October is here, and that means a few seasonal favourites come back. Our usual sweater weather returns, but mostly, pumpkin everything! Pumpkin is a favourite for many during the thanksgiving season, even for your pet!

As mentioned in the nutritional blog, pumpkin is a great digestive aid for cats and dogs. So, here are a few recipes to try so your pets can have a special thanksgiving dinner as well. Click any of the pictures or titles for the link!

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Dog Treats

• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Whisk together the flour, eggs, pumpkin, peanut butter, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. Add water as needed to help make the dough workable, but the dough should be dry and stiff. Roll the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick roll. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
3. Bake in preheated oven until hard, about 40 minutes.

5 DIY Thanksgiving Cat Treat Recipes

Pumpkin Pie Cat Treats

• 2 cups rice flour (white flour can be used instead, just opt for unbleached)
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 cup grated carrots
• 1/2 cup unsweetened plain applesauce
• Flour for rolling

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (Fahrenheit)
2. Blend pumpkin, carrots, and applesauce until smooth.
3. Have the flour and the oatmeal in a separate bowl. Slowly add the wet ingredient mix to the dry ingredient mix until a dough forms.
4. Roll out the dough to about a 1/4 inch thickness
5. Use Thanksgiving-themed cookie cutters to cute out treats.
6. Put the treats on a greased cookie sheet and bake for seven minutes. Flip and bake for an additional five minutes.

Let cool and serve!

Pumpkin Pie Dog Treats

• 3 Tbsp. peanut butter
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• ½ cup water
• 1 egg

1. 1 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling! Plain, pumpkin only.)
2. Preheat oven to 350°
3. Lightly spray or grease a 24 cup mini muffin tin.
4. Combine peanut butter, whole wheat flour, water and egg in a medium bowl, stir well to combine.
5. Divide dough evenly into mini muffin cups, press into bottom and up sides.
6. Spread pumpkin puree evenly over crusts.
7. Bake for 18-20 minutes until tops begin to brown.
8. Remove from oven and cool completely before placing in an airtight container. Then, you can refrigerate for a week or freeze for up to three months.

Healthy Pumpkin Dog Treats

• 1/2 cup of pureed pumpkin (canned or fresh)
• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, softened
• 4 tablespoons of water, plus more if needed
• 2 cups of whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 egg

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degree F.
2. Mix the pumpkin, softened coconut oil, and water together in a large bowl.
3. Then mix in the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder
4. Mix it a bit and then stir in the egg.
5. Continue to stir until it’s ALL combined. This might take a good minutes and feel free to add a touch more water in order to get all of the mixture into one solid, slightly sticky ball.
6. Once done, roll the dough out on a floured surface to ~1/4 inch thick.
7. Using a cookie cutter, cut out treats. These can be as small or as large as you want them (depending on the size of your dogs. I realize not everyone has giant dogs like me)
8. Place prepared dough treats on a lined/ greased baking sheet and bake for ~30 minutes (depending on size) or until dough has hardened.
9. Let cool and enjoy your pups excitement!

Note: If you don’t cook these treats until they’re totally dry and hard (like a traditional dog biscuit) then you need to store these in the refrigerator! Either way, it wouldn’t hurt to put them in the fridge to store them.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the recipes, you can always pick up a can of pure pumpkin and make little pumpkin freezies! Get creative with dog and cat friendly ingredients. Let us know what you come up with!