To the question about finding pumpkin and sweet potato flour. We get ours through a food co-op so getting it isn’t all that expensive. It’s also pretty easy to make if you have a food dehydrator, simply thinly slice either pumpkin or sweet potato, then run the dehydrator until the pieces are very dry and crumbly. Grind in a blender or with a mortar and pestle. It keeps quite a while. You can replace the flours mentioned in the Doggie Squares with ground flax too!

Can’t you change the tags on this to “grain free dog treats,” as suggested in other comments? I only found this via a link on a forum for canine health problems. My two pugs have been really sick thanks to corn and wheat in the top-of-the-line dog food I’d been buying directly from the vet’s office. Within a week of switching them to real meat, bones, and a few steamed veggies, they no longer have skin problems, digestive problems, or immune system dysfunction. They’re off meds and have more energy than we’ve ever seen. I’m thrilled to see recipes and other suggestions for treats but honestly, finding this article was just luck. Re-tag!

Thank you! I have been so frustrated by the junk out there for dogs. Buying beef heart right from my butcher turned out to be really cheap. Next time he’s going to order me a bunch in bulk and I’m planning to get together with some friends, slice up jerky, drink some beers, watch all our dogs play, and send everyone home with lots of jerky. I’m calling it a Jerky Party.

Really glad to stumble on this. Wish it had been titled “grain free dog treats” because that’s what is really hard to find online. The suggestion to save scraps to use for dog treats is particularly helpful. I have two Great Danes. Friends keep ziploc bags in their freezers to put in cut-offs cooked or raw, from meat. It really helps me have treats and healthy morsels to mix in their food. I’m eager to try these recipes. THANKS!

I’ve run across your writing too, Laura Grace, and find such lovely synchronicity between our interests. We have more than our names in common. Glad to find a kindred spirit online.

The research is somewhat nonsensical. It’s easy to reach 2,000 calories a day cheaply on junk food if we’re talking a jumbo bag of chips and a two liter bottle of soda. It’s hard to reach 2,000 calories a day on nutrient dense, healthful foods such as organic salad, free range chicken, and pomegranate juice. How cheaply one can reach 2,000 calories doesn’t take health, ethics, or taste into consideration.

Memory test...

Breakfast: a smoothie made with frozen banana, hemp seeds, low fat coconut milk and vanilla extract.

Lunch: a spoonful of crunchy peanut butter and a glass of raw milk.

Dinner: broccoli fresh from the garden, new potatoes newly dug, some raw cheddar and two glasses of org merlot.

Yum!

Evocative and memorable. Thank you for this piece.