{RECIPE} Turmeric Latte Golden Milk Gummy Dog Treats

Both of our dogs have turmeric regularly, both in some of their homemade treats and sprinkled directly onto their food.  Sometimes this is sprinkle a coconut oil mixture (see this guest post for how to make Golden Powder doggy sprinkles) but often I just sprinkle a little powder straight-up onto their food.  We give a number of different healthy add-ins this way to keep things interesting with variety, but turmeric is a favourite of both dogs for smell/taste and us for its potential health benefits.  When Oli was heading into cataract surgery, I wasn't sure whether sprinkling quick-to-stain turmeric on his meals would be a good idea given we anticipated significantly impaired vision during healing. Oli is a very messy eater at the best of times (cleaning tips here) and I could imagine things getting rather nasty in a hurry: blind eating, stainy turmeric, white fur, tender face, Elizabethan collar...uh-oh... I decided to whip up a batch of extra potent turmeric gummies for his recovery. This an adaptation of our lightly seasoned and simpler turmeric gummy recipe, as shown in our Golden Gummy Stars, and I think it's a new gummy favourite! Full of healthy ingredients, doggone delicious scents/flavours, and low-mess goodness. Yay!

{RECIPE} Pumpkin (Puppy Pupkin) Spice Dog Treats

It is springtime here, but our social media is all a-flutter with our northern pals and their pumpkin spice EVERYTHING. We're big pumpkin fans in any season, and I have to say that these tasty treats smell downright divine.  In honour of our Canadian fur-friends who will be celebrating Thanksgiving next weekend and autumn-loving pups everywhere, here's how we made these all-natural dog-friendly pumpkin (puptastic pupkin!) spice leaf treats.

{RECIPE} "Lamburger" Meatball Dog Treats with Rosemary

Did somebody say lamb??? Cue the doggy drool! These bite-sized mini-meatballs are a snap to make and can easily be frozen to defrost for individual tasty treats at anytime. Yum!  Lamb is commonly available here in New Zealand, and my dogs are wild about it; however, you can easily substitute another lean ground meat to make these meatballs, if you (or your dog) prefer. 

{RECIPE} Naturally Golden Turmeric Star Dog Treats

Turmeric powder gives these sour cream and chicken treats a gorgeous all-natural golden colour (perfect for stars) and adds some doggone great smell/taste to the mix as well. My dogs love turmeric (cue the drool) which make me pretty happy too since it's full of healthy goodness - especially for our ageing senior.  

{RECIPE} Golden Milk Puppy Popsicle Frozen Dog Treats

It is more winter blankie than ice pop weather in our part of the world right now, but I've had this post pre-prepped and waiting to share with our summer friends for a cool treat idea.  These frozen treats combine the key elements of Golden Milk (without the human sweeteners) into a frosty ice pop.  By layering the treats, the milky top/bottom buffers the turmeric tinted center for easier (less messy) handling and feeding; however, it's super simple to adapt and combine all of the ingredients instead of a three-part layered process if you prefer.

{RECIPE} Easy DIY Leaf Dog Treats (Naturally Green!)

Since many of you are enjoying your late spring, here is a fresh and natural leafy green dog treat recipe to wrap up the month of May.  If (like us) you're in more of a fall feeling, you can simply swap the natural (or artifical) colouring add-ins to create gold, orange, brown, etc. It is the last week of autumn here, with winter and leaves are falling, days grow ever shorter, and nights are getting chilly (great for dog snuggles...), but since I already have a pretty maple leaf treat post prepped and waiting for our Canada 150th furfriends next month, I decided to go green for these treats.  Plus, our boys love their wheatgrass!

{RECIPE} "Jelly Tip" Carob and Yogurt Gummy Dog Treats

These doggone delicious treats were inspired by the classic kiwi Jelly Tip ice cream treats. For our furfriends overseas, Jelly Tips are an ice cream cream stick treat of vanilla ice cream topped with raspberry jelly (the jelly tip) and coated in chocolate, and have been made by local manufacturers Tip Top since 1951. It's a kiwi icon!  I've been wanting to share a carob gummy recipe with you for a while and simply couldn't get my brain past the combination of chocolate and rosy red jelly. And really...can you blame me? :) So let's dogify it!

Our Go-To DIY Dog Treat Recipes: Puppuccinos

Make it in May!  Today's easy homemade favourite started as an occasional indulgence on chilly weekend mornings - puppuccinos! Pavlov's Oli quickly developed a love for the sound of the coffee maker, and those puppy dog eyes are just so doggone hard to resist.  Whether it is a simple fluffy, a carob "hot dogolate", or something a tad fancier, whipping up a puppuccino-style treat has become a frequent part of our family coffee ritual. 

Our Go-To DIY Dog Treat Recipes: Healthy Gelatin Gummies

Make it in May!  Today's easy homemade favourite is one that our dogs consider to be a treat, but it's really kind of a health supplement too! Homemade gelatin gummies for dogs. Yum! A batch of gummies can be whipped up in just a few minutes and then popped into the refrigerator to set. Done! Although I often make gummies with add-ins or in shaped molds, neither are necessary for a tasty healthy treat.  Come and see how simple they are to make:

{RECIPE} Layered Pumpkin and Beef Dog Birthday Cake

Mmmm...cake!  It's not a real party until there's cake!  Our beautiful boy Oli turned 11 this week, and we (of course!) had to celebrate...and that meant there HAD to be a doggone delicious barkday cake!

DIY Iced Easter Eggs + Bunny Bone Dog Treats

Although I make a lot (a lot!) of treats, iced doggy treats are a special rarity around here. I prefer to bake and freeze treats for readily available variety and keep things pocket portable.  Sometime though, you just need to have a little fun! Special occasions are a perfect opportunity. Sugar-based human royal icing is not suitable for dogs and since hard-set dog treat icing is something many folks are keen to master, I thought I would share one of my icing experiments and a few tips here on the blog.

{RECIPE} Dog Cross Bun Easter Treats

Dog cross buns...dog cross buns...one ha'penny, two ha'penny, dog cross buns... In our local supermarkets and bakeries, hot cross buns seem to sneak onto the shelves ridiculously early, sometimes even replacing Christmas treats at the start of the year! In honour of the beloved bun, these Easter treats are made with a deliciously spiced dough and topped with a cross; however, instead of yeasty bread buns these are snappy biscuits without the doggy no-nos often found in human buns, like nutmeg, raisins, dried currants, and other unhealthy ingredients.

Since these treats are really all about the simple shape and embellishment, to make your own Dog Cross Buns, you can use any dog-friendly roll-and-cut treat dough; however, for an authentic spiced sweet bread inspired scent we recommend opting for a dough that includes cinnamon and/or blackstrap molasses. Some of our archive recipes that could work particularly nicely for dough include Molasses and Peanut Butter "Gingerbread" (used for the treats pictured in this post, but I mixed things up a little with a combo of rice and buckwheat flours), Autumn Apple Puppy Pies, or Blackstrap Banana Biscuits.  You can also tweak your favourite rollable treat dough by altering the wets to include some blackstrap and/or adding a sprinkle of cinnamon. Easy peasy!  Here is how we made our treats:

{RECIPE} St. Patrick's Day Hound's Holiday Hash Cookies

These cookies were inspired by Irish hash, although I somehow doubt my grandmother would approve of this particular recipe. :) These St. Patrick's Day dog treats combine potato, kale, egg, and beef into a naturally green dog-friendly baked cookie. Corned beef would be far too salty for our furry friends, but salt-free homemade dog beef jerky chunks in a colcannon-inspired dough? Doggone delicious. Lucky doggies indeed!

Pancake Day With the Dogs? Let's Share a Treat!

{RECIPE} Beetroot + Gelatin Red Gummy Heart Dog Treats

Naturally red thanks to the addition of delicious nutritious beetroot powder and full of gelatin goodness - yum! 

{RECIPE} Yogurt Gelatin Healthy Heart Gummy Dog Treats

These little hearts are so easy and our dogs LOVE them.  Made in two steps to protect the probiotic content of the yogurt, these gummies are quick and healthy treats that you can feel good about sharing with your dog...even literally if you'd like to sample! I'm not into eating gelatin myself, but it's great for humans as well as dogs. :)  When made with plain yogurt, these gummies are naturally a creamy white, but the mixture can also be tinted with either compatibly flavoured natural colourings or food colouring before pouring into your molds if you wish.

{RECIPE} Pink and White Puzzle Heart Valentine Dog Treats

These fun Valentine's Day dog treats were made using our new puzzle heart cookie cutter (a Christmas gift from Santa's "pet chef" stocking stuffers), aren't they cute?

DIY Christmas Dog Treats + Gifts for Aspiring Pet Chefs

It's almost time for our howliday blogging break, and today we're wrapping up our 2016 posts with a double posting dose of festive inspiration. First up we have a round-up of tasty Christmas treats from our archives and recent posts that you can make and share with your furfriends, a free holiday dog treat cookbook (yay!), and ideas for Christmas kitchen-themed presents for animal-loving bakers and/or budding pet chefs. We also have a follow-on post with Last Minute Christmas Gifts for the Dogs + Their Humans (don't miss our silly little Christmas GIF at the end of that post) then it's time to start our own blogging holidays!

{RECIPE} Golden Gummy Stars + Coconut Oil Snowmen

These golden gummy star treats are ridiculous easy to make, healthy, and our dogs are wild for them. What's not to love? We'll definitely be making these again!  This treat is a very simple twist on my basic chicken stock gummies, using turmeric to infuse the gummies with a lovely natural golden colour (and extra healthy goodness).  Flecks in the mixture naturally settle during setting to create golden topped stars on a jiggly translucent gold base. If you usually supplement with a turmeric and coconut oil combo, why not whip up an easy coconut oil treat to go with your gummies? All those lovely snowmen, snowflakes, and other festive wintry shapes are perfect for a bright white frozen coconut oil treat.  We gave our snowmen little carob top hats, just for fun and added flavour. :)

{RECIPE} Blackstrap Molasses and Coconut Carob Kisses

Warning: the delicious smell of molasses treats baking in the oven may have have you drooling right along with your dogs. :) The carob drops make these cookies into little dog-sized versions of human kiss cookies and the treat dough is nice a sturdy, making these great for sharing with holiday furfriends in gifts and doggie bags.