Minty Dog Treats

Dogs like treats.
Dogs like people.
Sometimes people do very nice things for each other, and dogs like to be included.
Today is one of those days.  On the campus of nearby Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, AKA the vet school, the American Cancer Society is holding its annual Bark for Life event from 5 to 7:30, to raise money and awareness.  I'm already pretty aware of cancer - way more than I wanted to be - and I definitely love dogs, so I baked these tasty cookies for the hardworking participants.


They've got mint for fresh breath, parsley for joint pain and garlic to support the immune system while making things unpleasant for fleas.  There's whole wheat flour and oats, with just a bit of oil, so they're not going to pack on the pounds or fill your pet up with processed who-knows-what.


Also, they're Gunnar-tested and approved.

Many thanks to the folks at http://www.all-natural-dog-treat.com for the recipe.  I typically use dried mint and parsley, in half the amount their recipe specifies.


Ingredients:
1 T veg. oil
1 C water
2-1/2 C whole wheat flour
1/2 C oatmeal
1 T dried spearmint
2 T parsley flakes
1/4 t minced garlic


Just mix it all up in your mixer or by hand. Turn the oven on 350.  Roll the dough out on a floured surface like you're making Christmas cookies, to the thickness your puppy likes (Gunnar prefers crispy but will not turn his nose up at thicker treats - just not too heavy or they don't dry nicely for storage).  Cut into desired doggy-related shapes and place on lightly sprayed pan to bake for 35 minutes or so.  I usually turn the oven off at this point and let them sit for an hour or more.  Again, the crispier they are, the longer you can store them, up to a month in a container on the shelf or longer in the freezer.  They smell strangely wonderful, too.

Today I doubled the above recipe and got a little over 6 dozen.

OK, I left a cat in the picture.  He was feeling left out.  Here are some more dogs.