BARF, which stands for Bones And Raw Food or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food, a growing trend in the dog-feeding area, especially since last year's incidents involving poisoned dog food from China. While researching the finer points of this diet, which basically consists of feeding your dog raw stuff (duh) I came across a yummy recipe on Team Sugar for homemade dog treats that look like they'd taste pretty good to people too; I've provided it below.
I'd heard about the BARF diet but never investigated any further than offering Miss Puppy used soup bones, which she'd treasure for days. Friday I was in an independent pet supply store that had three enormous freezers filled with all kinds of gigantic beef, lamb, bison and turkey bones. I couldn't resist -- heck, if I were a dog I'd stalk the building in the middle of the night dressed all in black with a ski mask on to break into those freezers. I bought a bag of huge beef thingies and three turkey necks and when I got home I gave her a frozen beef bone about as big as my fist. She accepted it in cautious disbelief at this stroke of good fortune, as if I might change my mind and snatch it back to keep for myself; then she paced around the kitchen, whining softly and trying to squeeze through the firmly closed doors. Eventually she relented and settled on her bed with the grand prize.
The next morning, after she'd left muddy paw prints on the piano teacher, which he hates, I closed her in her area and gave her another fist bone, which she again walked in whiny circles with. This time she managed to push through one of the kitchen doors and disappear past the music lessons and downstairs, her number one choice for making, um, Number One, on the carpet. I found her in my office, where she was putting the finishing touches on a pillow structure made of couch cushions to conceal her treasure for later. She looked so proud of her accomplishment that I felt bad about dismantling it, but as much as I love her, I don't need decomposing bones stashed in the furniture.
After a couple more bones I think she's gotten used to the fact that they don't leave the kitchen, but not before I found one hidden in my bed last night.
If your dog isn't quite indulged enough, here's a yummy recipe for homemade dog biscuits. Think we're going to have to give these a try for Miss Puppy, who's nice even though also naughty (hats off to Team Sugar):
"Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
1 1/4 cups cornmeal
1 1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1 large eggSpecial equipment: a pastry or bench scraper; a dog-biscuit cookie cutter
Preparation
Pulse flours, cornmeal, oats, wheat germ, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt in a food processor until combined. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with pea-size butter lumps. Add 1 cup water and pulse until a coarse, dense dough forms.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead in parsley and mint until well distributed. Gather, then halve dough with scraper. Form into 2 balls and flatten each into a 6-inch disk.
Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 2 large baking sheets.
Roll out 1 disk of dough into a round (1/3 inch thick) on a well-floured surface with a well-floured rolling pin. (If dough becomes too soft to roll out, wrap in plastic and chill until firm.) Cut out as many biscuits as possible and arrange about 1/4 inch apart on 1 baking sheet.
Gather scraps and reroll, then cut out more biscuits. Repeat with remaining dough, using other baking sheet.
Whisk together egg and 1 tablespoon water. Brush biscuits with egg wash and bake, switching position of sheets halfway through, until tops are golden brown, about 35 minutes total. Turn off oven and dry biscuits in oven overnight.
Cooks' note: Biscuits keep, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment, in an airtight container at room temperature 1 month. Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 9 1/4 hr Servings: Makes about 5 dozen biscuits ...
TIP: Try adding cheese or bacon to the treats. Or, adding peanut butter instead of butter."
