If you want to make your dog very happy, bake up a batch of these "puppy treats". They are super easy to make and bake up hard and crunchy(they will "keep" forever, much like a commercial milk bone, but tastier).
Since Chloe isn't a BIG dog, I bake little treats, just the right size for her; if you have a big dog, you can cut them bigger.
Another reason WE love giving our dog these treats is that they don't cause the "gas" that many commercial treats cause.
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (white flour will work too)
1/3 cup bacon grease (see note below)1 egg
1/2 to 3/4 cup milk (see update note)
1 teaspoon garlic powder (not salt) (see note)
1 teaspoon onion powder (not salt)
3 heaping teaspoons beef bullion granules
Mix everything ( using the ½ cup of milk) into a STIFF dough (stand mixer works best). Beat until it comes together in a smooth ball. All flour is different, so if the dough seems dry and won‘t hold together in a smooth ball, just start adding the other ¼ cup of milk (one tablespoon at a time) until it holds together in a nice moist (but not sticky) ball (the dough texture should feel like freshly kneaded Play Doh).
Roll the dough into ropes about ½” in diameter. Cut the ropes into small pieces and put on an UNgreased cookie sheet (try to spread the pieces out; it's ok if they get sort of close to each other, but just make sure they are in a single layer.
NOTE: This recipe calls for 1/3 cup of bacon fat, sounds like a lot, but the recipe makes a LOT of treats. If you don't have bacon fat, peanut butter works well too.
UPDATE: People have written to me saying that garlic is poisonous to dogs. We've fed this recipe to our dog for almost 10 years and she's never had a problem. If you are worried about feeding garlic to your dog, just substitute another spice for the garlic or leave it out all together.
