Holiday Baking with Your Dog
It is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, and there is no exception to the Wee Wee Frenchie household. It has been a creative journey of decorating Christmas trees and making sure to add a Frenchie touch to every household item in order to get into the holiday season.
It is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, and there is no exception to the Wee Wee Frenchie household. It has been a creative journey of decorating Christmas trees and making sure to add a Frenchie touch to every household item in order to get into the holiday season. Although dressing Cooper in Santa costumes or taking him to holiday dog events, it seemed that he may not be understanding the true meaning of the holiday season. I wanted to include my dog in the holidays but in a different way this season so that he could understand the season of giving.
I may know what you are thinking. Why would a dog need to understand the meaning of Christmas or the holidays? It may not mean much to a dog but the spirit of the season is to give and care for others so that they may know how important they are in our lives. Given that my animals mean just as much to me as any human in my life, the more important question is why would I ignore my dog (or animals) during the holiday season? I want my animals to understand how much I love them and since it is the giving season, it means giving back even to my pets!
What can you do with your pets over the holiday season that is fun, festive, and a team-building event? After much thought on this subject, I thought baking cookies with my dog would be a fun and creative event for both Cooper and I. After researching dog cookie recipes, I settled on a dog treat recipe called: Calvin’s Christmas Cookies (Dog Treats). The cookie recipe was a quick, dog-friendly recipe that I could personalize for Cooper with a French bulldog cookie cutter.
Cooper and I spent about an hour preparing and baking dog treats. Much to my surprise, Cooper was intrigued with the process of making dog cookies/treats. He got to stand on the usually-forbidden kitchen counter, while watching me add ingredients to the mixer. He watched the mixer go round and round making a soft dough that we would roll out together before cutting with a cookie cutter. Cooper’s favorite part was licking dough and preparing the rolling surface so that he could sample our product before it was finished. I would image that for a dog, it was no different than a child who always has to put their finger in the cookie dough to taste-test.
Cooper’s face lit up with delight with every sample lick he gave the dough while I continued to prepare and cut the dough into dog-shaped Frenchie treats. It seemed as if Cooper was pre-quality control ensuring that every batch of cookies would be tested for safety and flavor both before and after baking. If anyone was up for such a taste, of course, it would be the perfect job for Cooper who could smell food from miles away.
Baking with Cooper was fun, fast, and easy. Even though Cooper had to sample everything that I prepared, he was being respectable while tasting. To explain further, Cooper stayed in one place and watched me, almost mesmerized that he was allowed to break so many rules. He was able to stand on the counter, as well as to help with food preparation and taste test our samples. This holiday baking event that i planned with Cooper was a dog’s fantasy but safer because I was watching him every step of the way.
Cooper loved the extra attention and love, while also allowing him to break some rules for a team-building event with his loved-ones. I could see how happy Cooper was during our baking event because of the one-on-one attention he received, and he also loved tasting our products. If there is anything new or different you do with your dog this season, I would recommend making doggy treats/cookies. It was fun, easy, and a delicious memory that both Cooper and I will not only remember, but hopefully repeat year after year.
