c. rolled oats, ground fine
• 1/2 c. natural peanut butter
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 c. pumpkin puree
• 1/3 c. finely chopped crisp bacon
• water as needed

1. Place oats in food processor and pulse to ground fine. Add the flour and pulse to combine.
2. Whisk together egg and pumpkin puree, then add to dry ingredient along with peanut butter. Pulse at 5 sec. intervals until dough begins to come together.
3. Add the bacon bits and continue pulsing to form dough mass. Tickle in water as needed to bring dough together. If the dough seems a little too sticky, sprinkle in a little more flour or oats.
4. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface (use rice flour if making gluten-free) to 1/4″ thickness and cut out with dog bone cutter.
5. Set the cut out pieces on parchment-lined sheet pans. Using the narrow tip of a chopstick or skewer, poke 3 holes across the center of each bone.
6. Bake in a preheated 350F degree oven for 30-35 mins. or until dry and set.

I was inspired to make this after having received a small sample bag of organic chicken jerky dog treats along with the fish jerky I ordered for Violet. She wasn’t in the least bit interested in the mild flavored chicken jerky, preferring the more pungent fish. Not wanting the waste it I cut the chicken jerky up into tiny bits and rehydrated them in some warm water. You can always substitute bone-dry cooked chicken in place for the jerky.

Chicken & Cheddar Dog Treats

Yield: about 4 dozen large bones

• 1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 c. rolled oats, ground fine
• 1 large egg
• 6 T. coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/3 c. finely chopped chicken jerky (dog treat), rehydrated
• 1/4 -1/3 c. low sodium chicken broth

1. Place oats in food processor and pulse to ground fine. Add the flour and pulse to combine.
2. Whisk together egg and 1/4 c. chicken broth, then add to dry ingredient along with coconut oil and cheese. Pulse at 5 sec. intervals until dough begins to come together.
3. Add the chicken bits and continue pulsing to form dough mass. Tickle in more chicken broth as needed to bring dough together. If the dough seems a little too sticky, sprinkle in a little more flour or oats.
4. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface (use rice flour if making gluten-free) to 1/4″ thickness and cut out with dog bone cutter.
5. Set the cut out pieces on parchment-lined sheet pans. Using the narrow tip of a chopstick or skewer, poke 3 holes across the center of each bone.
6. Bake in a preheated 350F degree oven for 30-35 mins. or until dry and set.

Chips’s Apple Sweet Potato Bacon Dog Treats (low fat)

Yield: about 4 dozen large bones

• 3 c. rolled oats, ground fine
• 2/3 c. small diced sweet potato, cooked until just tender
• 1 large apple (granny smith, pink lady, fuji, etc), peeled & diced
• 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t. ground ginger
• 1 1/2 T. coconut oil
• 1/3 c. finely chopped crisp bacon
• water as needed

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1. Place oats in food processor and pulse to ground fine.
2. Combine the apples, cinnamon, ginger and about 1/2 c. water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer until apples are very soft. *If apple is very tart, add 1 T. agave syrup or honey. Remove from heat and mash in coconut oil. Let the mixture cool to slightly warm.
3. To quick cook diced sweet potato, place it in a microwave safe bowl with about 2 T. water. Cover and heat on high for about 4 mins. until tender. Cool to slightly warm.
4. Add the mashed apples and sweet potato to oat flour. Pulse at 5 sec. intervals until dough begins to come together.
5. Add the bacon bits and continue pulsing to form dough mass. Tickle in more water as needed to bring dough together. If the dough seems a little too sticky, sprinkle in a little oats.
6. Roll the dough out on a surface lightly dusted with rice flour to 1/4″ thickness and cut out with dog bone cutter.
7. Set the cut out pieces on parchment-lined sheet pans. Using the narrow tip of a chopstick or skewer, poke 3 holes across the center of each bone.
8. Bake in a preheated 350F degree oven for 30-35 mins. or until dry and set.

Ranger’s Low Protein Apple Sweet Potato Dog Treats

Yield: 4 dozen large bones

• 3 c. rolled oats, ground fine
• 3/4 c. small diced sweet potato, cooked until just tender
• 1 large apple (granny smith, pink lady, fuji, etc), peeled & diced
• 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t. ground ginger
• 3 T. coconut oil
• 2 t. nutritional yeast
• water as needed

1. Place oats in food processor and pulse to ground fine.
2. Combine the apples, cinnamon, ginger and about 1/2 c. water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer until apples are very soft. *If apple is very tart, add 1 T. agave syrup or honey. Remove from heat and mash in coconut oil. Let the mixture cool to slightly warm.
3. To quick cook diced sweet potato, place it in a microwave safe bowl with about 2 T. water. Cover and heat on high for about 4 mins. until tender. Cool to slightly warm.
4. Add the mashed apples and sweet potato to oat flour. Pulse at 5 sec. intervals until dough begins to come together.
5. Add the nutritional yeast and continue pulsing to form dough mass. Tickle in more water as needed to bring dough together. If the dough seems a little too sticky, sprinkle in a little oats.
6. Roll the dough out on a surface lightly dusted with rice flour to 1/4″ thickness and cut out with dog bone cutter.
7. Set the cut out pieces on parchment-lined sheet pans. Using the narrow tip of a chopstick or skewer, poke 3 holes across the center of each bone.
8. Bake in a preheated 350F degree oven for 30-35 mins. or until dry and set.