'Pizza' for dogs

Found a new product at Adam's Fairacre Farms yesterday. For Kate, of course.

They are "Pup-Pies" for dog treats, made by the Lazy Dog Cookie Co.

I picked up Deep Dish Pizza, and after a little hesitation, Kate enjoyed it.


I cut it into pieces, but didn't give her the whole thing. It's about 4 inches across.

Something different from regular dog cookies.

Easy treats to make

I tried another recipe from the Three Dog Bakery Cookbook, and it couldn't be simpler.

Besides, I happened to have all the ingredients and didn't need to go to the store to pick anything up.

Called "Corn Dogs," the recipe as written makes 12 3-inch-long patties, but I decided to use my cookie scoop and ended up with a couple shy of four dozen bite-size treats.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine 2 cups cornmeal (white or yellow), 1/2 cup cooked rice, 3 tablespoons oil and 1 minced garlic clove.

Add 1-1/2 cups boiling water to the cornmeal mixture and stir well.

(The original recipe says to form the mixture into 3-inch patties with your hands. If you do that, they need to be baked for 30 minutes.)

Using a 12-teaspoon cookie scoop, place the treats on a lightly oiled rimmed cookie sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the treats sit inside for an additional 15 minutes.

Let them cool completely before serving, and store in the refrigerator in a sealed container.

(You can flatten them with your thumb or the back of a greased spoon, but you will need two large cookie sheets. I was lazy. I didn't flatten them.)

Kate enjoyed them, but don't give them to your dog in a carpeted area. They are pretty crumbly.

New meaning of the term 'obstruction'

This strange tale comes from Scotland via South Africa.

The Daily Dispatch in East London, South Africa, reports that a black Labrador retriever who had been "rattling" had actually eaten 13 golf balls.

Read the story here.

I don't know about the dog, but the owner's handicap is vet's bill.

Making amends — and muffins

It wasn't that I felt the least bit guilty leaving Kate at a local kennel while I was out of town last week.

I just felt — on my first day back and the only day I had to recuperate from my vacation — like baking dog treats. OK?

I picked up the "Three Dog Bakery Cookbook" (Andrews McMeel publisher) the other day. It's filled with all sorts of goodies for dogs, many of which sound good enough to eat if you are a human.

The cookbook was written by Dan Dye and Mark Beckloff, who run the treat empire and had a funny and informative show on the Food Network many years ago. (Note to Food Network: How about bringing the guys' show back? It was a far sight better than some of the so-called talent you have on the air now.)

For my apology, er, Sunday baking experiment, I chose Welcome Home Kennel Cakes, made with 4 cups oat bran, 2-1/2 cups white flour, 2-1/2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 egg, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1/2 cup honey, 1/2 cup natural peanut butter and 2-1/2 cups buttermilk.

You mix the dry ingredients, add the rest and stir.

According to the recipe, you fill a greased muffin tin two-thirds full and bake for 25 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

Again, according to the recipe, it makes 12 treats.

Twelve it is.

But, take a look at this picture.


There was so much more batter I filled a 9-inch pie tin and made a separate cake.

I think the recipe meant 24 regular-size muffins or 12 great big gigantic muffins or the ingredients should have been cut in half. And my muffins only took about 20 minutes to bake (when a skewer was inserted and came out clean). The cake took about 30 minutes.

In any event, Kate loved them. (She was a little apprehensive about tackling an entire muffin, so I broke it up for her.)



If you make these — and a warning to my friends who are going to be receiving samples — these are crumbly and messy.


Kate is sated and forgives me for putting her in the kennel, but she got back at me by making me clean the kitchen floor.

Recipe courtesy "Three Dog Bakery Cookbook" by Dan Dye and Mark Beckloff, Andrew McMeel Publishing.

Kate's eating healthy

I was given a book by Catskill, N.Y., residents Corbett Marshall and Jim Deskevich called Eco Dog, which I will be doing a story about soon for the Life section.

The premise is healthy living for your dog using recycled materials, safe cleaning products and organic foods. The publisher is Chronicle Books.

They have a couple of recipes in the book, and, of course, I chose the simplest one to try.

It's called "Quick Dog Treats," and the ingredients, in their entirety, are wheat germ and two small jars of baby food — organic, of course. Mix the ingredients. Roll into balls. Put on greased baking sheets. Flatten with the back of a fork. Pop into a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Give to your dog.

Never one to completely follow recipes, I did not use organic wheat germ. Didn't feel like paying an arm and a leg for it at a health food store, so I used the good old bottled wheat germ from the grocery store. And this time I didn't bother flattening with a fork; I used my fingers.

My treats don't look anything like the picture in the book. (Click on the picture to embiggen for a closer look.)


That didn't matter to Kate.



This is the second time I've made these. The first was with peas and brown rice organic baby food (OK, I panicked in the baby food aisle of Stop & Shop). Today I made it with sweet potato and turkey organic baby food.

Pick a party

Does your dog prefer elephants or donkeys?

I'm trying to avoid asking if your dog is a Republican or Democrat.

The people at Petlane.com have some politically oriented treats for your partisan pooch, made in the shape of the party mascots.

Nothing for cats -- we all know they don't vote.

Kate has a treat

Grape of wrath

After reading my blog-promoting column in today's Poughkeepsie Journal, a caller was concerned that I gave Kate a grape as a treat. She said that both grapes and raisins are toxic to dogs.

I assure her and all of you that Kate is, indeed, fine. She is sleeping and shedding; all's right with the world.

According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, there have been some reported cases of renal failure in dogs that ate large amounts of grapes. There is even one anecdotal report of a cat developing renal failure after eating 1 cup of organic raisins.

The manual says that some dogs can eat the fruit with no consequences, and there is no real understanding of why other dogs can be affected.

A dog Kate's size would have to eat over 2 pounds of grapes before she would possibly be harmed.

The brief mention of Kate and the grape was probably one of a handful of times I've tossed her a grape over the years. A treat is just that, a once in a while thing. And the last time I gave her one, she spit it out.

She really likes pieces of red bell pepper, or yellow or orange. Not green though. Sweet, crunchy and cold — what could be better?

What kinds of special treats do you give your special pet?