So I’ve got the day off due to the holiday coinciding with my regular scheduled off and its miserable out there. We were out for our morning perimeter search and daily doo doo pick up and the pups couldn’t get in fast enough. It’s been an active weekend and they’re nice and mellow. When I went out to frshen up the frozen water dish, they’re usually trailing close behind me but these are the looks I got when I opened the door to go out.

Vince hopped on the couch, which he never does.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv210/wolfpup2227/MakinTreats001.jpg

And Echo was like, if I put my paw here, maybe you can’t see me.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv210/wolfpup2227/MakinTreats004.jpg

So we’re making treats today. Had some leftover veggies from last night and decided to try to make some biscuits/treats out of them.

Here’s what I’ve got in it so far:

2 lbs of ground deer
2 cups of a broccoli/cauliflower mix
1 cup of rice
4 eggs (baked and ground shells – I put in half)
3 Tbsps of chopped ginger
And I want to put in some flax seed.

So as I’m working away, I’m thinking all these ingredients seem fine but maybe I should ask the experts. This is a completely original recipe, inspired by what’s in my fridge. And I haven’t got a clue how much of this flax seed I should put in there. Does anybody have any ideas? Anything else I should add to make sure they're nutritionally balanced?

This is the flax seed and the biscuit mixture so far.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv210/wolfpup2227/MakinTreats020.jpg


I just finished some fresh liver treats too. They look burnt but it’s just the dark rich organ meat. I usually put a light dusting of garlic powder and cayenne on but due to the garlic controversy and the fact they love dill weed, I’ve been using a bit of that and the cayenne. They go crazy for them either way.

http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv210/wolfpup2227/MakinTreats021.jpg

I flipped a few over and you can see how rare they actually are.

http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv210/wolfpup2227/MakinTreats022.jpg

Cut up treats, makes a bunch. These are actually still a bit big but good while they’re being stored in the fridge. I break them down as I’m using them.

http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv210/wolfpup2227/MakinTreats023.jpg

Oh and the hot chocolate is for me. I’m a chocolate weenie, I love my Cadbury.

2 lbs of ground deer
2 cups of a broccoli/cauliflower mix
1 cup of rice
4 eggs (baked and ground shells – I put in half)
3 Tbsps of chopped ginger
And I want to put in some flax seed.

Sounds fine to me. It holds together?

Don't have any nutritional advice, but turn on the exhaust fan! Imagining the smell of liver and dill---blech!

I hope those boys of yours appreciate that you still give them your day off even though it's indoors.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

Sounds fine to me. It holds together?

LOL, I have no idea, I'll let you know And thanks Connie, that means a lot. I'll continue.

I was going to spread it out thinly on a baking sheet and bake it for a few minutes?? The idea being able to cut them up into treats. Any idea how much of the flax seed I should use? A couple of tablespoons maybe?

Well, now that you ask, I'd probably skip it unless you know your dogs are not allergic to flax. A few dogs are allergic to it, and ALA isn't really all that beneficial to dogs. People can convert it (inefficiently, a small percent) to long-chain 3s, but not dogs.

Nothing wrong with it, and it's a source of EFAs, but I'd skip it in a big recipe like this for dogs who have not had it and proved tolerant.

It and canola are usually the source of the blatant "contains Omega 3s!!" emblazoned on kibble bags .... with no mention of the lack in dogs of that conversion mechanism.

 Quote: Meredith Hamilton

Don't have any nutritional advice, but turn on the exhaust fan! Imagining the smell of liver and dill---blech!

I hope those boys of yours appreciate that you still give them your day off even though it's indoors.

Yeah, not to pleasant to us humans but I’m sure it’s some kind of aromatherapy for the pups. They’re all snoozing peacefully. I’ve actually gotten to the point where tripe doesn’t even bother me that much and I started out gagging with that stuff. So this is pretty mild in comparison.

And you know, I can’t really think of anything I’d rather be doing than spending a nice quite day at home with my best buds. We’re having a lot of fun. I just don’t want to end up poisoning them with my experiment. But it sounds like we’re okay.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

I'd skip it in a big recipe like this for dogs who have not had it and proved tolerant.

Excellent Connie, that's the information I needed. I thought I had read somewhere it might actually be good for them but I'll totally take your word for it.

I've never given it to them before so I won't start now. Away with the flax on with a bit baking.

Thanks, you may have just saved them some belly aches or worse!!!

Actual allergies manifest in dogs more as skin-itchies.

And yeah, Omega 3 EFAs of even the short-chain variety are good, but on balance against the couple of dogs I've known who were allergic to flaxseeds (not the oil - the protein), I generally skip them unless, as I mentioned, you know they're OK.

There's nothing wrong with flax oil, either. It's good! Just not when used as a substitute for long-chain Es from marine sources for dogs.

Thanks Connie. Good information. Doesn’t really negate what I read but there are cautions associated with it. And yes, itchiness, of course. Which probably wouldn’t manifest itself right away but like you say, a batch this big would give it plenty of time work its allergicness – that’s gotta be a word.

So here’s the final stages of this experiment. Unbaked, ready to go in the oven

http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv210/wolfpup2227/MakinTreats027.jpg

Baked for 30 min. at 250

http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv210/wolfpup2227/MakinTreats028.jpg

And I’m such a bad cook; you’d think I could at least get the basics straight. I didn’t add any type of fat and we don’t have any added to our butchered meat. A little butter or olive oil would have gone a long way in easing the removal off the tin foil. Probably the toughest part of this whole process because of my ignorance. But they turned out pretty good anyway.

Finished Product

http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv210/wolfpup2227/MakinTreats029.jpg

http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv210/wolfpup2227/MakinTreats030.jpg

I think the eggs and rice did a pretty good job of holding it all together. Not bad for no wheat or flour anyway.

They are definitely a hit with the boys. They each gobbled one up after they got over the aromatic smell. If I was to do it again, I’d probably decrease the ginger substantially, it’s quite strong smelling, but they liked them nonetheless.

So we ended up with a nice little bed time snack for the next few days.

I typed a mention of the amount of ginger but then said eh, what the heck, and deleted it. I have a feeling they will like ginger root, and it's actually quite a beneficial little root, maybe improving both inflammation-based ailments like OA and maybe aiding digestion.

I like ginger a lot, but that amount did make me look twice.



eta
Always nice to invent a treat that isn't wheat-based (and is, in fact, free of gluten!). Even has calcium!