Making it through the long winter
Peanut Butter Dog Treats
Meghan West
According to the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA), Australia has one of the highest amounts of pet to household ratios in the world. In 2015 research suggested that over 50% of all households had a cat or a dog alone. With so many families enjoying the company and companionship of their pets, it only seems fitting to reward those pets for their love and loyalty. This simple recipe will help you to create delicious, all natural and healthy treats for your dog, and they take minimal effort to prepare and cook.
A Dog's Version of a Childhood Favourite
Peanut butter has always been a family favourite, with its rich creamy flavour and gooey texture. If you've ever owned a dog in the past you'll know that the smell of peanut butter will drive them wild with excitement, and is often used as a treat inside specially designed hollow rubber toys, which occupy them for hours as they try and lick every last bit of the peanut butter from inside them. To make a dog biscuit to help train them and reward them for good behaviour just follow this recipe (which can be found here): Take two cups each of rolled oats, whole wheat flour and spelt flour. Combine this with a quarter cup of flax seeds, two and a half cups of warm water and half a cup of natural peanut butter. Mix together and shape with your favourite cookie cutter, before placing in a preheated oven set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or 175 degrees centigrade for 40 minutes.
The benefits of making your own treats come from the ability to control the ingredients that your dog consumes. The spelt, oats and whole-wheat flour will all provide plenty of fibre to help keep them regular, and improve intestinal health. Flax seed provides a dose of healthy omega fats to improve the shine of their coat, and the peanut butter, which has no added sugar or palm oil, gives great flavour and lots of energy.
Commercial dog food often contains lots of artificial chemicals, which can be detrimental to your dog's health. Try swapping your shop bought treats for homemade ones and you may even find that you save a little money, whilst simultaneously improving the health of your pet. However, be careful not to overindulge your dog as the calories in these cookies still count, and should be part of a balanced diet. To save on dishes, you can even bake up a batch of cookies for your own family at the same time, then everyone is happy.
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It's been a long and hard winter for many farmers in my area. We rely on agricultural suppliers and stores to get us feed and supplies through the winter. It can be hard to balance the books and sometimes you need to make some hard decisions to have enough money to make it through the winter. If you are a farmer making some hard decision on how to afford to keep your livestock and crops healthy through a long winter, then this blog has tips on how to make it through a long winter as a farmer with a limited operational budget.