Pumpkin Pup Biscuits

Our baby girl aka Magpie aka our dog, recently had a violent stomach upset.  After a trip to the vet it was determined that she 'got into something' but that she would be fine after a gentle diet for a couple days and some rest.

We aren't the best at keeping her from table scraps, but we don't over feed her them and keep an eye on the things that dogs can't eat (onions).  But we thought we might want to cut back on that and also re-think the treats she gets at dinner time. 
We had been giving her a duck breast jerky-like snack and we had noticed that while she scarfed them down, she'd also hack and cough sometimes afterwards and liked to chase them with some grass from the back yard.

I went to my local pet store, Natural Pet Food Solutions (check them out if you live in the Sellwood, OR area.  Great people, great products) to look for an alternative.  What was suggested was a pumpkin biscuit/cookie treat.  Pumpkin has been treating dog belly aches for ages.  It's high in fiber, has a good amount of Vitamin E, Magnesium and Potassium and has even been used to treat overweight dogs when the need to drop a few pounds.  I picked up a box, but my frugal wallet was a little concerned with the price.  I thought, 'It's just pumpkin and flour, how hard can these be to make?'

Bellow is the version I came up with from many recipes on line.  Maggie loves them and they are filling so she seems to be satisfied with only a couple.  I'm not going to lie, I tried a bite of one.  While I would have enjoyed some sweetener, they weren't half bad!

What you need:

• 1 Cup organic canned pumpkin
• 1/4 Cup filtered water
• 1/2 Cup oats or flax meal (or half 1/4 Cup of both)
• 1 1/2 Cup whole wheat flour
• 1 Teaspoon baking soda

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees.  Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Mix the pumpkin and water in a small bowl or pitcher and then add to the dry ingredients.  Mix well with a spoon and then start kneading the dough until you can form it into a ball.

Break the dough into small ping pong sized balls and smoosh then until slightly flat.

 Place on a cookie sheet, evenly spaced and bake for 15-20
 minutes, or until golden colored.



This dough is moist.  These came out of the oven more a muffin than a cookie really.  I'd like to try on my next batch to roll the dough out on a well floured mat to about 1/4 inch and use some adorable dog bone shaped cookie cutters for a more cookie like effect.  I'll let you all know how they turn out.



Until then, enjoy the Pumpkin Pup Biscuits!