A Dog Biscuit Cookbook, a Rescue Pug and a Fundraiser

Last Christmas I received the cutest cookbook. It was full of creative recipes and I couldn’t wait to try a few out. The catch, however, was that this cookbook was not meant to benefit myself or my husband, or any human for that matter.

No, this cookbook was meant to benefit these two characters:

And when I say characters, boy do I mean it. Back in December we adopted pug #2.

This is how my husband affectionately refers to them, pug 1 and pug 2. Upon telling this to a friend, she told him that they likely refer to us as human 1 and human 2.

Fair enough.

Dixie, or Dixie Land, has fit in nicely at our house. She and Macy still have a few squabbles, but they have learned tolerance and perhaps even like each other a little. Dixie had been living with 5 other pugs so I really don’t think she understands what the big deal is with Macy. She has no problem sitting on top of her or squeezing in next to her.

Macy, on the other hand, is incredibly offended by these gestures. She likes to reminisce about the days when she had the house, couch and dog beds to herself.

We adopted Dixie from Kentuckiana Pug Rescue. She was surrendered by a breeder who went out of business, so up until a few months ago (with the exception of the time with her foster family) her purpose was having babies. She is now warming up to the idea that her purpose is for pug kisses, snuggling and a receiver of lots of love.

Although adorable, I will say she isn’t innocent. She gets into a bit of trouble eating from the open food bin, jumping into the dishwasher. Yes, that actually happened.

She is also a very proud carnivore. She barks during our dinner time when we have meat, but not when we are dining vegetarian. This is too amazing to me to make up. The dog knows her meat.

So back to this cookbook.

The Organic Dog Biscuit Cookbook from the Bubba Roses Biscuit Company is full of all kinds of fun food ideas for your buddy. There is everything from complete entrees to roll and cut out biscuit recipes. In fact, there are over 100 recipes in the book along with tips that point out beneficial ingredients for dogs as well as foods to avoid. A great gift for the cooking dog lover in your life and your pup will be especially grateful if you grab a copy for yourself.

There is a reason why I decided to feature this book right now. I’m in the middle of training for my second half marathon. I’ll be running the Flying Pig half in May and my husband will be running the marathon. Through my training and racing, I’m on a mission to raise funds for an organization close to my heart – Kentuckiana Pug Rescue, the organization through which we got our adorable Dixie last December. You can find a link to my campaign in my right sidebar.

I appreciate every dollar donated to help pugs in need, and even if you can’t give, spreading the word is the second best thing. My husband gets emails daily from KPR with the most heart wrenching stories, asking for foster homes or medical assistance. Dixie is such a sweetheart, I can’t imagine someone not loving and keeping her and I know there are so many pugs out there like her so I want to help as much as I can.

Now about the dog biscuits.

I tried out the Ohm My These Are Good biscuits to share with you. Now, I realize it might not mean much to say an animal liked a treat when said animal will eat just about anything that drops on the floor, but the girls were big fans of these cookies.

As soon as Macy realized I was photographing dog and not human treats, she sat below the table whining. She is a sit and stay-er, so she sat in agony while I snapped a few photos. Dixie on the other hand is still working on her sit and stay so she just looked at me wondering what in the world I had in my hand until I let her have it, then it was gone before I could blink.

Ohm My These Are Good Dog Biscuits
Reprinted with permission from Cider Mill Press

1 cup oat flour
1 cup brown rice flour
½ cup canned or fresh pureed pumpkin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1/3 cup water

These treats are high in fiber, low in fat, meat-free and low in protein.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all ingredients together and mix until a dough forms. Roll into small balls (about 1” in diameter) and place on an ungreased cookie sheet (they can be rather close together as they don’t spread while cooking.)

Bake 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

*I wanted to use the new cookie cutters I also got when I received the book so I added about ¾ cup whole wheat flour which allowed me to roll out the dough and cut the biscuits into shapes.