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Holiday recipes
Every holiday, plus birthdays. Twenty minutes, a few dollars, and safe for people too.
01Read this before you bake · 6 points›
Xylitol — the one that kills: The one that kills. Check the peanut butter jar EVERY TIME — it hides in anything labeled sugar-free or no-sugar-added, and it causes a life-threatening blood sugar crash and liver failure. If the label says xylitol or birch sugar, it does not go near a dog.
Chocolate, never: Carob looks identical once baked and is completely safe. It is sold beside the cocoa powder.
Pumpkin, not pie filling: The can must say 100% pumpkin. Pie filling contains sugar, and usually nutmeg, which is toxic to dogs in quantity.
Also never: Raisins, grapes, onion, garlic, macadamia nuts, nutmeg, or anything sweetened with xylitol.
The ten percent rule: Treats come out of the daily calories, not on top. Ten percent is the ceiling. A whole cake is a lot of dog — a slice, and the rest goes in the freezer.
New ingredients: Introduce one new thing at a time, in a small amount, on a day you are home.
02The base recipe everything builds on · 5 points›
Name: Three-ingredient biscuits
Makes: About 24 small biscuits
You need: · 1 cup oat flour (blitz porridge oats in a blender — cheaper than buying it)
· 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 100% pumpkin
· 1 egg
· 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 100% pumpkin
· 1 egg
Safe for people too?: Yes — bland, but genuinely edible. Add cinnamon for yours; cinnamon is fine for dogs in small amounts too.
Why start here: Four things can go wrong and none of them are dangerous. Start here.
03Birthday & Gotcha Day · 6 points›
Name: The one-bowl birthday cake
Makes: One 6-inch cake, or 6 cupcakes
You need: · 1 cup oat flour
· 1/2 cup pumpkin puree or mashed banana
· 1/4 cup xylitol-free peanut butter
· 1 egg
· 1/2 tsp baking powder
· 1/2 cup pumpkin puree or mashed banana
· 1/4 cup xylitol-free peanut butter
· 1 egg
· 1/2 tsp baking powder
Frosting: Plain full-fat Greek yogurt, or low-fat cream cheese, beaten smooth. For color: a spoon of pureed beet for pink, pureed blueberry for blue, or carob powder for brown. Never food dye and never chocolate.
Safe for people too?: Yes. Unsweetened, so add honey to a human slice if you want it to taste like cake.
The candle: Blown out by a person, over the table, not over the dog.
04Valentine’s · 4 points›
Name: Beet hearts
You need: · The base biscuit dough
· 2 tbsp cooked pureed beet for color and a little sweetness
· 2 tbsp cooked pureed beet for color and a little sweetness
Note: Beet stains everything including paws, briefly. It is harmless.
Safe for people too?: Yes.
05Easter & spring · 4 points›
Name: Carrot and apple bites
You need: · 1 cup oat flour
· 1/2 cup grated carrot
· 1/2 cup grated apple, no seeds or core
· 1 egg
· 1/2 cup grated carrot
· 1/2 cup grated apple, no seeds or core
· 1 egg
Warning: Apple seeds contain cyanide compounds. Core it properly. The flesh is fine.
Safe for people too?: Yes — these are essentially an unsweetened carrot cookie.
06Fourth of July & summer · 5 points›
Name: Red, white and blue pupsicles
Why frozen: No oven in July, and a frozen treat occupies an anxious dog on the loudest night of the year. More dogs go missing on the Fourth than any other day — a frozen treat indoors with the curtains shut is a real tool, not just a nice idea.
You need: · Watermelon, seedless, no rind
· Plain full-fat yogurt or coconut milk
· Blueberries
· Plain full-fat yogurt or coconut milk
· Blueberries
Safe for people too?: Yes, and genuinely nice.
The free version: A whole watermelon chunk frozen on its own is the free version and most dogs prefer it.
07Halloween · 4 points›
Name: Pumpkin and cinnamon rounds
You need: · The base recipe
· 1/2 tsp cinnamon
· A pinch of ginger
· 1/2 tsp cinnamon
· A pinch of ginger
The safety note: Halloween is a poisoning night. Chocolate, raisins in fun-size boxes, xylitol gum and wrappers are all in the house at once, at dog height, while the front door opens fifty times. Bin sealed, candy up high, dog behind a gate.
Safe for people too?: Yes — add sugar to a human batch.
08Thanksgiving · 5 points›
Name: The safe plate
What they CAN have: · Plain turkey meat, no skin, no bones, no gravy
· Plain sweet potato, no marshmallow, no butter
· Plain green beans, no fried onion, no cream
· Plain pumpkin
· A little plain mashed potato, no garlic, no butter, no chives
· Plain sweet potato, no marshmallow, no butter
· Plain green beans, no fried onion, no cream
· Plain pumpkin
· A little plain mashed potato, no garlic, no butter, no chives
What they cannot: · Cooked bones — they splinter, and poultry bones are the worst offenders
· Onion, garlic, leek, chive — in the stuffing, the gravy and the green bean casserole
· Grapes and raisins
· Turkey skin and gravy — the fat load causes pancreatitis, which is a genuinely common Thanksgiving emergency
· Anything with nutmeg
· Alcohol, including in desserts
· Onion, garlic, leek, chive — in the stuffing, the gravy and the green bean casserole
· Grapes and raisins
· Turkey skin and gravy — the fat load causes pancreatitis, which is a genuinely common Thanksgiving emergency
· Anything with nutmeg
· Alcohol, including in desserts
The best move: Make up their plate BEFORE the meal and put it in the fridge. It stops the well-meaning uncle, and it stops you saying yes at the table.
Safe for people too?: Obviously.
09Christmas · 4 points›
Name: Cranberry oat rounds
You need: · The base recipe
· 1/4 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped — NOT dried, which are sweetened and often mixed with raisins
· 1/4 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped — NOT dried, which are sweetened and often mixed with raisins
The safety note: Tinsel and ribbon cause linear foreign body obstruction, which is surgical. Poinsettia is mildly toxic and lilies, holly and mistletoe are worse. Chocolate is everywhere in December. Bin sealed, tree base covered.
Safe for people too?: Yes.
10Gifts from the kitchen · 1 point›
A jar of the base biscuits with a ribbon and a handwritten ingredient list is a better gift to a dog-owning friend than almost anything you can buy, and it costs about two dollars. Include the ingredient list — dogs have allergies and the owner needs to know.
11Storage · 1 point›
Baked treats: a week in an airtight tin, three months frozen. No preservatives means they mold fast — if they feel soft or smell off, bin them. Frozen treats keep three months. Anything with fresh meat or dairy, three days in the fridge.
12Sources — check this yourself · 1 point›
· ASPCA Animal Poison Control (aspca.org/pet-care/aspca-poison-control) — the people-food list, free
· Pet Poison Helpline (petpoisonhelpline.com) — searchable toxin database including xylitol
· FDA — consumer updates on xylitol and pets
· Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com) — food hazards
· Cornell Riney Canine Health Center — owner-facing nutrition guidance
· Pet Poison Helpline (petpoisonhelpline.com) — searchable toxin database including xylitol
· FDA — consumer updates on xylitol and pets
· Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com) — food hazards
· Cornell Riney Canine Health Center — owner-facing nutrition guidance
13Everything here is free · 1 point›
Oat flour is blitzed porridge oats. A can of pumpkin is about two dollars and makes four batches. This is the cheapest treat in the whole guide and the one dogs like most.
14Printable · 1 point›
A four-page printable version of every recipe on this page is in the free printables pack (rosette_holiday_recipes.pdf) — sized for a kitchen counter, with the safety rules on the front and both poison control numbers on every page.
Rosette Dog is educational and is not veterinary advice. In an emergency, contact your veterinarian or the nearest emergency animal hospital.
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