This dog biscuit recipe was a post which almost didn’t get written. You see, I’ve started to get a bit self conscious about over sharing. Not in that creepy “I feel the need to let everyone know what sort of bathroom rituals I have or funky positions we just tried” kind of over sharing. I’ll leave those to the uninhibited TMI people.

Dog Biscuits Recipe

I’m talking about not wanting to be one of those who are so overly obsessed that they have to tell, and show, and tweet, and facebook every single detail of their new cat/kid/grandkid/puppy. Now if you are talking about a puppy, feel free to inundate us with your lore, I can nearly guarantee we’ll be rapturous listeners. However I don’t want to make that assumption towards everyone else. You know what they say about assumptions.

So count this as a fair warning given, this is about to become a puppy-centric post and I may be slightly fanatical about our two. Those who follow my Instagram will know, being that  my IG MO is basically puppy pics and travel moments (the former dominating lately.)

With that cleared out of the air, if you are still reading you are either: A: Cool with the dog sharing. B: A glutton for punishment. or C: Skimming over the text to look for pretty pictures and a recipe. Any of those makes you fair game for my puppy swooning.

As most of you know, we have ourselves a new addition to the WORC household, our Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy Lexi. Although it is getting harder and harder to call her a puppy.

A few of Todd’s IG iphone Shots

In a mere couple months she’s gone from this tiny little thing we could pick up in one hand to the size of  calf which needs to be bear-hugged in order to pick her up (which I still do – but Diane can’t. Freaks Lexi out ’cause she thinks momma is gonna drop her.) Seriously. She is almost as tall and long as Sierra, although she is only about half the width.

Lexi is at that goofball puppy teenager stage. Her body is becoming athletic and strong with occasional moments of pure clumsiness. Like yesterday when she came racing into the house, couldn’t make the turn and slid 10 feet right into the water bowls.

Distinctive Ridgeback and hound traits are emerging, warmingly reminding us of Dante, our previous Ridgeback. First time we took her into the vet, in a rising curious voice, he asks “So why a Ridgeback?” thinking we may not be knowing what we were in for. But with a twinkle we reminded him that our first pup was a ridgie.  We know their potential for trouble and love it.

“What are some of these traits?” you may so curiously ask.

For one, Ridgebacks tend to be quite clean, even though they usually hate water. She is a very clean puppy, making potty training fairly quick and painless. She has already learned how to ring the bell to let us know she wants to go outside if the door is closed. But if the lawn is wet, you can guarantee she’ll walk the long way around on the pathways.

Instagrammed Shot – Puppies! Attention!

Instagrammed shot – Asian Pear was this little Sugar Foot’s morning snack!

There is also a distinctive knack for independent stubbornness. Point your finger at her and command “No” and she’ll just look at you with a glimmer, then nibble on your finger. Our shoes and socks are regularly found strewn about the house and garden. But 9 out of 10 times it is only the right shoe. Don’t ask us why or how she knows. It is just her preference.

And then there is the super obsessiveness over food. She loves food. I mean really, really loves food. Every meal when when kibble bowls are being walked outside, she will race ahead doing one victory lap. Then after she reaches the front of the food bearer, she will sproing (a ridgeback thing of jumping straight up in the air, all paws staying more or less level with one another), rotating herself in mid-air until she is front and center of the food. And since she knows the rule of no eating till everyone is sitting, when she lands it will be directly into a sit, ready for food service.

After meals there will be at least another 30 minutes of roaming the garden, looking for other goodies to snack on. Right now it is the persimmons.

So with such a independent minded, smart, food focused dog, it is time to build up on the training treats. Much cheaper than the store bought ones, and the pups seem to love them more, I will bake up big batches of this dog biscuit recipe. And with all the pie pumpkins in the stores, pumpkin flax dog biscuits seemed like the perfect fall training treat.

-Todd

Instagrammed Shot – Our pupppy pumpkins. At least we didn’t make them wear costumes. This year.

Dog Biscuit Cutter Sets
Here’s our favorite cutter sets for this dog biscuit recipe.  Obviously they have many uses beyond puppy treats, but ours tend to see a lot of action in that department. We love how all of these sets store, ’cause nothing drives us nuts more than messy kitchen drawers:
Cuisipro Heart Cutter Set – Set of 5. Snap together for easy storage Nice heart shape and easy to handle and press.
Fox Run Bone Cutter Set – These are the bone shaped cutters we love the most. Fun shape! Set of 3, comes in a handy storage tin.
Kayaso Round Cutter Set – This is our favorite round cutter set. Great selection of sizes. We’ll use the smallest for slightly larger than kibble sized training treats.  

Pumpkin Flaxseed Dog Biscuits

Yield: 100 treats
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Make sure the biscuits are fully cooked and dry. If they are stil slightly moist in the center they'll start to mold after a week or two. If you want you can use half whole wheat flour and half regular all-purpose flour.
5 from 6 votes
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Ingredients

  • 1 cup (245g) Pumpkin Puree *see Notes
  • 1 Egg
  • 1/3 cup (80ml) Vegetable Oil
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) Water
  • 1/4 cup (40g) Flax Seeds
  • 3 1/2 cups (440g) all-purpose Flour

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.
  • In a stand mixer fit with a bread-hook, mix together pumpkin puree, and egg. Mix in oil and water until incorporated.
  • Stir flax seeds and flour into batter. Dough should be fairly stiff.
  • Roll out dough to a little less than 1/2" thick. Cut into desired shapes (for a quick stick shape, cut strips using a fluted pasta cutter or pizza cutter. We often use hearts for "good dogs" and small circles or small bone shapes for training incentives). Place treats on lined sheet pans.
  • Bake for about 40 minutes or until light golden and fairly hard and cooked through in the center (they will harden a bit more when cooled). Set aside to cool and liberally pass out to deserving puppies.

Notes

Recipe Notes:
To make pumpkin puree, roast a pie pumpkin on a sheet pan at 375°F for about 1 hour or until soft when sides are pressed. Allow to cool, then split, scoop out seeds and remove flesh from skin. Puree flesh and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 26kcal, Carbohydrates: 4g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 2mg, Sodium: 1mg, Potassium: 14mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 384IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 3mg, Iron: 1mg
Course: Snack
Cuisine: Dog Treats, Oven
Calories: 26