We love our family. Our work family, our extended family, our crazy family, and especially our four-pawed furry family. Everyone needs to eat. Eating should be enjoyable for the palate, and healthy for the body. So I’d like to dedicate this week’s article to enjoyable, healthy treats for the family who don’t have much variety in their food choices.

Some foods are bad for animals. Let’s do a quick review. Chocolate is probably the most well-known toxin. The darker the chocolate, the worse the toxins. Avocadoes. Did that surprise you? It did for me. Onions. This is so hard! Onions are in everything it seems! We season our meat with them, they make a great flavor addition to many meals. Mexican food is one of the worst culprits for these to hide in. As much as we try not to feed our furry friends from the table, if you’re like me, you slip up a lot. How can you say no to those eyes? Dogs and cats are carnivorous, so try not to overdo it with the breads. Fruits and veggies are usually a good bet for healthy bait when trying to get them to do tricks, but did you know grapes and raisins are poisonous to dogs? Try sticking with blueberries, bits of carrot, and other such foods. Meat is always good, but the more processed it is, the worse it is (that goes for furry family and human family).

Now we wonder, what can our four-pawed family eat? Good news, there’s all sorts of recipes for the pups and kitties out there to enjoy.

Not much can beat fresh meat (be sure to remove any bones from fish and fowl). Everything in moderation, of course. Calories add up a lot quicker for the smaller animals since they don’t need as many. If they’re like my dog, they’ll ask for food until their stomachs burst. Sweets should be held, and dairy given in small amounts. A good tip to remember is that snacks and treats should only be 10% of your furry friend’s dietary intake. This goes for both dogs and cats.

My dad’s favorite thing to do for our dog is to make them a “doggie milk-shake.” It consists of egg, and a little milk whisked together. (If you made French toast and have a little left over, give it to the pup!) The egg makes their coat nice and shiny.

There’s some oven recipes for homemade doggie bones. A good milk bone recipe to try is:

3/4 cup hot water
1/3 cup margarine
1/2 cup powdered milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
3 cups whole wheat flour
Variation: increase margarine to 1/2 cup and add 2 teaspoons sugar

In large bowl pour hot water over the margarine. Stir in powdered milk, salt, and egg. Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Knead for a few minutes to form stiff dough. Pat or roll to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into bone shapes. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes. Cool. They will dry out quite hard. Makes about 1 1/4 pounds of biscuits. Costs around 30 cents per pound.

*This recipe was featured in a Cook’n article by Alice back in 2008. It has some other really great treats in it, too! For more, visit: https://www.dvo.com/newsletter/weekly/2008/12-27-656/where_to_eat.html