Spooktacular Halloween treats for your pets

Halloween is probably my most favorite holiday. Growing up in Miami, we never celebrated it much. We did the traditional pumpkin carving and trick or treating, which I have now passed on to my children, but we never decorated the house and we definitely never made special treats to eat. We lived on a corner lot between two major roads with a stop light at the intersection. Needless to say, we did not get many trick or treaters (maybe 1 in all of my childhood).

Fast forward to now, I go all out. My family decorates the house inside and out and hands out tons of candy. Interestingly, I have never dressed up my dogs nor baked them special goodies. I came close to it last year with Wilson, our golden retriever, who was only 5 months old at that time. It got me thinking that this year, now that my kids are not little ones anymore, maybe I should focus more on the pups. Pumpkin flavored coffees, cereals, pastries – if you can think it, you can probably find it pumpkin flavored this time of year. I think I started seeing it in August! So why not pumpkin flavored dog treats? Of course the internet did not let me down in options.

As always, please consult your veterinarian if you are unsure if your pup can eat these. We wish everyone a safe and YUMMY Halloween!

Ingredients

• 1 cup non-fat plain frozen yogurt
• 1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin
• 1/4 cup water – more water if need to be easier (more liquidy) to fill mold

Instructions

1. Mix the yogurt, pumpkin, and water together. You can add more water to help make the mixture “runny” so that it’s easier to fill the ice cube tray.
2. Pour the mixture into your pumpkin shaped ice cube tray (s).
   
3. Freeze for about 3-4 hours or overnight.
   
4. Once the treats are completely frozen, pop them out and serve! 

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups oat flour (make your own in the food processor by grinding rolled oats about a minute)
• 1 cup pureed pumpkin (you want plain pumpkin, not pie filling)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (watch out for xylitol, a sweetener that is poisonous to dogs)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine oat flour, pumpkin puree, and peanut butter in a large bowl or food processor and mix until combined.
3. Roll the dough into balls with your hands (you can lightly oil them to avoid a sticky mess) then use the tines of a fork to gently press in the classic peanut butter cookie crosshatch pattern.
4. Bake for 20 minutes or until just starting to brown on the edges. A longer baking time will make for a crisper cookie, a shorter time for a softer one.

And of course we don’t want to leave out our kitty lovers…

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups oat flour (see notes to make your own) divided
• 5 ounces boneless skinless salmon (can or pouch) drained
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Break the salmon up with a fork or in a chopper or blender.
4. Combine 1 cup oat flour, salmon, egg and pumpkin puree in bowl.
5. Use spoon or electric mixer to combine into a dough.
6. Place the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, sprinkle with some additional oat flour and pat down to about 1/4 inch thick. Dock (prick) all over with a fork. (will help release moisture while baking.)
7. Bake for 15 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and use pizza or pastry cutter to cut into small “bits” – mine were about 1 cm x 1 cm.
9. Spread the bits out and bake for another 15 – 20 minutes or until firm. Let cool completely. Transfer to air-tight container and store in refrigerator for 1-week or freeze for longer.

Notes Oat Flour: You can easily make your own oat flour by grinding “Old Fashioned” rolled oats in a blender, chopper or food process.