A Little Extra Love

Do you like to cook for your dog? Do you anyone who cooks for their dog? It could be a complete meal, just a little extra meat with their kibble, or maybe just a dog treat.  While cooking for your dog is usually a more nutritional option, not everyone has time or budget to cook for their dog, no matter how much they want to.  And the more dogs you have (or the larger they are) the more food they require, which doesn’t help the situation.  Even though you may not have the time to cook an extra meal, or the budget to buy twice as much meat, doesn’t mean you can’t show a little extra love once in a while.  And by that I mean baking, cooking, or simply freezing a couple of everyday ingredients to create a treat your dog will love.   It will also give you peace of mind knowing all the ingredients that went into the treat (and being able to pronounce their names).

Here are a couple of quick and yummy summer treats that won’t blow your budget (and can be eaten by you too).

Stacy Munoz of Riverside shares a favorite fruity frozen treat that she gives her 4 year-old Boxer, Chewie:

Ø  Mix 1 Quart fruit juice, 1 mashed banana, and ½ cup of plain yogurt thoroughly.  Pour the mix into a popsicle try and freeze overnight.

Karen Suttter of Riverside puts a spin on frozen dinner by freezing pieces of meat in broth.  This helps keep her two yellow Labs cool in the hot afternoon:

Ø  Dissolve 1 cube of chicken or beef bouillon in 1 cup of water.  Take 4 small pieces of chicken or beef and cut them into smaller pieces (about ½ inch squares).  Put the meat pieces in the dissolved bouillon mix and place the whole bowl in the freezer overnight.  The next day you will have a meat-tasting ice block that will occupy your dog for hours.

Barbara Walker of Redlands loves this simple and tasty treat that she makes for her two miniature Schnauzers, Buster and Baby:

Ø  Zap 1 cup of peanut butter in the microwave (in a microwave safe dish) until it melts.  Mix a 32 ounce container of vanilla yogurt to the melted peanut butter.  Pour the mixture into cupcake papers (full-size for larger dogs and miniature papers for smaller dogs) and place them in the freezer overnight.