Nate’s affair with Jasmine began when she came to live with us almost 11 years ago, having “passed out” of a Palm Beach Program that trains dogs to serve paraplegic or quadraplegic owners. By any other standard her behavior was excellent, but we were told that she’d failed the “movie theater” and “restaurant” tests. The team tried to salvage the time and money spent on her first 8 months by determining if she’d qualify for the fire department’s Search & Rescue squad: nope. (One) has to be be hard wired to look for more than 20 minutes…. And so she flew alone from Florida to Maine in a huge crate with a plaid blanket and small stuffed animal. Nate, Gus, and I went to retrieve her from “cargo” at the Portland International Jetport. It was love at first sight!
Remarkably Jazz was trained to avoid water, unusual for a Lab, but who’d want to get dangerously close to deep water in a wheelchair? The boys taught her to swim, and play hockey, lacrosse, and soccer. They’re far flung, and she misses them terribly, but Jasmine is an excellent companion who up until a few months ago walked or snowshoed 4-8 miles a day with me. Now that she’s restricted to 1-2 miles a day I try to help her maintain her girlish figure by feeding her a little less, and breaking treats in half. These tiny heart shaped cookies are perfect because she can have a whole one!
It seems a little condescending to cut dog cookies in the shape of bones, though a bone-shaped cookie cutter is one of the few that made the move when we down-sized. From the almost 100 I’d collected I also saved the lobster (obviously), the tulip (that’s another story), the hearts, the a puzzle piece (always intrigues me when I use it.) And so, today I offer Valentine’s Day Dog Cookies. The recipe uses seeds and grains in addition to oat and brown rice flour – seems a little more natural. I hope your “puppy” enjoys eating them as much as you’ll enjoy making them!
Valentine’s Day Dog Cookies
Ingredients:
I cup (4 oz.) GF oats
1/4 cup (1.5 oz.) sesame seeds
1/4 cup (1.5 oz.) flax seeds
1/2 cup brown rice flour
2 Tablespoons Montina (Indian Rice Grass)
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup warm chicken or vegetable broth
2 Tablespoons peanut butter
1 teaspoon honey
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 300 F; line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
2. In a food processor combine the oats, sesame seeds, and flax seeds. Process until it resembles a coarse flour. Add the brown rice flour and Montina and pulse to blend.
3. Transfer the dry ingredients to a standing mixer (or leave in the food processor). Add the egg, , broth, peanut butter, and honey. Mix to blend. Let rest for 3-5 minutes.
4. Turn the dough onto a (GF) floured surface and roll out to 3/8 -1/2 inch thickness. Cut desired shapes and place on the prepared sheet.
5. Bake at 300 for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before (serving) or packaging as a gift.
Gluten Free Gus 
She is beautiful! And obviously she is so happy that you bake for her :). Lucky lady.
How gorgeous! I’m usually not one for all the Valentines day fuss, but this is the most original and lovely Valentines piece I’ve ever seen 🙂
Jazz is so cute! It is definitely a great idea to make something special for pets for valentine’s day. I don’t have a dog, but I have a guinea pig. I may just give him some extra fresh veggie. 🙂
Can you tell me about the GF oats, I thought oats were naturally glutinous Gorgeous pooch!
The U.S. didn’t certify any of its oats as GF until relatively recently because oat crops were consistently cross planted with wheat, rye, and/or barley, therefore cross-contaminating the oats with enough gluten containing grain to render them unsafe for people with Celiac Disease. It’s probably safe for people with gluten-intolerance to eat conventional oats, but those with a diagnosis of Celiac Disease should stick to certified GF oats. I don’t imagine conventional oats would be a problem for dogs. Hope this helps!