Basic Dog Biscuits (Cookies)

Ingredients: 1 cup flour, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 25g (1oz) butter, 1 egg.

Cream butter until light and fluffy. Then beat in egg. Shift flour and baking powder together and add in the butter mix. Roll out fairly thinly. Cut into any shapes your like and put onto cold greased trays. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for 15 minutes.

Peanut Butter Biscuits

Ingredients: 1 cup flour, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 25g (1oz) butter, 1 egg, 2 tablespoon peanut butter, 1/2 tablespoon honey. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Then beat in egg. Mix in peanut butter and honey. Shift flour and baking powder together and add in the butter mix. Roll out fairly thinly. Cut into any shapes your like and put onto cold greased trays. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for 15 minutes.

Cheese Biscuits

Ingredients: 1 cup flour, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 25g (1oz) butter, 1 egg, 1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic, 2 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Then beat in egg. Mix in garlic and cheese. Shift flour and baking powder together and add in the butter mix. Roll out fairly thinly. Cut into any shapes your like and put onto cold greased trays. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for 15 minutes.

Note on Garlic: A very small amount of garlic is good for a dog's health. It helps make a dog's liver stronger and is a natural insect repellent. In fact, many commercial dog biscuits and dog food contain very small amount of garlic. However, please remember that a large amount of garlic can be poisonous. You should use garlic in small amounts - just as a spice! (Ref: Pocket Companion to Small Animal Clinical Nutrition 4th edition)

Chicken Jerky

Ingredients: Chicken breast 500g (16oz), 1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic. Rub meat with crushed garlic. Let stand for 15 minutes. Cut into long stripes. But make sure not to cut too thin, because meat shrinks after being cooked. Pat dry. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for 40 minutes or until very dry.

Hundeläckerli (Dog Läckerli)

Ingredients: 2 cup flour, beef liver 250g (8oz), 1 egg, 1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 cup milk. Mix liver, egg, crushed garlic in a food processor. Put the liver mix in a big bowl and add flour, oil and milk. Mix well. Place the dough on a tray covered with alminium foil and spread out to 8mm (1/3") thick. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for 40-50 minutes. When cooled, cut into 2cmx2cm (1"x1") even pieces.

In Basel, there is a famous sweet called "Basler Läckerli", which is made from flour, honey, nuts, orange peel and many different kinds of spices. The dog biscuit above just looks like the Basler Läckerli. So Harry's master named it "Hundeläckerli". Human Läckerli Recipe is here!

Sweet Potato Cake

Ingredients: 1 cup flour, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 125g (4oz) butter, 2 eggs, 250g (8oz) steamed and mushed sweet potato, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Then beat in eggs. Add mushed sweet potato and cinnamon. Shift flour and baking powder together and add in the butter mix. Turn into a greased 20cm (8") round tin. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 60 minutes.

Apple Biscuits

Ingredients: 2 cup flour, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 egg, 1 medium Granny Smith Apple, 1/2 cup water. Combine all dry ingredients. Add lightly beaten egg, oil, finely grated apple and water, then mix well. Lightly knead on floured board and roll out to 8mm (1/3") thick. Place the dough on trays covered with alminium foil and cut into 2cmx2cm (1"x1") even pieces, but do not separate the pieces. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for 60 minutes. When cooled, separate each piece.

Sesame Crackers

Ingredients: 1 cup flour, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 25g (1oz) butter, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 2 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoon milk. Shift flour and baking powder. Cut in butter and cheese until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add sesame oil and milk. Mix gradually to a firm dough. Roll out fairly thinly on trays covered with alminium foil. Cut into 2cmx4cm (1"x2") even-sized pieces, but do not separate the pieces. Prick top with fork. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for 30 minutes. When cooled, separate each piece.

Carrot Crackers
Ingredients: 1 cup flour, 25g (1oz) butter, 1/2 cup grated carrot, 2 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese

Cream butter until light and fluffy. Add grated carrot and cheese. Shift in flour and mix well. Roll out fairly thinly on trays covered with alminium foil. Cut into 2cmx4cm (1"x2") even-sized pieces, but do not separate the pieces. Prick top with fork. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 20 minutes. When cooled, separate each piece.

Harry's Breakfast

It is easy to make yogurt at home. Mix whole milk with yogurt culture in a clean jar. Leave it in room temperature over night. The yogurt is ready to serve by morning. From the jar, use 7/10 yogurt. Add more milk and mix well. Repeat the same procedure everyday. Harry eats 1/5 cup yogurt every morning. Note: Do not add any sugar or flavours! Dogs like natural yorgurt as it is.

Harry's Dinner

Vegetables: Pumpkin, Potato, Yams, Daikon Radish, Carrot, Cabbage, Broccoli, Tomato, Shiitake Mushroom, Tofu, Red Beans, Seaweed Meat/Fish: Beef, Chicken, Pork, Tuna or Salmon (without bones) Oil: Sesame Oil, Olive Oil Others: Sardine (Niboshi), Ginger and Garlic (a very small amount as spices) Choose at least five vegetables from the list and chop them finely. Choose one meat/fish from the list and mince it well. Mix all ingredients and cook in a pot for 30 minutes. Add a few drops of oil in the end. Serve with cooked rice.

Sample serving amount per day for Harry weighing 3.5kg (7lb)
50g (2oz) cooked rice, 12g (1/2oz) yams, 12g (1/2oz) carrot, 12g (1/2oz) cabbage, 6g (1/4oz) tomato, 6g (1/4oz) shiitake mushroom, 50g (2oz) minced beef, 12g (1/2oz) tofu, 3-4 sardines (niboshi), 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon garlic, a few drops of sesame oil.

Simple Rule for Good Nutrition Balance for Dogs!
Meat : Vegetables : Rice = 1:1:1
You can find a more detailed report on the nurtion balance for dogs in Dog Food Nutrients.

At weekends Harry's master often cooks a big-pot-full of Harry's dinner at a time, then packs it in small containters and freeze them. This way, Harry can eat home-made food even when his master is too busy to cook.

References

• Fogle, Bruce. ASPCA Complete Dog Care Manual. DK Adult, 1993
• Novotny, Michael S. & Hand, Bruce. Pocket Companion to Small Animal Clinical Nutrition (4th edition). Mark Morris Institute, 2002
• Steingarten, Jeffrery It Must've Been Something I Ate. Vintage, 2003
  (This book is about gourmet food culture, but it has a chapter on what dogs should eat.)
• Susaki, Yasuhiko. Aiken no Tameno Tezukuri Kenkoshoku. Yosensha, 2002