Recipes for your active dog

0
2560
recipes for active dogs

Does your active dog need a little boost? Make these quick and easy canine treats for your pooch after a long walk, or offer them as snacks at a sporting even to preserve his stamina!

Janice Gunn’s obedience partner is a six-year-old golden retriever named Billie. Together, they have choreographed their way to perfect 200 scores in both Canada and the United States. Last December, they were among the contenders at the American Kennel Club National Obedience Invitational (NOI), a prestigious event that is to the obedience world what the Oscars are to the movie industry. It plays host to the most well behaved, highly trained dogs in North America, each vying for top spot.

The NOI is the “Ironman” of competition obedience, so to keep Billie and herself on their toes, Janice knew they needed something extra special to eat during the weekend; after all, what goes inside plays a significant role in what happens outside.

“Billie’s Bars” are nutritious treats packed with energy-enhancing ingredients, ideal for active dogs. Along with bursts of local unpasteurized honey and plenty of water with added nutrients, these bars kept Billie’s energy level high throughout the competition.

Whether your active dog plays hard at home or participates at the highest levels of competition like Janice and Billie, adding nutritious nuts and oils to his diet along with a medley of brightly colored fruits, vegetables and grasses will give him the extra leverage to be the best he can be. Make these “energy bars” to give your active dog after a long walk or romp, or to keep up his stamina and enthusiasm at a canine sporting event.

Billie’s bars

Ingredients

4 cups large flake oats
2 cups oatmeal (you can also use coconut flour or fruit fiber flour)
1 tablespoon carob powder
1/4 cup cold pressed sunflower oil or other cold pressed oil of your choice
2 tablespoons unsulphured blackstrap molasses
4 tablespoons unpasteurized local honey (you can also replace 2 tablespoons of honey with apple butter, almond butter, or hemp seed nut butter)
1 teaspoon Manuka healing honey
4 free range whole eggs
1 cup sun dried unsulphured cranberries or
1½ cups fresh chopped cranberries, or other dried unsulphured fruits of your choice
1 cup boiling filtered water

Turkey to go

Ingredients

4 cups whole brown rice flakes
1 cup whole brown rice flour
1 cup whole white rice flour (gluten free)
1 teaspoon sea salt (optional)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon freshly dried parsley
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 free range whole egg
1/4 cup cold pressed olive oil
4 cups turkey (cooked measurement; you can also try other protein sources such as fish, or a medley of fruit and vegetables)
1½ cups fresh/frozen cranberries or 1 cup sun dried unsulphured cranberries (you can also use blueberries or a combination of berries)
3 cups boiling water Hemp hearts

Use organic ingredients wherever possible!

Instructions for both

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly oil or line a 9”x12” baking dish with parchment paper. Combine all ingredients (except hemp hearts for “Turkey to go”) in a large mixing bowl, except the boiling water. Add the boiling water a little at a time, and continue to blend ingredients until all the water has been absorbed.

Spoon mixture into baking dish and press down with the back of a wooden spoon until the surface is even. This will make scoring easier after baking.

For “Turkey to go”, sprinkle hemp hearts overtop before putting into the oven. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and score into bars with sharp knife. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container or Ziploc bag.

“Turkey to go” bars should be refrigerated or frozen. If you are going to an event, remove a bag of bars from the freezer and they will be perfect for your dog to eat by the time you reach your destination. “Turkey to go” may also appeal to your feline friends. Parsley can be exchanged with catnip, or you can use a combination of parsley and catnip.

Green power

Wheat grass juice is a concentration of essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and chlorophyll. One ounce of wheat grass is the equivalent of more than two pounds of leafy green vegetables! For an extra “power play” for your companions, place one teaspoon of wheat grass juice in each section of an ice cube tray, add broth or juice to fill the cubes, then freeze.

Use the same ingredients as in “Turkey to go” but instead of a baking dish, spread the mixture evenly on two cookie sheets covered with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated 350ºF oven for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and score into bars. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container or Ziploc bag and placing in the refrigerator or freezer.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Audi Donamor has been successfully creating special needs diets for companion animals for two decades. She founded the University of Guelph’s Smiling Blue Skies® Cancer Fund and Smiling Blue Skies® Fund for Innovative Research. She is the proud recipient of a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and was honored with the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, for her work in cancer, from the University of Guelph/Ontario Veterinary College. The Smiling Blue Skies Cancer Fund is also the recipient of the “Pets + Us” Community Outreach Champion Award.