LONDON, Ont. — For Susan Dimma, healthy homemade food treats are a perfect way to show her five-year-old golden retriever how much she cares.
“When I became a personal chef, I thought, ’My clients eat healthy. We eat healthy. Why can’t my dog eat healthy?' ”
Dimma, owner of Garnishes Personal Chef Services in Guelph, Ont., caters to people in her job but works hard at home to ensure that her dog Gryphon eats food he both likes and is good for him.
She says a “traumatic” health scare when Gryphon was a puppy (he was allergic to the shots he had to get from the veterinarian) made her “really fussy on keeping him healthy.”
“He doesn’t get garbage treats.”
That means none of the traditional human holiday indulgences, such as candies and sugary confections. But he will have some special homemade cookies for Christmas.
“Commercial dog treats contain preservatives, colouring and chemicals you can’t pronounce. As with humans, dogs can become ill and obese due to highly processed substandard meals and snacks,” Dimma says.
“There are a few commercial shops that specialize in healthy dog treats, but they’re so expensive and the dogs don’t know. My treats have oatmeal, canola oil, oat flour, chicken broth. I do put shredded cheese in one treat, but it’s not enough to hurt him.
“Peanut butter and (cooked) eggs are good for their coats. Other treats I make have parsley in them, so it’s also good for their breath.”
Dimma says anyone thinking of making dog treats should first “do their homework and find out what’s good and what’s not.”
Some fruits, for example, are fine for dogs — Gryphon has a banana every morning — but grapes, raisins and the pits of fruits such as peaches, plums and nectarines are highly toxic to dogs, as is avocado. Dairy products can cause digestive problems for some dogs and raw meat may contain harmful bacteria.
As a hot weather treat, Dimma uses lactose-free plain yogurt or homemade chicken broth to make doggie popsicles (without the sticks, of course). She puts some little organic training treats in them and freezes the dogsicles in ice-cube trays.
She also bakes Gryphon a peanut butter cake every year for his birthday and this year had a full-fledged party with other dogs invited.
“Crazy, yes, but it was fun.”
If her dog does become ill — “he licks everything on our walks” — Dimma makes him a mixture of cooked lean ground beef and rice, “which he loves,” and feeds him about 125 millilitres (half a cup) every three hours.
She said she was embarrassed one day when Gryphon spit out a discount store treat given to him by an acquaintance of hers.
“If you, as a person, are used to eating really healthy food and then are given junk food, you may not like it. I think dogs are the same way.”
Dimma is not the only chef to pay attention to four-footed friends.
Quebec-based food guru Ricardo Larrivee will be giving homemade dog cookies as gifts to his friends with dogs this year.
He started to think about canine nutrition when he learned his family’s new puppy Leo is allergic to soy products.
“And all of a sudden I realized it happens,” he says. “They’re just like humans. Sometimes they have reactions.”
Dog cookies make a “nice gift,” he says. And if the kids grab one by mistake, it’s no problem.
“It’s only good food. There’s no salt, there’s no spices, there’s nothing. It’s just good healthy things and it looks good.
“This Christmas, all my friends that have dogs, they will have some cookies for them.”
