Christmas Treats For Our Beloved Pets

For Dogs

Beefy Biscuits

• 2 cups whole wheat or all purpose flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 2 tsp. beef bouillon powder
• 1/2 tsp. yeast extract (adds additional meaty flavour)

Mix above ingredients in a medium bowl. Add: 1 large egg, 1 Tbsp. cooking oil and 1 cup hot water. Stir well. Roll out on a well-floured surface to 1/2 inch thickness. Place on ungreased cooking sheet. Bake on center rack, (275 degrees F or 140 degrees C) for about 2 hours until dry and very hard. Let stand overnight to dry thoroughly. Makes 10 big bones and 14 puppy bones.

Vegetable Doggy Bones

• 3 cups minced parsley
• 1/4 cup shredded carrots
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. bran
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 cup water (you may need a touch more)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, rack on middle level. Lightly greased baking sheet. Stir together parsley, carrots, cheese, and oil. Combine all the dry ingredients and add to the veggies. Gradually add 1/2 cup of water, mixing well. Make a moist, but not wet dough. If needed, add a little more water. Knead for one minute.

Roll out dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Using cookie cutter, cut out the shapes and transfer them to a baking sheet. Reroll the scraps and continue until dough is all used up. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until biscuits have browned and hardened slightly. They will harden more as they cool. Store in an airtight container

For Kitties

Cat Cookies

• 7 oz. mashed sardines
• 1/4 cup dry non-fat milk
• 1/2 cup wheat germ

Mix ingredients. Roll into 24 small balls. Placed on greased cookie sheet. Flatten with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees F until brown. Makes: 24

Kitty Cookies

• 1/2 lb. ground beef or turkey
• 1 small carrot, finely grated
• 1 Tbsp. cheese, grated
• 1 tsp. brewer's yeast
• 1 tsp. dried catnip
• 1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium sized bowl, combine the meat, carrot, cheese, brewer's yeast, catnip, and bread crumbs. Add the egg and tomato paste and mix well. Using your hands, roll the mixture into walnut - sized meatballs and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes until the meatballs are brown and firm. Cool the meatballs completely before storing in an airtight container in the refrigerator. These freeze well. serves 24

For Caged Birds

Cockatiel and Parakeet Treat

• 2 parts millet
• 1 part safflower seeds
• 1 part buckwheat, wheat-berries, or sunflower seeds
• 2 parts whole oats

Mix ingredients in a sealable container and store, tightly sealed, in a cool, dark place. Use as the main food source, supplementing it with fresh fruits and vegetables daily.

Bird Honey Stick

• honey
• bird seed

Find a stick that's between 1 and 5 centimeters in diameter (2/5 inches to 2 inches). Cover the stick in honey with a brush or dinner knife. Pour bird seed on the stick until the stick is fully covered by the bird seed. You can leave it in the refrigerator to harden or just hang it on your bird's cage.

For Horses

Alfalfa Bites

• 4 cups horse oats
• 1 cup horse bran
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup molasses
• 1 stick of butter
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• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 carrots, grated
• 3 large alfalfa cubes

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of the horse oats, the horse bran, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and carrots. Place the alfalfa cubes in a Ziploc or similar plastic baggie and crush them with a meat tenderizer or heavy utensil. Break the cubes into coarse crumbs, and then add the crumbs to the dry mixture. Stir all of the dry ingredients together until everything is completely blended and consistent.

Add the molasses, butter, and vanilla extract to the dry mixture. Mix all the wet ingredients into the dry, by hand. Cream everything together until the butter and molasses and completely incorporated into the mixture, and everything is consistent. Add the remaining horse oats, and stir them in until they are completely dispersed into the rest of the ingredients and everything is fully blended. Prepare a cookie or baking sheet by greasing with margarine, oil, or non-stick cooking spray. Then tear of small pieces of the dough and roll them between your hands to form golf ball-sized balls.

As you form each ball, arrange it onto the prepared cookie sheet and gently flatten it with your fingers. Repeat with the remaining mixture, arranging each ball onto the prepared cookie sheets. When you run out of dough mixture, and can no longer make any balls, place the balls into the preheated oven. Bake the alfalfa bits for about 20 minutes, then remove them from the heat. Allow them to cool completely before serving them to your pet. Store any leftovers in an airtight container, until ready to use. Makes about 4 dozen alfalfa bites.

Horse Muffins

• 1 1/2 cups bran
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 cup skimmed milk
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 2 Tbsp. corn oil
• 1 egg, beaten

Stir together bran, flour, soda, and baking powder. Mix together milk, molasses, oil, and egg. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Bake in greased or paper lined muffin tins at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes.

For Caged Rodents (Hamster and Gerbils)

Banana Hamster Treat

• 1/4 of a banana
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. raisins
• small squirt lemon juice

Mash up the banana and add a small squirt of lemon juice so the banana will stay fresh. Add the honey and raisins, then stir all together. Serve this in a small bowl separate from hamster food mix.

Hamster Biscuits

• 1/4 a tsp. of peanut butter
• 1 box plain Cheerios cereal
• variety of vegetables such as carrots, celery, bok choy
• small dog biscuit or stale or fresh bread
• bird seeds and sunflower seeds
• small amount of cheese

Spread peanut butter on dog biscuit, stale or fresh bread. Stick cereal on top and press in some of your hamster's favorite small foods such as bird seeds or sunflower seeds. Next, press in vegetables around the Cheerios. Press cheese around the vegetables to cover. Have fun hiding the treat where your hamster has to climb to get it.

For Rabbits, Guinea Pigs and Chinchillas

Bunny Bites

• 2 cups cornmeal
• 2 1/2 cups all,purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• a dash of salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, and salt. Mix well by stirring or sifting together until everything is consistent and completely mixed. Add the honey, peanut butter, water, and butter. Then use an electric mixer on a high speed to thoroughly cream everything together. Mix for several minutes, or until all the ingredients are completely blended, and a dough-like mixtures begins to form.

Check the consistency of the dough. It should be easy to shape and mold with your hands. If the dough seems too sticky, gradually add more flour as needed. If it seems too dry and crumbly, add a bit more water as needed to reach the desired consistency. Prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Then begin to tear off small pieces of the dough and form them into marble sized balls, by rolling them between your hands. Arrange each ball onto the prepared cookie sheet and gently flatten it slightly. Repeat with the remaining dough until you run out of dough, and can no longer make any more balls. Be sure to space the balls slightly apart to avoid spreading and merging while they cook. Once all the dough has been incorporated into balls, arranged on the sheet and flattened, place the cookie sheet into the preheated oven. Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until firm and golden. Remove the cookies from the oven when they are done cooking, and allow them to cool completely before serving. Store any leftovers in an airtight container. Makes about 4 dozen bunny bites.

Fruitcake Corn Balls

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/3 cup assorted dried fruit pieces
• 1/2 tsp. vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup any unsweetened fruit juice

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Prepare a cookie or baking sheet by misting it lightly with non-stick cooking spray

In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine all to the ingredients except for the fruit juice. It the dried fruit pieces you are using are fairly large, you may want to mince them into tiny, very fine pieces before adding them to the mix. Try not to use any piece that is larger than a pea, and much smaller than that is ideal. Use an electric mixer on a high speed to thoroughly combine all of the ingredients until everything is completely consistent and fully incorporated into the mix. Once you have mixed all of these ingredients, you will have a thick, dry, crumbly mixture. Slowly begin to add the fruit juice to the mixture, about a Tbsp. at a time. Make sure the juice is completely blended in before adding more. Only add as much juice as you need to get a firm dough that is not sticky, but is soft enough to be molded easily and it not at all crumbly.

Once the dough is sufficient, begin to shape it by tearing off small pieces and rolling them between your fingers to form small, marble sized balls. As you form each ball, place it gently onto the prepared cookie sheet. Continue with the rest of the dough until you run out of dough and can no longer make any more balls. Arrange the balls fairly close to one another, as they won't expand or spread out, but do not crowd them. Once all the balls have been formed, place them into the preheated oven. Bake the balls for about 45 minutes, then turn off the oven completely, but leave them inside to cool, dry out, and harden until very crunchy. The next morning, or once they are completely cool, remove them from the oven. Store any leftovers in an airtight container. Makes about 4 dozen balls.

For Ferrets

Ferret Loaf

• 2 Tbsp. lard
• 1 Tbsp. Ferretone or similar nutritional supplement
• 2 cups any commercially prepared dry ferret food
• 2 eggs
• 1 jar (about 6 ounces) any banana baby food
• 1 pound ground beef (uncooked)
• 1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat a large frying pan or skillet over medium high heat. Add the lard and Ferretone to the pan and mix them together as they melt. Once the lard is liquid, add the dry ferret food. Fry the dry food until it is moistened throughout and fragrant. This may take a few minutes. Stir the food well as it fries, to make sure it cooks evenly. Once the dry food is cooked, transfer it to a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the eggs, baby food, ground beef, and raisins. Mix well, either with your hands, or by using an electric mixer on a medium speed. Mix until all the ingredients are consistent and even. Prepare a meatloaf or loaf pan by greasing it with margarine, oil, or non-stick cooking spray. Then transfer the mixture into the prepared pan, and gently pat it down into an even layer. Place the loaf pan into the preheated oven and bake it for about 45-60 minutes, or until the meat is browned and cooked through. Keep an eye on the meatloaf, for the last 15 minutes or so of baking time, as it may have a tendency to suddenly burn. Note that, because of the kibble content, it will look a lot darker than regular meatloaf - the dark color should be distinguished from burning. When the meatloaf is done cooking, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool significantly. Once it is cool enough to handle safely, slice into thin slices, and serve to your pet. Makes 1 loaf, or about 20-25 servings.