If you’re a slightly-obsessive dog mom like I am, you love spoiling your fur baby to the furthest extent. This year, my blue heeler mix, Logan, turned 8 years old (in human years). I wanted to do something special and go the extra mile beyond our subscription box filled with treats and toys. So I did what I would want a loved one to do for my birthday, I cooked him a really nice dinner.
Now, I didn’t just throw a steak in a pan and call it a day. I hopped online and did a lot of research about how to go about cooking for a dog. The last thing I want is to make my pup sick, on his birthday! After a few hours of extensive Google searching, here are a few things I learned prior to curating the dog-birthday-dinner menu…
Dog’s don’t do butter.
Most humans will take a pan-seared steak in a skillet full of the holy trinity of magic ingredients: butter, garlic, and fresh herbs. For dogs, this cooking method is a no-no. Dry out the cut of beef with a paper towel before cooking and trim the fat. The article I referenced said a light sprinkle of salt is fine, but I skipped it. I heated a light drizzle of olive oil in a pan and seared the meat in there.
Simple sides are the way to go.
The most common sides for a steak dinner are, arguably, garlic mashed potatoes and a grilled vegetable of some sort. Some folks double up on the carbs and do potatoes and mac n’ cheese. I want my dog to be as healthy as possible, so I went the veggie route. For Logan’s sides, I prepared plain sweet potatoes, baked then mashed (no butter or salt), and boiled broccoli. Simple, clean, and delicious!
Don’t overindulge.
As it turns out, you can’t just cook up a 12 oz. Rib-Eye with a scoop of mashed sweet potatoes and a pile of boiled broccoli and serve it up hot. Dog’s digestive systems are sensitive to portion sizes. Meat should make up 20% – 25% of a dog’s meal. Dog’s should also only consume about 1/4 a cup of sweet potatoes max and a few small pieces of broccoli. Ideally, all of these treats should be mixed in with their regular kibble as well. With all this in mind, plating was definitely a challenge, but we made it work.
Lastly, the meal needs to be cool before serving. Humans love a nice hot meal, but dogs have a habit of doing before thinking so we need to make sure the food traveling down their esophagus is at a moderate temperature.
Logan’s reaction to this meal was priceless. I put it down on the ground next to the dining table so we could all eat together and he couldn’t believe it was for him. He looked back and forth between us and the bowl a few times before he realized we did this for him. He inhaled everything in the bowl, I’d wager it was under 3 minutes, and at that moment was the happiest pup in the world.
