Give a Dog a Bone

I don't know how good of a mother I would be, there are some days when I think I would be a shoe in to win a "World's Best Mother" trophy and there are most days where I think that the whole notion of motherhood just eludes me. Luckily I have no offspring of my own. I say this because lately I have constantly forgotten to feed my dog Jack, whom many do consider to be my child. I thought if I could barely maintain life in canine form, how much more dire will it be if I cannot sustain life in human form? Calamitous, I say.

Many would say that forgetting to feed your pet is eons away from forgetting to feed your own child; aka fruit of your loins, offspring of your womb. Yes, there may be some legitimacy there. My mum always reassures me that dogs are much more resilient creatures than children, and babies often cry when they get hungry and when this happens they are harder to ignore. She says that forgetting to feed them (dogs) from time to time ensures they don’t get too lazy. I cannot vouch for the truth of the latter but today I have finally become a candidate for “Best Dog Owner”. All previous mealtime oversights have been expunged by this one act of kindness and consideration.

I made Jack doggy biscuits! They were Beef and Garlic Puppy Bones, made with whole-wheat flour, wheat germ and corn meal, so they were quite healthy for him too. So all has been forgiven and Jack is one happy puppy. He also somehow knew the biscuits were for him because he staked his ground right next to the oven the whole time they were baking. He probably thought it was about time.

Jack’s Beef and Garlic Puppy Bones

2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 cup corn meal
¼ cup wheat germ
3 cloves garlic
2 tsp beef bouillon powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 large egg
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 cup hot water

In a mortar and pestle, ground the garlic cloves to a paste. Set aside. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and add all the wet ingredients one by one mixing thoroughly. Combine crushed garlic, stir well. Roll dough out on a well floured surface to approximately 1 cm (10 mm) thickness. Use a bone shaped cookie cutter to cut out shapes from the dough. Place the bones on an ungreased cooking sheet and bake for 60-70 minutes at 180°C. You can tell they are done when the cookies are browned and hard. Let them stand and cool thoroughly before giving them to your dog.

Blissfully happy at last