Retriever Retriever, Pumpkin Eater
Oct 7th, 2009 by Marilyn
Cleo wasn’t feeling well. Our four-year old black Lab had a problem, in that special dog way of having a problem, the kind that finds you outside at 3 a.m., wondering how she ate a paper towel, a pen, six bagels and their bag. Of course dog owners know that goes with the territory, and messy territory it is. But a few years back our vet gave me some swell advice, the sort of helpful tip you never forget: pumpkin.
Turns out pumpkin, in addition to filling pies, soups, and being eminently carve-able, works a certain enzyme magic on stomach irritation. Does it work on people? I don’t know. My job was to get it into the dog. “Feed her a tablespoon of pumpkin,” he said, “mixed in her food. Or right from the spoon – if she’ll take it.”
Would she? Her first move was to stuff her mouth with Ducky, thus avoiding whatever was on the spoon. Take it?
No.
And no.
And no way.
So I mixed it with her food – and for a time, she snubbed the food. She finally ate it, never making the connection that snacking on shrubs, or snail shells, or used Kleenex would earn her dinner a pumpkin garnish. Now, I have cared for and loved three dogs. I have seen a lot of 3 a.m’s, a lot of snowy, moonlit grass. I wanted a better pumpkin delivery system, and for me, baking something “in” is an easy answer – especially for Cleo, who is sweet and trusting, and not bright enough to suspect a biscuit.
Rolling dough got her attention…
…and while they cooled on the counter, she even forgot the edible bits in the yard. Dogs love these simple biscuits and sick or not sick, they make great treats. They’re delightful – but my best advice? Buy wastebaskets with lids. Don’t plant poisonous shrubs, shut bathroom doors, avoid the tastiest pens. And by all means, keep a handy can of pumpkin.
Cleo’s Pumpkin Dog Biscuits
2 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons dry milk
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 1/2 cups brown rice flour *
1 teaspoon dried parsley (optional)
Preheat oven to 350.
In large bowl, whisk together eggs and pumpkin to smooth. Stir in dry milk, sea salt, and dried parsley (if using, optional). Add brown rice flour gradually, combining with spatula or hands to form a stiff, dry dough. Turn out onto lightly floured surface (can use the brown rice flour) and if dough is still rough, briefly knead and press to combine.
Roll dough between 1/4 – 1/2″ – depending on your dog’s chew preferences, ask first – and use biscuit or other shape cutter to punch shapes, gathering and re-rolling scraps as you go. Place shapes on cookie sheet, no greasing or paper necessary. If desired, press fork pattern on biscuits before baking, a quick up-and-down movement with fork, lightly pressing down halfway through dough. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully turn biscuits over, then bake additional 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely on rack before feeding to dog.
* Brown rice flour gives the biscuits crunch and promotes better dog digestion. Many dogs have touchy stomachs or allergies, and do not, like many people I know, tolerate wheat.
Makes up to 75 small (1″) biscuits or 50 medium biscuits
Please note: This is not professional medical advice. These biscuits are a healthy everyday treat, and useful for a dog with a sensitive stomach, or minor digestion issues. If your dog is showing any signs of serious distress, remove all food and contact your veterinarian immediately.
I predict that all other cute I encounter today won’t be able to hold a candle to this.
What a lucky pup to have you for a mom. Any pumpkin treats for humans up your blog sleeve?
Love this, what a great idea! I’ll have to whip up a batch for our little Nilla–she’s a seasoned connoisseur of used tissues and napkins as well.
Sorry to hear Cleo wasn’t feeling well, but glad to find this recipe. We are well versed in dogs & pumpkin, as the Chesapeake Bay Retriever we adopted back in May came with a tricky anal gland that never empties all the way. This trait has brought regular trips to the vet into our lives as well as pumpkin—the fiber helps bulk up her stools and lessen her issue, but it’s also turning her teeth orange (we mix it in her kibble, she readily accepts & loves it).
I bake some of her treats & biscuits already, but the doggy cookbook we bought doesn’t have pumpkin biscuits in it. Why not? At any rate, I’m
glad you shared this particular recipe—we need it!
P.S. What type & brand of food is Cleo regularly on? Her coat is so glossy & gorgeous. (Or does she eat a raw diet?) We feed Wellness and/or Fromm, and while her coat is sleek & shiny, she seems to shed excessively. Any tips for that?
That shot of Cleo attentively supervising your dough rolling has me smiling again and again. We are currently dogless, having gone through an animal hospice stage a few years back as family pets one by one completed their journeys through this world.
It was a shock to discover I wasn’t such a great housekeeper when it came to keeping clean floors after all – that was our beloved Labrador’s doing, fastidiously cleaning up behind the family drops and spills.
Currently owned by a feral cat who claimed us around a year ago, I am not sure we are quite ready for another sweet pooch, so many thanks for sharing your kleenex muncher with me this morning.
First off, I love this recipe – but mostly those pictures of your dog are adorable! I love posts about DOGS! Thanks for the recipe!
Ha! That is too funny! My little Chloe ATE my pumpkin one night while I was away. (http://penandfork.wordpress.com/2008/11/14/pumpkin-eater/)
I thought for sure she’d throw it up, but she didn’t. And know I know why. All along, she was crying out for Marilyn’s pumpkin treats!
LOVE the fact you used brown rice flour because most dogs do have trouble with wheat gluten. I’m going to make these for Chloe and Skylar.
What a great recipe.. I cannot wait to make this for my little lab stinker! Lexi. She had pumpkin before and loves it and in fact the breeder suggested it when her tummy gets upset! Thanks!
Thank you for this post! Our dog Lucy has a lot of stomach problems. I can’t wait to try a batch of these for her.
Aww poor Cleo!
So do they taste good? Did Greg try one?
First of all, my sweet, 14-year-old dog is SOOOO gonna get a batch of these for the holidays. Secondly, now all I want in the whole world is a dog biscuit-shaped cookie cutter
OMG I love your dog. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. However, one thing. Are you quite positive your dog is a Labrador “I eat everything in the world, eatable or not” Retriever?
There was only one time my lab refused food. A sprig of parsley made it half way down her throat before she oh-so-disgustingly spit it back out at me. Turns out she prefers Italian to Curly. She didn’t fall far from the apple tree.
Loved the pics, recipe and post and especially bonded with your eloquent line, “I’ve seen a lot of three a.m’s, a lot of snowy, moonlit grass.” Oh man, can I relate.
You are saving the doggy world today. I never knew pumpkin could be a home remedy for a troubled doggy tummy. Is it exclusively for LR’s?
I think it must work for us two legged creatures too huh? I love pumpkin. Thanks for the darling post and give your furry friend some hugs.
AmyRuth
Those biscuits are way more attractive than most of the food I make for my human children. Cleo’s quite the looker, too. Got any magic biscuits for puking cats, by any chance? My fabric surfaces and 3 a.m. bare footsteps would be eternally grateful.
Oh, I have tears in my eyes. These photos of your Cleo are so sweet. That “I’ll roll over in submission but I’m still not gonna eat that orange stuff” look. So sweet. I lost my old girl in February and while she was going through lymphoma her tummy was off so we had to give her pumpkin (homemade puree, of course). She didn’t love it, either, but I found that a bit of real Parmigiano Reggiano helped. But I didn’t think of dog biscuits. Brilliant, but a bit too late. I’ll try this recipe should our greyhound Mini ever get into lawn chocolate or whathaveyou. Thanks.
Cleo is one lucky girl! I think we’ll have to mix up a batch of these for our little Reese.
Marilyn – I got your response to my birthday comment on my iPhone and, as we have 4 dogs, I started thinking about how I was going to modify your recipe BEFORE I even saw it. I decided that I’d use brown rice flour in place of whatever you used because it’s so much better than anything with wheat for my kids. And then, I finally sit down with my Google Reader and come here first.
You already had the perfect recipe. I should have known.
My dogs love pumpkin, too, especially my black lab mix. All four of my babies send their love because they are getting homemade pumpkin biscuits tomorrow.
Your dog really won’t eat pumpkin? Mine laps it up! I never heard of giving it to a dog that’s eaten something weird but it makes perfect sense. We’ve given it when the pup has the runs (or the opposite) but next time he eats something, he’s getting pumpkin! Or maybe I should just start giving it to him every day, he is ALWAYS eating something awful . . . including corn cobs and once, a screw. Seriously.
Oh this is super, we have a big softy lump of a boxer, who is renowned for being into everything and suffering for it. He should love this as he is a fruit and veg monster (seriously I have never know a dog who would literally do anything for a raspberry!)
Thank you. Love your blog.
Oh my word…my daughter is going to love this concept, not to mention having a little something up her sleeve when those two labs of hers starting acting up…
Thanks for sharing Marilyn, I’ll be passing this along…
such a gorgeous dog! She looks spookily similar to my own dog, Willow. We even had a toy duck that she loved, until she ripped a hole in it and destroyed the squeaker.
We have a pumpkin in our vegetable patch, so I will be trying this recipe so my pooch can try our home-grown goodies. Thank you.
Yes, pumpkin AND sweet potatoes work the same way on people with jumpy tummies. Maybe you could bake up a batch of sweet potato biscotti. Yum
About pumpkin and cats: since posting this, I’ve had several people mention that pumpkin works wonders on cat tummies, as well. Ask your vet about how much to feed.
Also, sweet potatoes: some sensitive-stomach and sensitive-skin dog foods contain sweet potatoes, thus it too would likely make a good stomach soother for dogs. I’m thinking of one high-end “Roast Duck & Sweet Potato” variety. Every time I see it I think “you know, that sounds awfully good.”
I never knew about pumpkin! That is very useful information. Makes me think of the term “digestive biscuits, ” and now maybe we know why that name came about!
I never knew! It’s like Ginger for dogs? I’ll have to make them for my pack. As for poor Cleo, hug her for me.
awww Cleo…but she ended up with some fab biscuits!
I was so sleepy when I commented last night that it didn’t register that Cleo wasn’t crazy about pumpkin. I came back today to get the recipe and then it all made sense.
Anyway, my dogs went absolutely nuts for these. My black lab is so camera shy – he runs at the sight of it – but sat and waited for me to take a pic so he could have a pumpkin treat.
I’m curious to know what brand of brown rice flour you used – I know that they can vary from brand to brand. I swapped out the milk powder for flax meal (my vet recommends flax meal for Gatsby’s dry skin) and omitted the salt. I needed some water to help hold the dough together. When making the second batch (yes, I made two…) I increased the pumpkin to 3/4 cup and still added a little water but it baked better than the first batch. It’s either the flax/milk powder swap or the rice flour brand.
I’d love to share my variation with my readers and link back to yours if that’s ok with you. I’m just so happy that my kids have a healthy treat that they love.
Brilliant.
ps I love, love your writing.
Anyone got a variation for a dog on a grain-free diet? My cocker will eat anything resembling food. I keep him muzzled on walks, which is sad: everyone thinks he’s a biter, and nothing could be further from the truth! But it has cut down on on doggie sickness and Naz gets skin reactions, too.
Anyway, a grain-free variation would be muchly appreciated. Pumpkin jerky, perhaps?
Cleo is adorable! Thanks for the pumpkin dog biscuit recipe (and pumpkin info).
Found your blog from Foodgawker (Pumpkin Eater) Gorgeous photography!
The black dog/orange pumpkin
Interesting and witty
Definitively going in my Favorites File.
Our 17 year old beagle left us recently and this has me thinking of how much she loved pumpkin. She had been overweight for part of her life and her vet suggested the Pumpkin Diet. A portion of her food was replaced by canned pumpkin. She absolutely loved it!! Thanks for the pics and recipe.
So glad I found your great blog! I can’t wait to try this out on “Ben” our senior cocker spaniel!
joy c. at grannymountain
awwww, Cleo’s biscuits look really cute. And such an imaginative way to sneak the pumpkin in!
I work as a dietitian and we recommend pumpkin for poorly human tummies too. Not sure if the same follows for dogs but for humans pumpkin and squash are high in soluble fibre which is good at absorbing water and ‘firming things up’
First time reading your blog & I love the pics & storylines. Will be baking these biscuits up soon for my doggie friends! Thanks.
Now if I can just figure out how to feed pumpkin to my bulimic cat . . .This may prove especially difficult, seeing as how none of my cats like human food. We offered them tuna once, and they looked at us like we were mustache-twirling kitty killers!
Cats’ faces go into a rather distinctive “something-crawled-in-here-and-died” when something smells especially nasty. Until the Tuna Incident, I had no idea that this could also include crossed eyes! The cats slunk from the room, hid from us for three days, and looked at us askance for another week. Happily, all’s long since forgiven and forgotten.
My Cleo stole the children’s trick or treat candy, gobbled it up, wrappers and all. Almost escaped notice ‘ til the the evidence was revealed…
Keep those candy buckets away from the dogs this Halloween.
Well I love any post with Cleo in it! AND…I think Maggie’s going to have some special treats this weekend. I recently bought a dog bone cookie cutter and haven’t done anything with it yet. Yay!
Oh my goodness, thank you! I have a black lab puppy and I am constantly amazed at what she eats (hint: anything and everything!). I totally plan on making these biscuits and, hopefully, cut down on our own 3 a.m. cleanups.
Ah….a long, dreary day in the office and I come across your dog biscuit post. I love the addition of pumpkin in these–not to mention that sweet lab snout (I have one, too–a lab that is, not a sweet snout). Thanks for the recipe!
[...] I saw that Marilyn at simmer till done made pumpkin dog biscuits, everything else on my list got pushed down a so I could bake for my kids [...]
[...] a pumpkin based soup (epic fail on my part, although the recipe looks delicious) and even made treats for the dogs! After the soup fiasco, I felt the need to redeem myself and tried out a few of Rodelle’s [...]
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I just made a batch to freeze for use at Thanksgiving. I know I will be short on time before the holiday and want to make sure the dogs have some treats too!
Great read and pics – thanks! I have been feeding my dogs pumpkin for years whenever they have a bad stomach and they lap it up. I feed raw meat mixed with NDF (a food supplement/carb etc adjunct to the meat) but when they are sick I just replace the NDF with canned pumpkin and some digestive enzymes and probiotic. Does the trick everytime. If they are really sick from eating who knows what, I just do about 1/2 cup of pumpkin 2-3 times per day with enzymes/probiotics and 1 or 2 capsules of slippery elm which settles an aching stomach and forms a lubricant in digestive tract. Then I slowly reintegrate the meat, cooking at first and slowly back to raw over a few days. Gross I know but it works wonders! I will try these great treats
I was surprised when you said you had to sneak pumpkin to your dog. Mine loves pumpkin straight from the can. I tried making these as my first homemade dog biscuit recipe. They turned out great and Dakota loves them. I was worried about the cost factor, the brown rice flour was $3.69 for a 7 1/2 cup bag. Even so, they seem like they are a good value and I like the fact that they are homemade. Thanks, for the recipe! BTW, your dog is awfully cute!
Great blog and pictures of Cleo. What a precious looking dog! My wife has been making biscuits for our dogs and they love them. We are interested in trying your recipe. Thanks!
My girl absolutely loves these biscuits. I know have to make them quite often, since they are her favorite treat. I keep them in the freezer and just give them to her frozen. It gives her some extra crunch for those big teeth! Thanks for a great recipe!
I missed this post, but i’m so glad I found it this time around! Now i have something to give the pups for the holidays! I can’t wait to make them.
I LOVE it! Can’t wait to try these for our pooch. Thanks so much for sharing! Your pup is a total sweetie!
+Jessie
To “K” – comment #30 – if your dog cannot tolerate any grains, you might try substituting potato flakes. My dog gets them mixed with his food and some warm water. Abe loves them.
Great recipe by the way!! Can’t wait to try it! THANKS, Marilyn.
This is adorable and really not that surprising. My Labrador eats the strangest things, wooden spoons being among his favorites. He ate an entire pumpkin once when my baby nephew decided to share and handed it to him.
My 18th birthday was a mess, though–my mom went to the trouble to bake a giant cake with about 4,000 kinds of chocolate in it, and Captain ate almost the entire thing. I wish I’d had this recipe back then!
I work at a pet store, and every time someone comes in saying “My vet told me to get these special expensive pills for my dog’s minor stomach problems”, I always say “Forget that, get pumpkin. It works like a miracle.”
Thank you so much for this post! My dog has a sensitive stomach. These treats will be perfect for my Izzy!
How do you store these?
I’m making these for my wheat allergic dog. Finally she can have some cookies other than those smelling fish and sweet potato ones!
Just want to thank you for this recipe and will definately be making these for my two labs whom both have allergies to poultry and both LOVE the Pumpkin!!
They are on a Holistic High Protien diet and this Pumpkin also helps them from getting constipated… But one down fall, they have some really rank farts!! LOL!! It all evens out and we can live with that.
Thanks again… Appreciate this recipe.
BTW, How do you store these dog treats? Air tight container? Fridge? And how long is the shelf life?
Love your Cleo : )
Cleo obviously shares the same alure to ick as Zephyr does. Glad she gave in to eat pumpkin. Zephyr ate a sharp toothpick(it was stuck in a carrot. He loves carrots) a few weeks ago & he was on poop watch for 3 days. *Sigh* He will eat anything–horse poop, squirrel carcass, yum! Luckly, he’ll also eat an array of fruits, veggies, plus he loves plain yogurt. It’s the god send to keep it all moving. Ack.
Hope Cleo is feeling better. It sucks when they feel icky & can’t tell us why.
d xo
So glad to have found this recipe! We have three dogs at home, one of which is a German Shepherd just diagnosed with food allergies and a tricky digestive system. I started feeding all three spoonfuls of pumpkin each morning before leaving the house and they eat it up! I’m excited to be able to fix these for all the dogs in the house, not just the possessor of iffy digestion.
Would it be ok to use white rice flour instead of the brown rice flour? I searched my grocery store but could not find brown rice flour, just the white. I just want to make sure I’m making something good for my beloved pup! And thank you for the recipe, my dog always has an upset stomach, I have high hopes that these treats will help!
I make biscuits for all the family dogs every year … I’m trying this recipe this year. Thanks for sharing.
I have 2 small dogs 10 and 12 pounds can they eat these cookies to? I have tried all the store brands and even stocked up @ petco and they are really stubborn they only want things that we eat
Love this-what a great idea! Although our 2 pooches love pumpkin mixed in with their food. It’s a great source of fiber too.
hmmmmmm my black lab whitney has real sensitive tummy and my golden retriever pup eats anything in site and so does my american bull… have always done chicken an rice but will definitly make these and have these products on hand as my daughter is on gluten free diet…your dog acts and looks so much like my whitney!!! love my doggy babies
Found this recipe through Pinterest…adorable photos and thank you for sharing! Can’t wait to try this with my pups.
Thanks so much for the recipe. I had 3 doxies get into some cooking oil years ago. Oh my what a mess! The vet said to give them pumpkin with some cottage cheese! They loved it and it cleared up their tummy woes. Currently have two new doxies that get a bit of pumpkin in cottage cheese every night to help keep their anal glands in shape. They will love these biscuits!
I made some pumpkin dog biscuits similar to this recipe over the weekend and they came out great…my 2 aussie shep / great pyrenees mix’ loved them and one of them is very picky! I’m wondering if regular rice flour can be substituted for brown rice flour? I can’t see why not. I love that variation! Thanks
Yum! I will have to get some brown rice flour just for Izzy’s treats!
I have to say BRAVO for you and thank you!! YOU truly posted a healthy treat for dogs..one that has NO CORN WHEAT OR SOY!!! Lots of people don’t understand what all that does to their skin it actually causes allergic reactions hense why they scratch itch and lick!! Your a God Send once again THANK YOU for posting!!!
Thank you for this super recipe. I see my Sister’s doghter getting these for the holidays.
~C8>
How long will these hold for? I am going to make a batch for my baby, but want to send some to my “nieces and nephews” for Christmas too!
OK… you have made my dogs addicted to these things! LOL I ran out of the second batch I made in two weeks and tried to give them a dog treat from the store and I think they only ate it out of politeness. It took them 4-ever to swallow it LOL. Making my third batch right now. I think they like it because I made it in the shape of a pumpkin
Thanks for sharing it with us!
These look yummy sure my puppy will like them, but its hard to buy caned pumkin her, so had no idea what half a can of pumpkin is, so did a google search, 1/2 can of pumkin is 425 grams : )
Great recipe! Our little shiz tzu cross had tummy troubles when we first got her and our local pet store owner recommended giving her pumpkin. Worked like a charm! Although she loves the pumpkin by itself, we could never get through a can before the pumpkin went bad so I can’t wait to try these instead!
Love this! Thank you so much for the recipe. I too have seen many 3 a.m. mornings b/c of my fur-babies.
I will def make these!
–shelley
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Beautiful Post! I loved reading every word!
looks great, I will have to share o my blog.
I made these for christmas. It was an awesome gift for all of my mastiff’s (daisy) pet friends. I left a brown paper bags filled with these pumpkin treats signed with a gift tag of daisy’s paw print as the signature. With tons of feed back that all of our doggy friends loved them, I am thinking heart shapes for valentines… Everyone especially loved them given the info for the pumpkin. I asked my vet and they confirmed tht pumpkin is great for dogs.
Great Recipe!!
I did try giving daisy pumpkin from a spoon and she loves it, but not every kid likes spinach right?
How interesting as when my dog had diarhea(sp) I looked up on the internet what to give and pumpkin along with rice was one of the things they suggested…..stock uppppppp……..at the time last winter when I went to the stores nobody had pumpkin as it was a bad year for them weatherwise and no canned pumpkin even on the shelves…..not even Walmart!!! Thanks for the recipe–I will try this!
Our dogs name is Cleo too! I’ve never heard of another puppy Cleo
Our Cleo constantly has belly issues, too, so I do believe I will be trying this! Thanks!
I made my dog Ember a batch of these for Christmas, as well as for a few other dogs of family and friends. They absolutely loved them and couldn’t eat them fast enough. And they are so easy to make! I am making another batch soon because people are asking for more for their dogs. This was honestly the BEST dog treat recipe I have found online! Even dogs with wheat allergies can eat them! Thanks for posting this recipe!
I can’t find brown rice flour!! Kroger and Walmart didnt’ have it.
Have you checked the wheat/gluten-free section? You can request that your kroger carry particular items. Just ask to speak to a manager, I think they give you a card to fill out.
I made these as Christmas gifts for our groomer and all of our friends who have dogs and put the treats in personalized jars. Everyone (especially the pups) loved them! I recently made a batch for our own two Husky rescues and it quickly became the treat they’ll do anything for! Thankfully, our pups don’t have wheat allergies, but I went with your recipe anyhow and they turned out great. I especially love the fact that when our groomer gives them out to pups in their shop, every dog will be happy… wheat allergies or not!
Thank you for posting this! I just ran out of treats and decided this year was more of the homemade and less processed. Making all my own bread and rolls this year, so I know my pups will appreciate being included in this. I have 2 dogs that love their treats after dinner, one is a black lab who loves the bathroom garbage? Not sure why, but the door stays closed and the other is a rescue dog (American staffordshire terrier and american bulldog who often gets mistaken for a pit bull) and when she gets anxious she eats whatever is in sight. TV cords (it was unplugged), dog hair on the floor, plastic bags, fringe from the rugs, my wood floor, you name it she has probably eaten it and thrown it up. ugh. We switched her to a hypoallergenic dog food and that seems to be helping her keep food down too.
Love! Your girl looks so much like my black lab Blue! I’m going to definetely be making these for him in the near future. Pumpkin! Who knew!
Hi, I would like to make these treats for my dogs, but I can’t find brown rice flour. Would white rice flour work?
I am a part-time dog sitter with clients that range everywhere from Shar Pei to Jack Russell to Newfoundland. I have yet to find a dog who doesn’t LOVE these. Try them for your puppies..
We are fans of pumpkin after our vet told us it would help prevent our borzoi from eating his own……poop……it works! We made these today and both of our four legged babies loved the. We are delivering to the neighbors too! We mix canned pumpkin in their food as a treat and they love it!
[...] recipe slightly adapted from Simmer Till Done [...]
Thank You for sharing, my Choc Lab just loves pumpkin and squash and i’m sure he will enjoy these. Oh and Parker has the same ducky, his favorite toy.
Thanks for sharing this. My black lab will eat almost anything. She will love these. They look good enough for people to eat too! I must be hungry. LOL
Looks great and your dog looks even cuter!
So loved this post and recipe. I thought your pictures were amazing and your story was so funny. It really hit home for me as I have a lab cross, Woofer, who has also enjoyed many used kleenexes in his day. He has an upset stomach right now and has a lot of food sensitivies so these treats might be just the ticket. Thanks for your wonderful post!
Just made these yesterday and posted your recipe (with credits to you) on my blog! They came out great and my poochies loved em! Thanks!
[...] a heart-shape which was his Valentine’s treat, but the others were all in bone-shape. I got this recipe from Marilyn at Simmer Till Done after spotting it on Pinterest and just had to whip up a batch for [...]
You mention using the brown rice flour for crunch…would these work if I left that out? Asking because my little poodle doesn’t have many teeth left therefore I give her soft treats now. Thanks!
I am so going to have to try these for my little Sophie and her “cousins” (my brother & his fiance’s dogs). I hope they love these as much as they loved the other recipe Sophie sent them for Christmas.
I have an old dachshund that I have trouble keeping from getting overweight. She is always looking for a snack. I tried this recipe about 6 months ago and have not stopped making it since. I make a batch or two and store it in the refrigerator for no more than a week, so I can make them in a hurry if I need them. She loves them, and we love you for providing such a good treat.
Love this idea! I love Cleo too, she looks so much like my Duncan
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! My Golden-Lab buddy, Ramsey, loves them… he goes quite crazy for them actually and sits in the kitchen while I am baking them knowing the smell
Thanks again!
[...] Makes up to 75 small (1″) biscuits or 50 medium biscuits Here's the site it came from Retriever Retriever, Pumpkin Eater | Simmer Till Done [...]
We have two beautiful Collie’s and our male is very picky! I made these last night and after tasting one biscuit, he sat pretty and held his paw up to shake for another! I was thrilled to make him something that he finally enjoys!!! Thannnnk you do much!
I will be trying this out, my 4 month old black lab Bianca is eating the tv remote as I type this out. Thanks for the recipe!
My “girls” just loved the Biscuits!!! Thank you so much! Had a lot of fun making them!!
) Have a super cute picture that I wish I could post!!
My Sadie, a shih tzu, loves these. Should I limit how many she gets per day? She did have hard stools and it’s really helped her loosen up. The only problem I had was that they were brown on each side. I guess I should either lower the oven temp or the time. Any suggestions?
Made these last night for my two labs, one which I recently adopted from our local shelter. He has digestion issues, probably due to kennel stress and/or allergies. Vet suggested pumpkin treats and thus I found your recipe. OMG they are gobbling them up so fast I am going to have to bake another batch very soon! Thanks so much for sharing!
These look wonderful, will have to make them soon for Pru and her pals. Terrific pictures too!
I love the recipe, the way this is written, and the pictures to accompany the story! Thank you.
If you can’t find Brown Rice Flour, check in the natural/health food section of your grocery store or look for Bob’s Red Mill products. That’s what I use and my pups are hooked.
[...] used a recipe I found over at Simmer Till Done. Apparently pumpkin soothes doggie tummy issues and since Duke has eaten our grass lately (why [...]
Rocco will love these…
my dog lives on pumpkin and LOVES it!!! what could you use to substitute eggs?? he’s allergic.
I would LOVE to make these for my Golden, and I noticed you said about the brown rice flour and I want to thank you because my Bella can’t have wheat either! Finding healthy treats for her gets boring after a while because she seems to end up having the same thing because of all her allergies. But I bet she’ll more than love these! I can’t wait to make them for her. Thanks for the receipe!
We have a Maltese named Kida who is nearly at the end of his life and when we found out he was sick in April, we modified his diet with raw meat & Holistic which I think has helped. Would loved to have tried these biscuits out on him but will bake a batch for his cousin and hopefully a future friend.
Question: How long do they last? I’m just baking some now for my new pup! Can’t wait for him to try them…I gave him a little taste of the pumpkin…took some convincing but I think he liked it
These sound great! My Chloe has had issues and the vet suggested to put some pumpkin in her food…which she love, but the pumpkin goes bad in a week. I always end up throwing most of it out (What a waste). I can’t wait to try this. How long do the biscuits stay good?
Marilyn, thank you so much for this yummy recipe!
My little chi might be intolerant of eggs so I only added one and used Almondmilk to make up the difference in liquid, plus I added 3/4 can pumpkin vs 1/2 to up the pumpkin content… he LOVED them and he’s a picky little eater!!!! Now I don’t have to wrap a tsp of pumpkin in honey turkey after his meals to get that fiber in him!
MANY THANKS!
A word of caution for anyone out there who isn’t a baker (that would include me)… after I made these wonderful treats and they cooled, I put them in a sealed tupperware container. The next day they were no longer crispy and crunchy, but soft and chewy. I suspect anyone with kitchen sense would know not to do this! My little chi ate them anyway, but preferred them crisp and I wanted them that way to help keep his teeth clean.
So how are these supposed to be stored to maintain the crunchiness?? Thanks so much!
Not only is this a recipe of awesomeness, your delivery is double awesomeness! I LOVED reading this, and the photos are beautiful.
Running off to share it all over Facebook …
so happy to get this recipe, my yorkie loves pumpkin , so hes going to love these
My Golden has skin allergies, she eats 1 small can of pumpkin and 1/2 can of carrots everyday, in addition to her hypo-allergenic dog food. Also, a good diet food…if you are trying to trim your dog down, replace some of their regular food with pumpkin.
Love this post as well! Cant wait to try this recipe. Could I share this on my blog?
Shannon
I was wondering how long these will last and how do you store them?
This gave me my best “giggle of the day”! Our Westie has a touchy tummy and although she doesn’t snack on tissues, etc. she will snitch treats from our visiting granddog. This invariably has her retching in the middle of the night. We’ll be making these treats today!
Thanks so much for the recipe! I have a dog with severe food allergies, she can’t have wheat, corn, poultry, beef or pork! I will be keeping this handy, and thanks to the commentor who suggested using potato flakes instead of rice flour(not sure how Miss Kylie would do with rice), she currently eats either Rabbit and Potato or Venison and Potato. And I just adopted a new pup that just loves to eat random stuff and am becoming well versed in the 3 am clean up! So many problems this could help with!
I have seen my fair share of 3 am clean up especially with my youngest dog who feels the need to eat everything and just doesn’t have the stomach to handle it, where as my older one seems to pass things he wasn’t suppose to eat just fine.
I am looking forward to trying this out and will definitely make sure I also have a can of pumpkin on hand from now on.
Thanks!
I just found your Blog and am pretty sure it will be my new shot of caffeine every morning! Thanks for sharing your writing wit.
My Yorkie, Maltese, Chihuahua mix loves these and I love that I am not feeding her treats made in china. I have made them a few times and one time made them so they would be softer for her and they molded, so if I do make them softer I put them in the frig in an airtight container. I do keep them in a ziplock bag or rubbermaid container and they stay good for a couple weeks. I make mine small so I would recommend putting half in the frig.
Such a cute pin! Looks just like my black lab Swagger! My question is what is the shelf life of these sweet treats?? Thanks!
Love this! My two papillons will love these treats. I especially love the fact they use rice flour as I am celiac and must keep a gluten free kitchen. This means I can make these without sanitizing my entire kitchen! The dogs will love them as it has been a while since I have cooked for them due to the gluten intolerance! Thanks so much!!
Thank you for this recipe! Our lab just got over pancreatitis and this is the only treat our vet gave us the OK to give him. He and our special needs GSD LOVE these. Plus, it gave me an excuse to use my Star Wars cookie cutters!
Thanks for sharing this recipe – and the information about pumpkin. I will be making this for my naughty, naughty eat-everthing-they-find doxie girls
What a wonderful treat these are and so often I visit friends with dogs and like to take a gift for the dog (after all these ARE our babies!) I make up a cute topper, put a few of these wonderful treats in a cello bag and give it to my friends to give to their loved ones. My friends love me and so do their fur babies..I always get a happy wag from the pups when they see me comming. Makes darling gifts. Wonderful recipe, thank you!
Just made a batch for my schnoodle. He LOVES pumpkin, and these crunchy treats went over super well. He’s about 18 pounds, so I made only half the recipe, made the dough about 3/8″ thick, cut some pieces about the size of a 50-cent coin, and cut most in half-moon 50-cent size pieces. He found 50-cent size a bit challenging since they’re super crunchy (not that it stopped him). My husband broke them up and used them as trainer treats. Excellent and will make again (probably all in even smaller pieces)! I can’t wait to see how long they last, since the batch still made a TON.
Thank you so much for posting this!! We have a golden retriever with a very sensitive stomach, and the poor guy seems to get sick if he eats anything other than his dog food and baby carrots (which he still insists on doing anyway). I’m very excited to try these for him.
http://pinterest.com/pin/129900770472282307/
My dog Princess looks like your Chloe….she has anal gland issues and a sensitive tummy so I can’t wait to try these! Thanks,
Jennifer
My oldest pup is going through chemo, and her upset tummy wakes me daily. I hope these help to settle her. So far, all my dogs love the taste at least.
I ran across this recipe today and I’m happy to hear that my dog isn’t the only one eating things he shouldn’t. Just last night he scarfed up a cat toy (a little stuffed bird that tweeted). Luckily he spit the tweet thing out, but little plush bird was gone.
He was sick for the rest of the night with good reason. I’m so excited to make a batch of these cookies for him. They will be good for everyday as well as for those items around the house that mysteriously go missing. 
Thanks!
[...] Pumpkin Dog Biscuit Recipe I saw this on Pinterest and thought maybe some of you would like the recipe. I can't wait to try it on the weekend. Thanks!! Retriever Retriever, Pumpkin Eater | Simmer Till Done [...]
Thank you for this! I have a dog not feeling so well, I am off to make pumpkin cookies!
P
Beautiful beautiful doggie!! Love that she rolls over to avoid eating the pumpkin!
Didn’t read all the comments – so, excuse the repeat if it is. Make sure to use plain pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.
The rescue group I volunteer for, Great Pyrenees Rescue Society, tells people that onions, grapes, and raisins can be dangerous for some dogs and that sugarless gum, the tiniest bit, is usually deadly for all dogs.
Fabulous pics – All our dogs would be adopted if you took their pictures!! Thanks for the wonderful recipe – everyone will be thrilled.
My little dog has colitis and it seems he has an allergy to grains. I am now buying” Limited Ingredient Diet” dog food. I put rice in it ,some vegtables (carrots, green beans) going to introduce sweet potatoes too, yogurt( with live cultures) pumpkin was said to be very soothing to his tummy. After 10 days being on antibiotics and this diet the colitis seems to have vanished. I hope it continues.
Love this pumpkin treat recipe, the parsley in it is very good for digestion too.
Found brown rice flour in the Organic section of store !
I hardly ever post on blogs but I have to sing my praises about pumpkin. When we got Chewie as a puppy, he had bloody stool. The vet ran all kinds of tests and three different meds. We turned to an all natural supplement of pumpkin and plain yogurt. His tummy was normal in twenty-four hours. He still has a sensitive stomach, though he doesn’t know it. We had grey foresight when we named him. We always go back to pumpkin. I can’t wait to try this recipe! Thank you!
this is so presh! definitely making this for my pup
Our little poodle was on a medicine that made her extra hungry. Not wanting to fatten her, our Vet suggested pumpkin to put bulk in her tummy so her wasn’t so hungry. She loved it from the first day. In fact, once had an opportunity to eat human pumpkin custard and we found her nose deep in the dish! She also had tendency to throw up when her epilepsy was occurring and now I’m sure the pumpkin helped with that too. Thank you for sharing. I too love every puppy dog on the face of the earth!
Ahhh yes this makes it much easier then shoving the pumpkin in and holding her mouth closed until she swallows. My dog’s speciality is tissue and paper as well. Thanks for this recipe!
I saw this on Pinterest and have been wanting to make homemade treats for my pup but have never tried. How long do these last? Months? I don’t give my pup treats every day but I’d like to put them in a container on the counter for days that I do treat her (like I do with store bought ones). I live in the south where there is a lot of humidity. Just curious! Can you use white flour? Or is that a dumb question?
These look great. I am a special education teacher and my students make dog treats to sell in order to take part in community outings and fund service projects. Curious if these need to be I. The fridge after baking and how long they stay good for? I would love to try these out this school year.
My dog Zeus is a huge fan of dryer sheets and dental floss. We now keep the dryer sheets in a closet and the bathroom door is kept shut. Can’t wait to try these treats!!
Made these for my 7 mos. old pit bull Indigo and she loves them! I had another recipe that called for whole wheat flour, but I like the brown rice flour better. Am also making peanut butter puppy cookies!
I made these last week for our elderly Westie who has frequent tummy troubles. Evidently I made them a little too big for her, as she eats about a third of the bar, then “buries” the rest in her favorite chair for later!
I had two dogs with diarrhea last week. Checked with vet and he said pumpkin and rice. It definitely works. My dog has a very touchy stomach so I am going to try your recipe. He loves treats.
I know that this recipe has been on your blog now for quite some time, but I was wondering if you remember where you purchased your dog bone cookie cutters. The shape is adorable!!!
Where did you find the cookie cutters shaped like dog biscuits
Sounds safe and almost good enough for human consumption!
Thank you! I don’t even have a dog of my own, but about half of my dear friends do, and these will make a welcome gift when I go visiting
[...] Tutorial [...]
I just found your recipe and I am going to make it for my two babies. I personally have two dogs, yet everyone of my family members in my house also have at least one if not two dogs each. So I will be making a batch of these up and let you know how they go over. Oh and we have pure breed PeekaPoo dogs at our house so I like others will be making these biscuits in a smaller size for their little mouths. If you have any more get recipes please share them with me. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with the world of dog owners.
I too learned many years ago about the wonders of pumpkin for my little dog. He’s so fussy he won’t eat if I put his food in a different dish. Fortunately though he LOVES pumpkin, so much so that he would eat the whole can if I allowed him – the funny part is that he will NOT eat it if I prepare it fresh! lol
He’s also got a gluten allergy that he developed when he was about 7 years old, he’s 11 now so I think the brown rice flour would be perfect – thanks for the recipe – I’ll be giving it a try next time I’m at the store to get the pumpkin.
Great recipe! I make all my own treats. U can find small cookie cutters of almost any shape on EBay.
I have a set for almost every holiday. Lol. Love my three Labs!
Great idea for treats! Thanks! My vet suggested adding pumpkin to one of our dog’s daily diet to add fiber to her system. She has had tummy issues her entire life. Pumpkin did the trick. We add a few tablespoons in w/ her dry food twice a day.
These cookies are fantastic thank you so much for posting I intend to try these, I have 4 little ones and these sound like they might be just what is needed to help their little tummies and their backsides! thank you again!
Stacy–The secret to the dog biscuits being crunchy is to make sure to leave them out over night–if you put them in any kind of covered container before they have had the chance to really “cure” I’ve found that homemade dog treats get soft…I love this recipe. My dachshies don’t have wheat allergies and I have wheat flour so I’ll make these using wheat flour.
Thanks for the recipe! =)
The pumpkin really does work….my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel has a sensitive stomach…and the pumpkin does the trick….Can’t wait to try the biscuits!…Thanks!
I bought my dog bone cutter in Sur La Table where they have all their cookie cutters. My dog is a miniature dachshund and I only give one a day – what is best way to store these? Can they be frozen?? I don’t buy treats in the store anymore because of ingredients from China. Charlie also tends to get chubby if given too many treats so I want something tasty and healthy.
Where do you get the cookie cutters??????
I have a seriously picky black lab. He even threw the vet’s treat back at him. I made these for him and he lovesss them. He gave me a similar look when I was rolling them out. It was pretty great. Now half my coworkers want the recipe. I referred them here.
Thanks for the great recipe!
Thanks for the recipe!!!! I didn’t know that pumpkin was so great for dogs! My mom’s dog, Jack, will eat ANYTHING…they told us when we adopted him that he was Beagle and Basset Hound. We’re pretty sure he’s part goat, as well. And my dog? Well…poor Jasper…he’s not the brightest crayon in the box but he’s also very intolerant of wheat. This recipe is perfect for the two poochies in my life! Can’t wait to make them this special treat!
P.S. Your dog is just too darn cute! I like her refusal to eat the pumpkin, LOL! I know that look all too well
My black lab loved these! Thanks for sharing! I’m excited to give them away to friends and neighbors for the Holidays
[...] recently said, I’m really getting into making things myself. When a friend posted this recipe on her Pinterest board I knew I wanted to give it a try. My dogs do tend to find their way into [...]
Do these need to be refrigerated? Can’t wait to make them for my guys this weekend!
Thank you for the receipe! These were a hit with my two English Bulldogs!! Will be sharing with all my doggie friends!
[...] Many dogs have touchy stomachs or allergies, and do not, like many people I know, tolerate wheat. Retriever Retriever, Pumpkin Eater | Simmer Till Done Gluten Free Dog Biscuit Recipe (these weren't as crispy/crunchy as I'd hoped but they were really [...]
Cleo is a lover! Thank you for this recipe…making them today for my Suki-lulu <3 Checking the health food store for brown rice flour as none of the majors actual grocery stores carry it….
In your photos the baked biscuits appear to be dusted with something. What is it? Thank you again for sharing this recipe!
Just made these for my little Sherman puppy. They are cooling in the oven right now and he is waiting to try them. I’m wondering how to store these and how long they last? He is small and will probably only have a couple a day….and I cut the recipe in half but still have about 50 treats. So are they are they okay to feed a couple a day until we run out or do they have a shelf life? Also, do they need to go in the fridge…or can they be put in a plastic bag and left out?
Would love to hear an answer on this. Don’t want to risk making him sick. Thanks!
Having trouble finding brown rice flour, but will try
wal-mart. My doggies love pumpkin!
Hi, I have an older dog who has weak kidneys. Would this dog treat be OK for her? I have been making pumpkin treats for her and she loves them. But it’s a different recipe. I think your recipe has healthier ingredients.
I love your writing style! After hurriedly letting out one of my pups first thing this morning, it had me laughing out loud in agreement. My Mom sent me this link, knowing my “boy” well. Thanks for the reminder of wonderful pumpkin.
I was busy making myself pumpkin scones this morning and had some extra pumpkin.. made these for the dogs.. they LOVE them.. I gave them one after they cooled. A little while later as I was putting them away they both came dashing out to get another. Nice and crispy with the brown rice flour ( BTW.. I get mine in bulk at the Local health food store ) Thanks for sharing your recipe!
[...] simmertilldone.com via Wendy on [...]
Does anyone know how long the biscuits are good for? I made them and my little pekepoo LOVES them!! I’ve been storing them in a glass canister with a sealed lid. What do you guys think?
I just made these for my mother’s dogs and for my boyfriend’s mother’s dogs.. I used regular flour because i couldn’t find any rice flour.. they seemed to love them still! it did not upset there stomachs using regular flour. ALOT cheaper to make your one than it is to by them and at least you know what is in them!..
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Can we freeze these once they are baked? My dog can’t eat 75 treats before they go bad.
This is a great recipe! My dog has A LOT of food allergies and her treat selection is really limited to ice cubes and peanut butter, but this is 100% safe for her! And it makes me happy to be able to give my girl doggie treats like she deserves
Love your post! My dog has recently developed food allergies and I just made his first treats last night. I’ll try out the pumpkin version soon!
Adorable pup by the way!
Where do you get the brown rice flour? I’ve looked everywhere and cant find it!
I used potato flour instead of the rice because I do not feed grains to my dogs and I didn’t have pumpkin so I used sweet potato. The first batch was a little dry and crumbly so I added more sweet potato and a little water to the second batch and they were much better. I have a Pug and a Jack Russell and I am fostering another Jack Russell and they all loved it! Great recipe!!
I am definitely making these for my grandpuppy. I wonder if I make little bits of it if the cats will eat it too (my cats love pumpkin off the spoon). Yes, definitely, avoid all wheat and corn products in doggie foods – it’s very bad for their intestines.
Just wanted to say hello and thank you for the great recipe! I was just bumming around Pinterest when I found this Pinned there and knew I had to check it out. It got even better when I realized you are from Lawrence, KS!!! I’m living in Toronto, Ontario now, but lived in Lawrence before that! Love your blog all the more for that!!
We just found out our black lab is cancer-filled and doesn’t have much longer, so this recipe will be a sweet luring outside to use the bathroom as the steroids have kicked in full force. He loves his pumpkin pancakes, to he’ll be sure to love these. Thank you
Thank you for this! I have been giving my 2yr old Goldendoodle, Brody, pumpkin whenever he had had tummy issues since he was a puppy. It had always worked like a charm, but with the small amount I give him, I always end up having to toss the rest of the can away. Now I can make a big batch with no waste! I was thinking about brushing them with low sodium chicken broth right before baking for added flavor. What are your thoughts about doing this?
My two black lab girles absolutely love these! One has an extremely sensitive tummy, and giving her one a day seems to keep her digestion regular. I make these once a week using seasonal cookie cutters (pumpkins and bats this week!) The shelf-life is approximately 9 days so eat up!
I think it’s brushing them with low sodium broth is a great idea! I actually bought some that has no sodium in it. I will try this on my next batch of pumpkin doggie treats.
Thank you! I’m getting right on this! My 12 week Yorkie just ‘delivered’ triplet Nerf darts in our backyard. But before we got to this point we were at the vet at 9 pm on a Saturday night looking at xrays of an obstructed small intestine. Recommendation was a specialist vet that could perform a $3000 surgery with slightly higher than 70% survival rate. What? There has to be an alternative, something we could try before going to an extreme. That lead us to a tube of gooey gel to give her that would lube up her digestive system and therefore ease the passing of whatever it was that was obstructing her intestine. So anyway, it passed, thank goodness! Hasn’t slowed her down much and we keep all things small and squishy and Nerfy and whatever else she might consume picked up the best we can. But I’m sure she will still eat something to upset that belly. Enter these yummy biscuits. I see a happier digestive system in her future.
Thanks again for sharing.
This is the second time I have made these and my dogs love them.
This time I used potato flour added a little bit more pumpkin they came out really crispy so great for my dogs teeth.
Next time going to try 12 mins each side.
Thank you so much for this recipe it has been a life saver for my older dog regarding treats .
My husband is the cook in this family and made Cleo’s Pumpkin Dog Biscuits tonight (10/21/12) after work. (I was his assistant — fork pattern maker and dish washer.) Our Miniature Dachshund, Emma, just knew that we were cooking up something for her. She danced around the kitchen during the entire process. Every now and then, I picked her up to show her how we were coming along in the process. She doesn’t have any tummy issues, we just thought home made HAS to be better than store bought, and we liked your recipe. So when all 111 mini dog biscuit cookie cutter biscuits were ready to be tested, Emma gave them a BLUE RIBBON! NOTE: I happened to see that Michelle Collins’ message above mine mentioned that she was going to try 12 minutes per side. Funny, but that’s what my husband decided after the timing of the first side of the first batch — and it worked great — cooked through and nice and crunchy. Thank you, and big kiss from Emma. PS – You did not mention in the recipe how long the biscuits last. I have them in a Tupperware-like container with a twist on top. Should I keep them refrigerated and keep extras in the freezer? My husband seems to think they will be fine in their air-tight containers and won’t go bad.
Unless your pup gets 110 treats in less than a week you’d best store most of the treats in the freezer. The ones we left on the counter went “fuzzy” in 4 days in high humidity FL summer. The ones in the fridge were good for a full week. No problem at all with those in the freezer except they didn’t thaw fast enough to suit Westie Baby!
Sounds like a great recipe, I have 2 senior dogs and one has a very sensitive stomach – will make a batch as soon as I am able to find ‘brown rice flour” and FYI-grinding brown rice doesn’t quite work-I tried using it but I guess it wasn’t fine enough! Could not roll the dough-had to press the mixture into the bone mold to make each biscuit-was very time consumming
From the Netherlands……just one word……GREAT.
Rufus our rottweiler….always stumic problems…and where to find that grass in the middle of the winter………so far we didn’t hear one noise coming from his stummic…….and he likes the cookies…..tonight we maked them for the second time and Rufus was laying a meter away from us.
So thanks for the recepie.
With friendly regards,
Paula
Thank you, Judy…into the freezer they went!
Just made my first batch of these any my dogs love them! Thanks for the recipe. I did cut the timing down to 10 minutes each side and still probably will cut down a little more next time.
Also for those of you that cannot find rice flour it is very easy to make if you have a food processor. Just put some rice of your choice white or brown in and turn the food processor on until it is a fine powder. Continuing adding small amounts of rice until you have the amount you need and continue processing until the rice is a fine powder. I have even done this with oats to make my own oat flour. So much easier when you truly need to be gluten free!
I had a Jack Russell with IBD, and although we did lose him because of the advanced stage by the time they figured out what it was, we found a great natural dog food store that had a lot of foods with pumpkin in them. It did seem to help him hold his food down better for a while. But it seems that pumpkin in dog foods is being used for many digestive issues in dogs and the owner of the store said it has been quite successful. I am going to make these treats for all my dogs, who are all getting old now. After going through the IBD and losing the battle, I never want to have to do that again.
May have been asked but can’t read all the posts – can you use fresh pumpkin?? Presume it’s the same? And I’m suprised at the milk as dogs cannot digest milk due to not having lactase to digest the lactose. But would like to try the recipe. Many thanks, Verity.
I just love this post. Your dog, the photos, the story and of course the recipe are adorable. I did know how good pumpkin is for all of us and great for constipation too, but really appreciate another recipe for homemade biscuits. Thanks. Hope you don’t mind but I pinned your article to share.
Cleo is super cute.
what a nice mommy she has. Thank you for the recipe, my furry babies are gona love it.
[...] the puppies, I made some pumpkin dog biscuits from Simmer Till Done and worm hot dog [...]
A friend lost one of her Beagles, when it ate a mushroom, growing in the yard.
I will definitely be trying these — just because they would make awesome treat! We are lucky though, our labbies will eat the pumpkin directly off the spoon!
I love the recipe and tried it for my three dogs and two have Candida yeast problems. One of my dogs had a break out after eating them so I contacted http://www.NZymes.com to find out which ingredient made them break out and they think it is the brown rice flour and they told me to substitute the pea flour instead. I would not think that the two tablespoons of dry milk would have done that to her and NZymes did not either. I just wanted to thank you for giving me a starting point to make a tasty treat for my pups since almost anything on the shelves anymore are non touchable for my pooches.
Love your dog! Looks exactly like my Casey. Casey even has a Duckie too! I am so going to make these for Casey.
I am going to try your recipe! Hope I can find the brown rice flour. Please, please make sure everyone knows that the pumpkin is 100% canned pumpkin and not the kind with spices added for pumpkin pie!!!!!
My vet told me (and I now know from experience w/ my 5 miniature doxies) that adding a little pumpkin to the dog’s food will keep them from the nasty habit of …… hmm, how do I put it nicely ……. eating their poop! No way nice way to put it
Great recipe –Where did you purchase the cookie cutters please?
I love this recipe! I keep canned pumpkin in my house at ALL times! With two labs and a VERY senior pom, you never know when one of them is going to have this problem! Never thought about putting it into treats though! Definitely will have to give them a try!
Great idea! How long do the biscuits last before they get moldy or stale? That’s a lot of biscuits out of one recipe and I have two small dogs, so I would use a smaller cookie cutter, and then would have even more biscuits. Your help is appreciated!
My first batch I kept on the table in a jar and they molded (good ol’ humid FL) in just a few days. Now, I keep them in the freezer, only taking out enough for a day at a time.
I put mine in a glass jar with a seal tight glass lid. They are still good and I am going on the third week! Brown Rice Flour can be found in the organic section of your grocery store…in Florida we have a store called Publix and it can be found in the back of the store in the Green Wise (Organic section). I will be searching for pea flour at a place called Chamberlins which is a health food store.
Hello!
In response to your many questions about biscuit storage: I have kept the biscuits, stored in a sealed Ziploc bag or plastic container, at room temperature for at least 1-2 weeks. Since the recipe does make a ton of treats, you can successfully store as many as you wish in the freezer (also in a sealed bag or container).
As there are no preservatives in this recipe, any fluctuating local humidity could (but doesn’t always) affect the length of room temperature storage. So store accordingly, and Happy Snacking to your pooches!
I made these & stored them in a plastic container; they were getting fuzzy spots within a week in Upstate NY. Next time I will freeze them because they were a great treat.
Thanks Judy and Marilyn for your response. I will freeze them.
[...] last week with my dog Daisy staring at me hopefully the whole time, I stumbled upon a recipe for pumpkin dog [...]
My dogs love these treats. If you roll them thicker or make them larger they will need to bake longer or they will get moldy sooner. I baked mine for the 40 minutes and then turned the oven off and left them in to let them dry more.
Thank you for the recipe!!
I am so excited to be making these for my Christmas gifts for all my furry neices. How happy will they be and how happy will there owners be that its homemade and NOT made in China. Now to just find that cute cookie cutter. Any ideas where i could pick one up at?
Hi! Just wanted to thank you for posting this. My dogs- Charlie (Cavalier), Roxy and Bitsy (Chihuahua sisters) LOVED them! Astonishingly, so did Muffin… one of my CATS. =) Again, thanks for sharing. <3
Thank you for the recipe, ALL of my dogs absolutely LOVED this! I have 7 dogs and most of the time I find treats that some love and some hate and some will tolerate. Not This. All of them will sit pretty for them and some back for more. Thank you, thank you, thank you
[...] mix it in with her food, or she can eat it off a spoon. If you're feeling real creative you can try these biscuits. Hope she feels better soon! __________________ PROPERTY OF Tallulah Belle, Charlie Bean, and [...]
I found a cute set of mini cookie cutters on ebay. Perfect for reasonable treat sizes!
My daschund Otto loved this treat! For those who are trying to find the cookie cutter–most craft stores that have a baking aisle have them. I got mine (about 2 inches) at AC Moore for about a dollar. Thanks for the recipe and helpful info about pumpkin!
My daughter, Kristen has two black dogs that go to doggie day care at her father in law’s (Don) home. He lives on one acre and grows a quarter of that acre in pumpkins every year to share with family and friends. Kristen’s two dogs and Don’s dog, eat fresh pumpkins right out of the garden. Their coats are gorgeous! Glossy, shiny and healthy. They never get sick from the fresh pumpkins and they are all very happy, healthy energetic dogs. Pumpkin is great for dogs.
I think I own the only beagle in the world that won’t eat everything. She is strictly a dog food, meat, and cheese eater. She won’t eat anything resembling “people food” unless it falls under the meat and cheese category.
But, I made these anyway. I couldn’t find brown rice flour, so I used white rice flour. While these were baking, my dog woke up from her nap with a sniff, and then came into the kitchen and set down expectantly. When they were cool enough for her to eat, she gobbled one down without hesitation.
Picky puppy approved!
These treats were perfect for my pups. The husky sat on the kitchen floor staring up at me the whole time. I did end up reducing the cook time to about 10 minutes a side which worked perfect for mine (they were about 1/4″ thick). I found a set of three dog treat shaped cookie cutters at PetSmart earlier today (made by Martha Stewart) that were really nice for only about $8. The tiny size is great for every day treats and the pups might luck out and get giant bones for Christmas.
My little rescue Peanut gets stomach problems in May so far every year we have had him. I am making these for him now and will be feeding him these to be proactive lol
[...] awesome. Our dog turned four this day! She got a mani/pedi, and a bath! Yay!! I made her treats, she got a whole can of dog food and lots of belly rubs all day long. We really do love the crap [...]
My Westie’s tummy was making lots of grumbling noises. Then I remembered this Pin about pumpkin to soothe his tummy. He wouldn’t eat it straight from the spoon (like your pooch), so I mixed it with his food. Still…no go. So I had to add a little cheese & voila! (I hope the cheese didnt defeat the purpose!). I’m definitely going to make these bisquits. Sounds like it makes a bunch, so I’ll be adding doggy treats to the holiday cookie gifts I hand out to my dog owner pals. Seperating them of course!
I hope he eats the bisquits, cause I don’t think he’s a fan of pumpkin. And I pray it works. This was his first pumpkin tasting ever & it didn’t go over too well. He has had tummy problems for quite some time now. This will be a blessing if it works! Thank you!!
I’m going to try this recipe once the vet ok’s the ingredients! my poodle has panreatitis but she loves pumpkin! Cooked or raw, so she should love this! thanks
Found your recipe on Pinterest and loved how easy it was. Made a batch up for my 3 dogs and they LOVED THEM! I just made my 2nd batch today. Thank you for sharing.
These came out perfect! My dog and all her friends love them. I think I will make a ton for Xmas presents for my friends with dogs. Thanks!
Where do you get brown rice flour? And dog bone cookie cutters?
Thank you for this recipe. I’ve made it four times now, and it’s inspired the purchase of a dozen adorable tiny cookie cutters. And my sweet pups, Banjo and RustyBear, and all the dog friends we have, LOVE to eat these!
Thank you!
Ooh they are in the oven as I type!!!! Not very bone shaped but I’m sure doug the pug won’t care!!!!
Found this recipe on Pinterest and have a batch in the oven to give out to all of Dexter’s friends for Christmas. Thank you for the great recipe.
[...] flavored and meant to help calm an upset tummy and Olive loves them. The recipe I use is from here and super easy to make. We made them a bit Christmasy because, well, I had the cookie cutters for [...]
Well, I went straight for the ingredients of Angel’s food. The first 3 ingredients were meat and water. However, the first ingredient on the dark brown coated milkbone treats was wheat flour. My suspicions were correct – the bones are giving her anal glands fits. I never knew wheat was a problem for some dogs. I will throw those bones out and fix yours for my lovely Angel.
Thanks for posting this! My dog has stomach problems and is allergic to most things. I made these for her and pretty much replicated exactly what happened with your dog. (She wouldn’t eat the raw pumpkin, but LOVED the treats…almost took my hand off when she stole one too many and I tried to get it away from her).
I have 2 chocolate lab mixes and my parents have a full blooded one that is just about 2 years old. She is a very unusual lab she will eat anythig and I mean anything (except pineapple) including 2 WHOLE pumpkin pies the day BEFORE thanksgiving this year!! And she didn’t even get sick, luckily she didn’t touch the peanut butter pie that was on the counter as well. All my mom could say was the fact that they were still warm when she ate them!!!
Recently I made these for my two papillons. They love them so much that I have made them three times! My dogs do not have any digestive problems but I benefit from their biscuits! I have celiac and handling wheat makes me so nervous. Love that these are gluten free! Thanks for the recipe
[...] adapted this recipe slightly, mainly because I thought I had what I needed, and naturally, I didn’t. The dogs [...]
[...] of course laid out some scented pine cones. To include the pups and also inspired by Chloe’s treats, I decided to attempt baking some homemade goodies for the girls. This recipe is great because of [...]
I made this recipe for my 2 dogs- a yellow lab and a shit zhu. It was super easy. I used the little pie crust cookie cutters and it made over 100 of the perfect size for a treat! I cut the cooking time in half. The best part of all is I was done in less than 45 min from start to clean up. They loved them and even the cat tried one and loved it. I really like that I know what’s in them and the amount of time it took to make them all assures that I will make them weekly now. Thanks!
[...] January 6, 2013: Since so many folks have asked about it, here is the recipe for the Pumpkin Dog Biscuits. We added another egg to the dough and used quite a bit of additional brown rice flour when we [...]
I made 2 batches, Large bones and small ones. Gave them away at Christmas time to dog owners and got a phone call today telling me they were moldy. I know they were baked long enough. They were dry and very hard. Do you think because there were no preservatives in them. I put them in tin containers.
Our greyhound looooves these. So crunchy, a bit messy but he gobbles them up!
Thank you! I have 4 pocket beagles and a chihauhau!
They all get one teaspoon of raw pure pumpkin in every meal.
If I should run out, they look at me as if to say,”Something missing?”
This is another way to ensure they get their pumpkin and that their treats are healthy!
Thank you again.
I can’t wait to make these for my dog Zelda a peekapoo with allergies to wheat . I hope I can find brown rice flour at my store . Thank you soooo much for this I have been searching for snacks for her that didnt contain wheat…and she has stomach issues from time to time so I am thrilled to find this : )
We have chihuahuas so I added 1/4 c. honey so that we wouldn’t have to worry about them getting hypoglycemic. We am going to use them for separation anxiety events.
Can I just mill my own brown rice? This is a great blog….Our Rosco has upset bellies alot! Great to learn new things!
I just came across your blog from a Pinterest post. I am definitely going to try these for my golden. She had a stomach issue last week and I totally forgot about how pumpkin is supposed to help. Unfortunately I am still cleaning the carpet spots from her accidents! Thanks for posting the recipe!
-Shelley
Not sure if i missed the answer or noy, but how long do these last. I just made a batvh for my lab who eats anything that doesnt eat him first. Lol
Thank you for this recipe! I made these for all the dogs in our lives during Christmas and they all loved it! At least, that’s what I am assuming being they ate them up! My parents dog, who doesn’t eat many treats at all (weird I know) LOVED them! We have 2 labs that are on a raw diet so this fit in to that perfectly! They were simple to make and enjoyed by over 12 dogs we know!! Thank you again!!
My 9 month old schnauzer/poodle pup tries to eat anything that meets her fancy.Glad to have this recipe I found on pinterest…thanks!
I made these this afternoon, and our pit bull/greyhound cross (don’t laugh!) loves them. I couldn’t find brown rice flour so I just used white, and I broke open about a dozen Glucosamine capsules and mixed that powder into the dough. Blazer gave them his enthusiastic approval.
Thank you for you most entertaining story! Cleo’s escapade makes me smile every time I read this! My own two Labs LOVE pumpkin, and they do get a tablespoon on the top of their evening meal. Arwen, by elderly princess, has been dealing with allergies in the past couple of years so I’ve had to resort to making her food – a labor or love. I ran across your’s and Cleo’s recipe while trying to find a simple recipe for treats. I’ve been making them since just before this past Christmas (2012) and can honestly say that both of my Labs, my bestie’s Lab, the neighbors’ two Labs, and about 5 other dogs that visit me on a regular or occasional basis all give these Two Paws Up! Thank you again for sharing Cleo’s story – and the recipe!!
This was simply adorable. I love the blog and laughed at the delightful way it was written. I am going to make these biscuits for my dogs and I thank you for sharing the recipe. I also hope that Cleo decides that the biscuits are better than the other things, however, as the owner of many labs, the current one being Hamilton, I can attest to the absolute shock at some of the things they ingest….and I often find myself pondering the question WHY?????
[...] cheated with this one. Rather than type it all out, I need you to jump across here to to get the [...]
Thank you so much. I have a weim that like to eat outdoor surprises. His favorite are wood chips, dirt, roots, and anything the squirls bury for him. Last night was a 5 time wake up night so I think I will be making some of these tonight. I know how well pumpkin works and treat pumpkin is even better. Also my vet said sweat potatoes also work. I have dehydrated them and my dog loved them and they work. Go figure drhydrated they look like wood
But it takes about 8 hour to make them this looks so muck easier. Thanks again/
Obviously, your pup will eat the pumpkin if you put it in these delicious looking biscuits (yay!) so you’ve really solved the problem for yourself, but here’s a little advice for those of you that don’t feel like baking: many dogs who turn their noses up at the canned pumpkin go CRAZY for a fresh, steamed, baked, or boiled pumpkin! I have what could be the pickiest little beagle on the planet. She hates the canned pumpkin, but follows me around begging when she smells a pumpkin steaming in the microwave!
Another tip: I scoop teaspoon-sized servings into ice cube trays and freeze, then put into a freezer bag. That way, you can thaw out one dose at a time when Fido is having tummy-troubles! Our big labradors love to have those as (HEALTHY!) frozen “pup-sicles” during the hot summer weather, too!
and, if your pup still won’t eat the fresh pumpkin, you can always use it to make these delicious biscuits (which were a big hit at our house, by the way!)!
[...] a great dog biscuit recipe-it has pumpkin in it which is good for sensitive stomachs (like Casey ) Retriever Retriever, Pumpkin Eater | Simmer Till Done __________________ Central Massachusetts One good reason to only maintain a small circle of [...]
Love the post, the pictures, and the recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Hello!
I came across your blog via Pinterest and am excited to give these a go! Raven most recently ate my passport, birth certificate, notepad and a pair of socks that had found their way down the side of the bed between the wall. She is still wanting to put everything in her mouth however! One quick question, when you say 1/2 can of pumpkin, how big of a can are you using?
Thanks!
Kirsten & Raven (also a black lab!)
[...] “Retriever pumpkin eater” pumpkin biscuits. [...]
I am going to try this! My black lab & wiener dog will eat it off their food or a spoon but having the pumpkin in cookie form would be easier and less messy! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the recipe. I have a little 7 year old Yorkie that has colitis and I cook for her; she does not get any commerical dog food…only chicken breast, brown rice and pumpkin puree. I’ve been cooking for her for about 5 years now and she remains very healthy . I will add these to her diet for treats
Thanks for sharing. Tiffy’s mommy Suzie.
I made these tonight and they were a huge hit!! Thanks so much for the recipe.
[...] Here’s the recipe from Simmer till Done: [...]
You can make your own brown rice flour. Just put the rice in a blender, or food processor and grind till done!
How long do these stay fresh for?
[...] for this recipe. The shared photo on facebook didn’t have a link to the original site, but this one seems to be pretty close to what was [...]
I made these for my beagle today. She LOVED them, and she usually turns her nose up at treats (weird dog, I know). Thanks for posting!
Wonder if you could replace the rice flour with coconut flour? Just cause I have that on hand……
Gonna make these, I have a dog that is given pumpkin in her food for fiber. She will like this much better I am sure. Thanks so much
I have a 9 yr old jack russell. She eats sensitive stomach Science Diet but vomits frequently. U think these biscuits might help? Im sure she eats other things in our yard too which does not help….