Pumpkin, PB & Flaxseed Dog Treats

I know I haven't posted in a minute. Life has been weird and hard and sad and good. I've finally come out of my funk and am feeling inspired to create things again. Decided to convert the office into an art studio and start my block printing back up. That's what everyone's getting for Christmas, by the way.  Imprints of weird stuff I'll be carving into various types of material.

I'll probably do one of Mochi, the puppy that recently joined my little brood of fuzzy-wuzzies. She's sweet and smart and generally incredible. Middle of the night I'm cleaning up her (frankly, gross) puppy accidents, and still I love her to pieces. I mean, how can you not love this adorable lump of cuteness?

When I bought the house with the small fenced-in yard, I thought I would only need to accommodate a medium-sized dog that I had vaguely decided I would someday adopt. Little Mochi here will likely weigh-in at 60 pounds full-grown-- enough to pull a person on a sled. I'm thinking I should start training Mochi now so she can pull the kids I've vaguely decided I would someday have around on a sled and save me money on a babysitter. Heartworm medication don't come cheap, you know. Mochi needs to pull some weight around here. (Yes, I'm aware that was one of my more awkward puns.)

Between training Mochi, grooming her and taking her everywhere I go, I've also decided to take her nutrition into my own hands.  Right now I'm feeding her the Wellness pet food line, but instead of paying for expensive, all-natural treats, I've decided to start baking her biscuits at home. This way, she's eating the freshest, healthiest treats possible, and I can switch up the recipes to fit her nutritional needs as she ages.

Here's a super easy recipe that I tweaked to include flaxseed meal, which Modern Dog magazine calls one of the 10 best "people" foods for dogs. I've been testing other recipes, including one with pureed veggies in it, and will post those when they've been properly taste-tested by all my friends' dogs.

Pumpkin, PB & Flaxseed Dog Treats
Servings: 35-50 biscuits, depending on size

Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup ground flaxseed (flaxseed meal)
2 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Whisk together the flour, flaxseed, eggs, pumpkin, peanut butter, and salt in a bowl. Add water by the teaspoon, as needed, to help make the dough workable, but the dough should remain somewhat dry and stiff. Roll the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick sheet. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces or with cookie cutter.
3. Bake on lightly greased cookie sheets in a preheated oven until hard (about 25-30 minutes for small cookies and 35-40 minutes for larger cookies).
4. Allow to cool, then store in airtight container.