‘Proper’ gravy bones

Many of us have a Sunday roast with the family, so why not use all of those leftover bones and juices from your joint of meat to make tasty proper gravy bones? We promise it’s really simple.

Start by making a stock broth, using the leftover cooked bones from your Sunday roast to make a rich stock. Put the leftover stripped meat carcass and bones in a pan and fill about half full with water, making sure to remove any vegetables you cooked with your meat that might be harmful to your pet, such as onions. Cover the pan and bring to the boil, then simmer on a low heat for about an hour or so until all the meat is stripped from the bones and you have a rich stock. Next, pour the stock into a silicone ice cube mould or an ice cube tray – note that a silicone tray is much easier to remove all the treats from, plus they come in a wide variety of fun shapes for your dog treats! Then simply freeze, and about 5 hours later, or overnight, you have some lovely ‘proper’ gravy bones to give your companion a quick tasty treat.

You can also make these with a proper bone broth made from raw meaty bones. Pop into your local butcher who will be able to supply you with you leftover meat carcasess or legs, such as chicken, duck, beef or lamb. They may even give you them for free as butchers have no use for the carcasses and leftover bones! To make a meaty bone broth from raw you will need to boil the bones for much longer so a better alternative is to use a slow cooker. Add about 1 -1.5 litre of water in the dish, depending on how many bones you have, then turn the slow cooker on a low setting for about 8 – 10 hours, or overnight. If you don’t have a slow cooker you can still do a bone broth on the hob with fresh raw bones, just bring the water to the boil then cover and simmer at a low heat for around 8 hours. Keep an eye on it though as you don’t want the water to boil dry, so keep it topped up if necessary.

Frozen yoghurt paws

These couldn’t be simpler and the possibilities of combinations are endless! As these are also frozen they also make a great treat on a hot day.

All you need to do is take some plain yoghurt, we like to use goat’s yoghurt as it’s a little easier on tender tummies. Then chop up some fruit up into tiny pieces, such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries etc, basically any combinations that you know your pet loves. Mix this into the yoghurt then pour into a silicone mould or an ice cube tray. Then simply freeze until solid, which will be roughly about 3-5 hours, or better still overnight.

You can also use this method for any small tasty bits, even cheese, fish or small meaty bites. The yoghurt is basically a vessel to suspend any tasty titbit so you can freeze them so if it’s small enough to fit in the mould then you can freeze them. We’ve even done them plain, our pets love them. Just store in a freezer bag in your freezer and take a couple at a time as a tasty treat!