Organic Peanut Butter Dog Treats

Yes, the title is correct. I had to work in my new pup onto the food blog somehow.

Although she's not quite as small as the 'pup' title suggests. Meet Tasha. She's nine months old today - a German Shepherd and Catahoula mix (although I'm suspicious a little Rhodesian Ridgeback might have slipped in somewhere due to the unusual cowlick down her entire neck). I've wanted to adopt a dog for some time now, and am thrilled to finally have one. I adopted her from a family a few hours away - thanks The H's!

I have spent the last month getting to know my new family member and I picked a very special dog. I have the satisfaction of knowing we're eerily alike and it's not from her living with me her whole life, so that settles the nature vs nurture debate on personality traits between us.

She likes to do things the hard way. For example, when we play fetch, it's not with a normal ball. Oh no. It's with a basketball (and the remnants of what used to be a volleyball). I have several smaller balls I try to use, but she just looks at me like I'm crazy and scoffs at fetching them. These toys came with her, and I would have never guessed a dog her size could learn how to carry a basketball in her mouth.

She's highly intelligent and quickly absorbs new commands, but we're still working on her following them when I lack a food reward. Who can blame her? Who doesn't want a delicious treat for following someone else's orders?

I love how she frolics through the grass any time I let her outside and looks at everything with innocence and an unspoiled yearning to befriend anything that moves. She also looks like a kid on Easter any time we play in the backyard, always amazing herself when she finds her toys in the bushes - kind of reminds me of my brother when we were younger, although he liked to cheat and stare out the window counting up all the eggs he could see before anyone else woke up, but that's another story.

Most importantly, she adores water. I can spend hours in the backyard with the water hose turned on and she'll wear herself out until she just can't go anymore. I have no doubt she's going to be my new companion in the pool.

I can't help but have a huge smile any time someone is captured by her beauty. I've heard remarks of her looks ranging from a hyena to a wolf mix - all of which I adore. She's a special lady, my Tasha.

I bought her some Newman's organic dog treats, and although they're great, I knew I could make them myself and save some money, too. I was unable to find a dog bone cookie cutter, so I had to improvise. I found a set of flower shaped cookie cutters at Bed, Bath, & Beyond for $3 that worked very well. All I had to do was flatten one petal on either side and voilà! I used the smallest one in the bunch which measures 2 3/4 inches by 1/2 - 1 inch in the bone shape.

In honor of all our furry (and perhaps not so furry) friends, I hope you'll take a moment to bake up some treats. These come Tasha approved.

Organic Peanut Butter Dog Treats

Printable Recipe

1 1/2 cups organic whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups organic white flour

1/2 cup organic peanut butter

1 cup water

2 tablespoons peanut oil

Preheat the oven to 350*F.

Combine peanut oil, peanut butter, and water. Sift flours together and add to the wet mixture forming a dough. Knead the dough into a firm ball and roll to 1/4 inch thickness.

Use a bone shaped cookie cutter to create bite sizes treats. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350*F for 20 min.

~Yields 7 1/2 dozen cookies.

~Adapted from All Natural Dog Treats.