Bake-a-Bone at Home

Asking your dog to do without snacks or treats is much like asking a teenager to do without potato chips and Skittles. For most dogs it’s a long time between breakfast and dinner and oftentimes a small treat is enough to make the wait easier. Many of us use treats to reward our dog for good behavior, or on occasion as a way of saying, “Hey, you're my buddy and here’s something special.” Like us, dogs have favorites, certain flavors they’ll go for before others and those they will walk away from. My dog, Farina is nuts about peanut butter, jumping for it every time but in most situations turning up her nose at cheese flavored treats. On the other hand, cheese sprinkled on her food is a special bonus. Chicken jerky is great but turkey jerky takes some convincing.

Last week my sister’s two dogs gave Farina a present, the attached card saying, ‘Bon Appétit! — Gizmo and Doodle.’ It was a Bake-a-Bone dog treat maker, a small waffle-iron type machine with bone-shaped cutouts for baking dog “batter” into treats. It came with a recipe book of over thirty recipes, all of them simple and easy to make. I’ve only had time to use it twice, each time making a different flavor treat. Among the recipes in the booklet are many that look pretty good dog-wise, but there are also a few that I find it hard to imagine a dog eating. No testing necessary to know that my Farina would run to another room to get away from “breath mint bones” with fresh mint and parsley. She’ll eat Brussel sprouts and soy beans but wants nothing to do with mouthwash biscuits.

The first time I made peanut butter bones they turned out pretty good, if a little short of peanut butter. Next time I plan to increase the amount suggested in the list of ingredients, but with this first batch I made them more attractive by inserting a dollop of peanut in the center and adding a thin frosting of the same on top. They seem a little chewy, but Farina chomps them up. Here’s the recipe…

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of whole wheat or regular flour

¾ cup of milk (low fat is a good choice)

½ tablespoon of baking powder

½ cup peanut butter (use more for richer flavor)

BAKING:

Add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix until blended well. With a small rubber or silicone spatula, spoon the mix into each of the lower bone molds. Close the unit and bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool on a rack for about 15 minutes. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate.

For my second attempt I decided on Chick’n Bones and this time, halfway through the cooking process Farina wandered into the kitchen with her nose twitching. She likes peanut butter, but chicken makes her drool.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of whole wheat or regular flour

½  cup of low fat reduced sodium chicken broth

¼ cup of low fat milk

¾ cup of shredded cooked chicken

½  tablespoon of softened butter

BAKING:

The process is the same as that of the peanut butter bones above. 

The Bake-a-Bone is made by Emson of New York and their website is:  https://www.bakeabone.com