Bake your way into your fur baby's heart with this new dog cookbook

It might surprise you to know that humans aren’t the only ones who have enjoyed the benefits of baking recently. During lockdown, the foster dogs from Cape Town's Domestic Animal Rescue Group (DARG) were hard at work helping to curate pet-friendly recipes for the non-profit's new cookbook, Bake and Bark.

A pro-life organisation, DARG rescues, nurtures, sterilises and re-homes previously neglected, abused or abandoned animals. Besides about 240 foster animals at DARG’s facility, the organisation also cares for animals from the communities of Imizamo Yethu, Hangberg and the greater Hout Bay area.

Bake and Bark has been given the stamp of approval by Animal Behaviourist and Nutrition expert Jo Scott and includes more than 20 recipes made with all natural ingredients. These range from home-cooked meals such as Apollo’s Chicken Bowl to baked treats like Snoopy’s Fruit Pops.

For special occasions, you might want to refer to the recipe for Ken’s Chicken and Cheese Paté.

WE TRIED IT

I tried out Elle’s Burger Star Biscuits and Mathilda’s Bacon Bone-Anza (a muffin-like creation) on my canine niece and nephew.

I loved the idea of these all-natural treats, but struggled to bring together the ingredients required to make them, given the lack of a binding agent such as milk or oil in either recipe. I did, however, manage to bake both with a bit of care.

The biscuits and muffins came out brittle, but this didn’t seem to faze the two pooches who happily devoured the meaty treats.

Living inland without access to good, affordable fresh fish I find the use of a 1kg tuna steak for Tank’s Fish Cakes slightly excessive.

However, I think overall the book offers good ideas for health-conscious pet owners who want to treat their dogs and are looking for new, easy-to-prepare recipes.

• 'Bake and Bark', R220, can be purchased from DARG’s online store or from the @Frits Pet Hotel in Cape Town. All proceeds will go to DARG.