[CorkyMax]

A link on wheat:
Is it bad to give Wheat to dogs? - Yahoo!Xtra Answers

Another article on wheat and dogs:

So what symptoms should you be looking for to check if your dog has a wheat allergy:

Itchy skin
Shaking of the head
Ear inflammation
Licking front paws
Rubbing face on carpet
Vomiting
Diarrhoea
Flatulence
Sneezing
Asthma like symptoms
Anal itching
Behavioural changes
Seizures
Many dog owners never suspect that a wheat allergy could be the cause of their dog's health problems, usually because the dog has been fed the same food all its life and the symptoms have only recently appeared. But dogs are no different from humans in the respect that food allergies can develop over a period of time. Not every human suffering with a food allergy was born with it, and the same goes for dogs too.

Another issue is that some people might assume that their dogs are unable to eat poor quality or cheaper dog food, this is not the case with a wheat allergy, if your dog can't eat a cheap brand of dog food that contains wheat, then he can't eat an expensive brand containing wheat either. The only advantage with buying the expensive foods are that some avoid wheat as a cheap filler in the first place.

Of course it's not just wheat that dogs can become allergic to, some of the other most common foods resulting in food allergies in dogs are corn, soya, preservatives, beef, pork, chicken, milk, eggs, fish.

So what is the first step in diagnosing if your dog has a wheat allergy? Talk to your vet first, if they are not sympathetic look for another vet who is. Your dog will then have to go on an exclusion diet, and it's just as boring as the exclusion diets that humans have to go on.

[CorkyMax]

Peanut Butter n' Honey Oat Crunchies

1/4 cup honey
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
2 cups chicken broth or water
1/3 cup peanut oil 1 cup rolled oats
1 cup oat bran
3-4 cups oat flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 ° F (180 ° C).

In a small dutch oven or large saucepan, combine honey, peanut butter (try to find a brand that has no added suger, salt or other ingredients; ideally it should only contain peanuts), chicken broth, and peanut oil. Heat, stirring often, until mixture begins to simmer. Remove from heat. Stir in rolled oats and oat bran and let cool until lukewarm -- or cool enough to work with. Gradually blend in oat flour, adding enough to form a stiff dough.

Transfer to a floured (oat flour or rye flour) surface and knead until smooth (about 3-5 minutes). Shape the dough into a ball, and roll to 1/4-inch (6 mm) thick. Use a mini-cookie cutter or cut into small squares. Transfer to ungreased baking sheets, spacing them about 1/4 inch (6 mm) apart. Gather up the scraps, roll out again, and cut additional biscuits. If the dough becomes too crumbly to work with after a few rollings, sprinkle with a little water to bind it together and knead it for 30 seconds or so.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and turn over. Bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until golden brown on both sides. After you finish baking all batches of biscuits, turn off the oven, spread all the biscuits in one baking pan and set them in the oven to cool for a few hours or overnight. The extra time in the oven as it cools off helps make the treats crispier. These make a more delicate crunchy biscuit, so we use them more for special or training treats, not tartar control.

Makes several dozen small treats that keep and freeze well.

Be careful of the salt/sodium in the broth----Buy the low sodium kind or make your own--minus the salt!

[/B]

[CorkyMax]

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons parsley 2 cups beef broth
2 cups barley flour
3-4 cups rye flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 ° F (180 ° C).

In a large bowl, combine olive oil (extra-virgin olive oil is more expensive, but lower grade olive oils are blended with other vegetable oils that may contain corn or soy), and parsley. Heat the beef broth (it's best to make your own, canned or condensed broths have added salt, sugars, and preservatives) or water until steaming and add to the olive oil mixture . Stir in barley flour and let cool until lukewarm -- or cool enough to work with. Gradually blend in rye flour, adding enough to form a stiff dough.

Transfer to a floured (rye flour) surface and knead until smooth (about 3-5 minutes). Shape the dough into a ball, and roll to 1/4-inch (6 mm) thick. Use the cookie cutter of your choice (we prefer to make small bones) or cut into small squares. Transfer to ungreased baking sheets, spacing them about 1/4 inch (6 mm) apart. Gather up the scraps, roll out again, and cut additional biscuits.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and turn over. Bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until golden brown on both sides. After you finish baking all batches of biscuits, turn off the oven, spread all the biscuits in one baking pan and set them in the oven to cool for a few hours or overnight. The extra time in the oven as it cools off helps make the treats crunchier.

Makes several dozen small treats that keep and freeze well.

Came back in to add-----Be careful of the large amount of salt/sodium in the beef broth----At least go for low sodium beef broth or make your own.

[CorkyMax]

To substitute one cup of wheat flour, try one of these:

1-1/4 cup rye or oat flour

Or:
3/4 cup rice, barley, or potato flour or oats



Wheat-Free Dog Treat Recipe Notes:

Wheat flour substitutes will take longer (10-20 minutes) to bake. Best results are produced when substitutes are used in combination. Experiment if necessary to find what works for you.

The addition of 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder per cup of nonwheat flour improves the texture of the baked goods.

Most wheat-free baked goods will crumble, so making foods in smaller sizes helps retain shape and body.

To thicken a recipe or to hold ingredients together, substitute for 1 tablespoon of wheat flour for one of the following:

* 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch, potato starch or rice flour

* 1 tablespoon arrowroot or oatmeal

* 2 teaspoons quick-cooking tapioca

[CorkyMax]

Wheat Free Dog Biscuits

I come from a family of dog lovers… We have always treated our dogs like a member of the family. So, I bake cookies and biscuits for my dog, just as I would for anyone else in the family.

A lot of dogs are sensitive to wheat, mine included. This recipe is inspired by a wheat-free dog biscuit recipe I found in the paper a few months ago. Instead of all purpose flour, this recipe uses oatmeal and rye flour.

These treats will last for a week or two, stored in an airtight container. You can use a heart shaped cookie cutter to make a Valentines treat for your favorite pooch! These would also make a great gift for friends and family who have a furry friend.

Ingredients:

1 cup oatmeal
1 cup + 1 tablespoon rye flour, divided
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 cup milk
Directions:

Combine the oatmeal, 3/4 cup of the rye flour, sugar, and melted butter in a mixing bowl. Gradually add the milk, stirring between each addition. The mixture will become slightly sticky.

Spread the remaining 1/4 cup of rye flour on a wooden cutting board or a clean countertop. Turn the dough out onto the cutting board, and knead the flour into the dough mixture. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a cookie sheet. Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of rye flour on the cutting board (or countertop), and roll out the dough to approximately 1/4 inch in thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut the dough into shapes and place them on the cookie sheet.

Bake the biscuits for 15 minutes. Turn off the oven and allow the biscuits to cool in the oven with the door closed. Once the biscuits are cooled, remove from the baking sheet and store in an airtight container.

Note: This is a 'pasted' recipe (not mine--nor the others above!)

[Lara's mom]

Thank you so much for both the information and the cookie recipes which I jotted down and will certainly give a try. Both my girls are "cookie monsters" and buying the ones at the pet food store that aren't full of junk and preservatives cost up to $12 for a small bag!

The girls and I took a walk over to Whole Foods and bought a box of organic, fair trade quinoa...It looks suspiciously like bird seed...It just may be a challenge to get them to try it. I'm planning to make a pot of homemade beef stock for a soup so, I'll try cooking the quinoa in stock and mixing it in with some stewed beef chunks and veggies. Hopefully, they won't turn up their collective noses at it! They're usually really good about eating mom's home cooked grub, especially if I add a little mild curry powder.

Thanks again. I really appreciate the effort you put into finding that information!

[greggypetty]

I didn't expect this much response. Thanks! I think I will test out some of those recipes. Again, thanks a lot!

[Lara's mom]

I'm glad that we could help! That's what makes this forum such a great place! I'm so thankful that I found it.

It's amazing how much more we now know about dog food, this is all great information! When we first got our last dog 16 years ago we fed him Iams thinking it was the best thing on the planet. It cost more than store brand foods and they had great advertising - who knew. When he was 9 he developed diabetes, and thankfully he lived to be 14 on insulin, but now that I know so much more about proper dog nutrition I wonder if it was the food that brought on his diabetes. I agree with some of you, sometimes it's better they have a happy home than the absolute best food, but if you can spend more now to save on vet bills in the future...is it really worth it to get cheaper food?