Anise is a wonderful additive to both dog treats and people foods.
If you’ve ever tasted Italian Pizzelles (anise waffle cookies), you have had the pleasure of tasting anise. Anise has a licorice-like flavor and it’s delightful!
The smell of anise drives dogs wild! It's often used to train dogs to hunt or to follow a certain path.
For drag hunting, a sack that has been saturated with anise oil is dragged across the ground, and it provides a scent that the foxhounds can follow.
Another example is found in greyhound racing. The dogs chase an artificial hare that has been scented with anise.
Anise is definitely worth getting for your homemade dog treats. Dogs adore it and it's good for them.
The Sniff Test Anise and Dogs
Your dog can enjoy this anise scent in the homemade dog treats that you make.
If you watch your dog when she discovers a new treat, she will first sniff it, then mouth it and then she will devour it. Smell is the most important sense for dogs.
It's the way that they first discover and identify things.
A little trick I’ve learned is that you can increase the smell and taste of anise by grinding the seeds in your coffee grinder before adding them to the recipe.
An added benefit of doing this is that the next morning your coffee has a slight, but delicious taste of anise!
Enjoy making these anise homemade dog treats for your dog. The smell while they are baking will drive you crazy too!
Place all the ingredients in your bread maker in the order that your manual suggests.
Use the Dough cycle.
When the cycle is complete, take the dough from the breadmaker.
Divide the dough into 3 portions.
Roll each portion to a thickness of 1/8” to ½”, depending on the size bone cookie cutter that you will be using. For a little 1” bone, roll the dough to 1/8”. For 3” bones, roll the dough to ¼”, and for 6-8” bones, roll it to ½”.
Cut the bones with your bone cookie cutters, cover them with a clean towel and let them rise for 45-60 minutes.
Bake the bones at 275 degrees F for about an hour (less for the mini bones) or until they are lightly browned.
Turn off the oven and let the bones finish drying overnight in the oven.
Dog cookie cutters come in many sizes. Sometimes it is easier (and takes less time) to make a larger bone and just break it in half for a small dog.
If you have fun baking these dog bone treats, here's a dog treat cookbook, You Bake 'em Dog Biscuits Cookbook that I think you'll enjoy!
come in many sizes. Sometimes it is easier (and takes less time) to make a larger bone and just break it in half for a small dog.
