Good reasons to make your own dog cookies

I found this in my inbox this evening
PetSmart is voluntarily recalling seven of its Grreat Choice Dog Biscuit products that contain peanut paste made by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). PCA is the focus of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation into potential salmonella contamination of peanut butter and paste made at its Blakely, Georgia facility. http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/petsmart01_09.html
Regular readers know that I had been a cook for thirty years before I retired. As a single Mom, cooking and baking skills often saved me quite a bit at home ... not to mention what they did for our quality of life : ))) And of course they were good life skills to pass on to my daughter as well .... after all one can't possibly know what one is eating if somebody else has to prepare it, hmmm?
For years I used to bake the dog cookies on Friday nights. Back in those pre wheat free days, the cookies were made from whole wheat flour and did double duty as the Friday Night Munchie test for my teenage daughter and her friends. ( Just another tool in the mother's arsenal ... like insisting that teenagers always kiss you goodnight when they come home because its harder for them to hide booze on their breath that way : )))
I have this theory that environmental air quality issues are directly responsible for the wheat allergies that so many dogs have now.... but I'm wandering afield here. The point is that especially in this day and age, if you have the time it is well worth it to develop the skills to bake your own treats.
The second favourite recipe for my gang is Oatmeal Chicken crisps:
soak 2 cups of quick oats in 3 cups of hot stock, stir in 1/2 c margarine and add 2 eggs to the mix after 20 minutes. Combine 1 and 1/2 cups each of soya milk powder and cornmeal with 3 cups of whole bean flour or 4 cups of brown rice flour. Combine all ingredients and knead well. Resist the temptation to add more liquid, just keep kneading until the dough feels like play doh. Roll out to desired thickness on a cutting board. You can use fancy shapes but I normally cut them in squares unless I'm making them as presents for someone else. It doesn't matter how big or small you cut them as long as they're all the same thickness.... so you can even cut some small ones for the kitties while you're doing this because they really like them too... at least in this house. Bake on the largest pan you have, or two 9 by 12 pans in a preheated 350 degree oven until lightly browned. Turn off oven and leave in until crisp. ( not to be confused with blackened please ) Any dough that is leftover can be frozen and saved for an emergency situation ... which in this house is when there are no more left and Mom is busy writing something.
The great thing about learning to bake for your dogs is that they are generally pretty forgiving of anything short of crispy black. I have been told that using recipes with chick pea flour is a great preventative for cancer but given McG's health issues i don't think I'd take that one to the bank.
The other great thing about making your own treats is that dogs really do appreciate the little things. And of course, if you live far from the 'civilized' comforts of the city and its surrounds, where there are no doggy bakeries to be found, the homemade bits are the only game in town.
Of course the best bit is not worrying about missing food alerts like this one.