Saturday, March 13, 2010

Reward Biscuits for Patches

I have started baking my dog homemade treats. I mentioned (the first time I baked treats for her) that I received "Baking for your Dog" for Christmas. It was a a gift from my sister-in-law, who knows I love to bake and each Christmas tries to find me something baking related as a gift. :) Thus, "Baking for your Dog".

I know I have also talked about Patches before, but for those of you who may have missed the first post...This is our girl, Patches. She is an Australian Cattle Dog, also called a Blue Heeler. She is the most intelligent dog I have ever owned. She is going to be 9 in September, and is the apple of her "daddy's" eye. This picture was taken during a trip to Virginia Beach last October.

We got Patches as a puppy, for my father-in-law. :) He had owned a Blue Heeler once, Bunny, and loved her. He often talked about getting another one some day. During the fall of 2001 we decided (the hubby and I) to get a Heeler puppy for Ray. We found a farm nearby that had Heelers and picked one out for Ray. Problem was, we had to pick her up about 6 weeks before Christmas. Each day, for those 6 weeks, the hubby and I would go out to the pen we had her in and play with her, feed her, spend some time with her. Even before Christmas day we told each other if for some reason Ray didn't want the puppy, we would keep her. She was the cutest thing when she was little!

Well, Christmas day rolled around before we knew it. I had purchased a large stocking full of dog toys and wrapped it up for Ray to open. When he did he looked puzzled and thanked me. I think he thought the toys were for his hunting dogs.The hubby and I asked him, and the rest of the family, to come outside to see the rest of his present. When everyone got outside, we brought Patches from the truck and carried her to Ray. He was stunned and couldn't believe we did that for him. He also said he couldn't take her. He said she was too attached to us after being with us for so long. We tried to tell him that she would get used to him as her owner, but he said "Yes, she will get used to me, but she will always be your dog". He asked us if we would keep her. And, of course, we were thrilled to. So, Ray's Christmas Present became Patches and the rest is history.

Now, back to the treats I baked.  I have baked three different things for her and she has liked them all. Bobby's Brownies, which I posted a while back. A peanut butter biscuit recipe that one of my blogging friends posted (I forget who, sorry), Apple and Carrot dumplings and this recipe, Reward Biscuits. Super easy to put together, as have all of the dog treats I have baked from this book.

  Reward Biscuits

100g (3 1/2 oz) whole wheat flour
100g (3 1/2 oz) coarse rolled oats
2 Tbls. oat bran
2 eggs
75g (2 1/2 oz) grated Parmesan cheese
75g (2 1/2 oz) finely diced ham
100 ml (3 fl. oz) water



Mix all the ingredients with the water to make a smooth dough. Cover and let the dough rest for about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F) . Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick and cut into 3cm x 5 cm (1 1/4 x 2 inch)  rectangles. Place these on the baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the biscuits harden in the oven for another 2 hours. Store in a paper or linen bag. The biscuits will keep for about 4 weeks. 

And, that's it. Super easy. Patches loves them. And, I feel better knowing exactly what she is getting. Not to mention the money we are saving by not buying store bought biscuits.



8 comments:

  1. I love the story of how Patches became your dog! She's a beautiful girl, and I bet she loves these treats. I might need to make some for my dog soon.

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  2. What a nice story. It would have been so hard to give her up after 6 weeks! I like baking for our dog because I get to bake and I don't get any of the calories, plus it's fun to watch her enjoy the homemade treats. My in-laws have a dehydrator and they make dehydrated sweet potato slices for our dog. She loves them!

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  3. I think I am sad along with being happy for you and your hubby. What a story but he said no to the puppy? I know, I am being mushy because our Golden Retriever is not feeling good at the moment and I thought we were going to lose him so - I have been a pile of tears lately. I LOVE how you now bake Patch's biscuits. Patches is loved and spoiled, the perfect life for any pet =o)

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  4. Wonderful post Susan! Patches is such a beautiful dog and very lucky to be receiving homemade treats :)

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  5. Great post! What a lucky dog! I had to cover the computer while I was reading the post so Copper (our dog) wouldn't see it and wonder where his doggie treats are. :)

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  6. What a nice posting. sniff... sniff

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  7. Wonderful story of how Patches became your girl. We have Lola and she would love some of theses special treats.
    Mimi

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  8. Patches is too cute and one lucky dog to get homemade treats! I baked for my dog too and he always knew when I was making his treats. He would pace around the kitchen. I had to sneak one treat out of the oven early so it could cool because as soon as the timer dinged he was right there with the drool flowing, wiggling with anticipation of a treat and just couldn't understand the concept of cooling time.

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Please feel free to comment. I love hearing from others.