She was diagnosed with arthritis and we did a week of NSAIDs to see how she felt. She bounced back to her old self almost immediately, but now that the week of medication has ended she's being a poky little Princess again.
We've put her on Cosequin, but the loading dose takes a few weeks to kick in so we won't see much improvement from there. So in an effort to do everything I can to help her before we decide she needs NSAIDs for the rest of her life, I found some common ingredients that dogs really like and help joint pain and created a cookie.
Princess is not a "cookie" dog. She is much more motivated by a ball than any amount of food, so I knew I would have my work cut out for me to make this cookie both healthy and in her eyes, edible. The recipe came together really quickly and easily in my food processor and is full of things I keep in my pantry.
I started with pumpkin, because I know it's good for dogs and had a can that was open already and needed to be used up. Then added eggs, because eggs are good for cookies. Rolled oats, flax and chia seeds are all listed as ingredients good for senior dogs. At this point, the whole concoction smelled okay but I knew she wouldn't go near it without a little meat flavor. Better than Bouillon is always in my fridge and while it made the cookies smell disgusting to me, Princess came running because she smelled chicken.
The texture didn't feel right to me - like it wasn't something that would hold it's shape. Once I had all of these ingredients pulsed together and doughy, I added a handful of plain cheerios and pulsed a few more times. Those gave the cookies a little more firmness to help hold their shape, and added some crunchies, which I thought Princess would appreciate.
From there I scooped them out and baked at 350ยบ for 25 min. This produced a somewhat dry, but still soft and chewy cookie. I let them cool completely before storing them in an airtight container in the fridge.
She loves getting them every morning with her meds and I love giving them to her, knowing they're full of all the best things for her!!
Senior Dog Cookies
1C pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1C rolled oats
1/2C ground flax
2T chia seeds
2T Better than Bouillon
1/2C Cheerios (plain)
Combine all but Cheerios in a good process until mostly smooth. Add Cheerios and pulse a few times, leaving crunchy bits. Scoop and bake at 350* for 25 min. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks in the fridge.
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