Our first brand rep blog post written by the brilliant @odin.explores.scotland
We stared raw feeding Odin when he was five-month-old. Despite us getting a high protein kibble it just wasn’t working for him. He wasn’t putting enough weight on, his stools were horrendous, he quickly developed dandruff and he was overall unhappy. Since we started feeding raw everything has improved. His skin, his coat, his weight doesn’t yo-yo as much, and he just looks strong and healthy. After seeing what difference, a more natural diet made to his wellbeing I decided to take control of pretty much everything that he eats and so I started making his treats at home. I like to know exactly what goes into it and so I know what goes into him too. He is not fussy which is great as I have had the chance to experiment. (Poor thing, I am probably very lucky he can’t speak.)
My go to ingredients are: oat flour, goat milk, eggs and flaxseed oil. Everything else usually changes depending on what I have in the fridge/cupboard.
I said Odin is not fussy which is true, however he is not keen on raw fish at all, but he loves tuna, sardines and cooked salmon so, I often include that in his biscuits/treats to make sure his diet is as varied as possible.
Tuna/salmon fish balls are super easy and quick to make and your dog will be very thankful.
INGREDIENTS:
250g of oat flour
2 eggs
2 tins of tuna or salmon. You can also bake a salmon fillet and wait for it to cool down if you wish
Handful of spinach
Flaxseed oil – unless you have used the oil from the tinned fish
Half a glass of water
PREPARATION:
Pre-heat your over at 180C
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl use a fork to make sure the fish and the spinach are distributed evenly. Add more flour if the dough is still too runny. Shape some small meatballs and pop in the oven for 25 minutes. Make sure you turn them over halfway. Wait for them to cool down before feeding and keep them in the fridge.
Odin’s favourite sweet biscuits most likely involve peanut butter and fruit…
INGREDIENTS:
Oat flour 250g
1 banana or blueberries or strawberries or an apple
One tbsp of peanut butter
Half a glass of goat milk
1 egg
1 tbsp of flaxseed oil
PREPARATION:
Add the flour to a bowl, add the egg and oil in the meantime pop the fruit the peanut butter and the goat milk in a blender and then add the mixture to the bowl. Make the dough, cut the biscuits and then pop in the over for 20 minutes at 180C. Turn halfway and you are all good to go.
I make these once every two weeks and just change the ingredients to give him something different. I also make savoury ones using his favourite vegetables broccoli, spinach and carrots and liver, or cooked chicken breast.
I have recently made some using spinach and the Anco goat liver pate that we get from Bodhi and The Birchtree and he is absolutely loving them.
SUMMER SPECIAL
When Odin was little, he was obsessed with ice cubes particularly in the summer months. He now unfortunately totally snobs them unless I make them more exciting. I usually just prep some ice trays for him with goat milk or blueberries, however during the heatwave I definitely raised the bar as I made some liver ice lollies
INGREDIENTS:
Goat liver pate
Goat milk
Water
PREPARATION:
I popped the pate and half a glass of goat milk into a blender started blending and added some water to make sure it would be smooth enough. Filled up some moulds and left it them in the freezer overnight. Odin absolutely loved them and it definitely helped him cool down a bit during the heatwave.
In addition to the treats I make, Odin gets quite a variety of other natural chews and treats. We have subscribed to the monthly box from Bodhi and Birch and I often add fish skin cubes, dried sprats and chicken feet and GWF Nutrition supplements to his meals.
When we travel or are out adventuring for many hours and Odin needs some extra calories, we use the Innocent Hound Air Dried food and their lovey sausage bites which come in all different flavours.
For dental hygiene in addition to the meaty bones he gets as part of his meals he also gets some Whimzees, which are vegetable dental chews.
All those recipes and more are saved in our story highlights so feel free to have a look on our page.
Any tips or recipes you would like to recommend please send them my way xxx
Also just want to add that is what works for us. I probably wouldn’t be doing this for him if I didn’t enjoy it. There are so many companies and small businesses that are super careful about what they use in their treats and I have bought some before and will most likely buy again. This is not to say mine are better for all dogs. It just works well for us and Odin loves them so happy to share with you all.
Hope you get some inspiration and have fun creating something tasty for your favourite four-legged doggo!