Well, seriously, an entire army of you begged for the Zucchini Yum recipe. Well, okay, maybe 4 or 5. I’d already written it out on Facebook, so it’s no work to replicate it here. And really, if you don’t have them, it might not make sense, but at this time of year, Zucchini truly does qualify as a CRISIS.
(Later today I’ll answer some of the comments about dogs fighting in the home–some heartbreaking, all fascinating–, but for now, in the knick of time):
ZUCCHINI YUM RECIPE NUMBER ONE:
6 med Zucchini peeled and chopped or shredded, 4 TB butter, 2 med tomatoes diced and seeded, 2 c shredded cheese, 2 c soft bread crumbs, 2 eggs, 1 med onion diced, 1 tsp basil dry or a buncho chopped fresh basil (best!), 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp salt & pepper each.
Saute Zucchini in 2 TB butter, drain, add onion and soften. Combine all together, bake uncovered at 350 for 25 to 30 min til bubbly and brown. Very, very yummy (Especially if you use good cheese. I like 1/2 Parm and 1/2 good chedda). Also freezes well for a month or two.
ZUCCHINI YUM RECIPE NUMBER TWO:
Cut up. Cook in boiling water for 10 minutes. Feed to dogs.
Now, about those tomatoes…..
JJ says
hee,hee.
Concerning #2: Just curious why you cook first? It is a matter of you think your dogs will like it better? Or do you think that cooking will help with nutrient absorption?
I ask because I feed my dog raw fruits and veggies all the time. If I had extra zucchini, I would normally just cut it up raw and my dog would love it. An advantage of raw is that I can use it as training treats without creating a mess.
Just curious what your thinking is.
Thanks.
Megan says
I love that you posted this! I was planning on heading into your archives to see if you had previously posted it.
I didn’t plant zucchini this year, but I’m being over run by crook-necked squash and tomatoes (planned on planting 2, ended up with 15…oops), so this is perfect!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
Trisha says
JJ: I do cook them in the belief that the nutrients will be more available to them. They would still love it no matter how I gave it to them, given that Tootsie would eat bird seed if I let her!
JJ says
Trisha: Thanks for the reply!
FYI: You could be right about the nutrition bit. My theory is that when I give my dog fruits and veggies as training treats, it is a special bonus when he doesn’t really digest them. (Sometimes I can see some come out pretty whole/recognizable at the other end.) My dog thinks he is getting a ton of great treats, but I don’t have to worry about throwing his nutrition portfolio off-balance or gaining weight.
That’s just my take. I can see how you might want your dog to digest it if it is part of his/her diet or if you can’t stand the thought of that hard-worked-for fresh produce going to “waste” by not being digested as much as possible.
Whew: bird seed. And I though *my* dog would eat just anything. (I don’t call him “poop face” and “poop breath” for nothing.)
Nic1 says
JJ – I am intrigued to learn about raw veggies as treats! I feel a food depravation and veggie feast training session coming on…..
I also have a dog who is a coprophagic consumer – cat poop is her obsession! She will ‘leave it’ if I spot her intention and can cue her in time interupting the behaviour pattern – she tends to start epic sniffing/hunting in areas where I know cats can hang out so that is when I try to intervene. Of course, I’m often not successful. I have read about some dogs loving cat treats. Do you think it would be worth me trying out cat treats with my dog as a way of rewarding her if she backs off from the poop? I often wonder why dogs are obsessed with cat poop? Is it the cat or the cat food?
Wendy says
Ahh, bird seed. Years ago, I took my lab mix, supposedly fasted for 12 hours, to be spayed. Unbeknownst to me, she got into the tub of wild bird seed before we left the house. A few hours later, it was coming out both ends. When we went back 10 days later to get the sutures removed, a receptionist greeted us brightly, “Oh! It’s the birdseed dog!”
JJ says
Nic1: re: “I feel a food deprivation and veggie feast training session coming on”
Some thoughts for you on that: If you dog hasn’t been exposed or shown much interest in raw fruits and veggies, you might want to start with some easy ones – the ones that many dogs seem to like. Bananas are super-messy, but dogs seem to love them. Cut-up carrots and apples are often a big hit. Just like with kids, you get a better response if the food is cut up into bite sized pieces. If you have some watermelon hanging around, I can tell you that my dog LOVES watermelon rind and drools for it when that’s the treat of the day. After that, you might graduate to cut up: bell peppers, sugar snap peas (big hit with Duke! We often share a bag), kale stems, broccoli and cauliflower.
Another idea for getting a dog to like these foods: Have student dog be right next to worldly dog who absolutely loves the food. It doesn’t work with every dog, but on multiple occasions with Duke at the dog park, the following would happen: Dogs who had never knowingly eaten a fruit or veggie in their life would spit it out the first time I offered it (with human’s permission of course). But Duke kept doing tricks and getting more treats and snapping them up too. So, then in a minute I ask for a sit again from stranger dog and offer the treat again. And this time the dog eats it. And then I see a light go on. And then the dog clearly wants more because now she/has found a wonderful treat! (not just because Duke is getting something)
Re: eating poop vs cat food.
That’s such an interesting question because of all that it implies. I’m no expert by any means, but I do have some thoughts for you.
I’ve heard that cat food has a different nutritional profile than dog food, but dogs absorb the food just fine. So, if you are giving it as a treat, you would want to be very careful to limit the quantity. Don’t know if this is true. It’s just what I have heard.
As I know you know, cat food as a treat would only be worth trying if it was a better reward than the actual cat poop and as you think might be happening — if the dog is really more interested in the food. I bring this up, because I have purchased limited cat food or cat treats for my dog as treats in the past, and he surprised me by not being that interested in it. Also, I don’t personally think it is the food per-say, but the digested product. My dog loves horse poop too and a horse’s diet is totally different. Clearly some dogs like certain poop more than others. So, you your question makes sense. But I feel that coprophagic (thanks for the reminder about that word) is about the finished product, not about a way to get close to the original food eaten by the animal. If your dog were really trying to get close to the food (meat/meaty like things?) that the cat ate in the first place, then you might as well use plain chicken or some other meat I would think. Which brings me to:
Idea: What about trying something like canned baby food? Like licks of canned turkey? That’s something you could carry around without making a mess and might be super-high value??? (Not my original idea.)
The final thought I have is more of a big picture question. Is such training worth doing in the first place? Is it unhealthy for a dog to eat the occasional pile of poop? I suspect that the answer to that depends on the species and health of the individual who did the pooping, but I wonder how much of a risk it really is? Duke drives me *nuts* when he comes running back to me with the side of his head smeared with caked-on poop. Similarly, I’m totally grossed out when he had clearly been eating some apparently prime pile of truly gag-smelly feces. (I say ‘apparently’ and ‘prime’ because my dog ignores most poop. There is only some particular fresh piles that warrant rolling in or consuming.) But as much as it drives me nuts, I don’t think it is worse health-wise than Duke occasionally finding a dead animal and eating it. So, I prefer to put my training efforts into other endeavors.
I know you know as much about all this as me. So, I’m just chatting with you. If you find a way to make progress on that front, I would be very interested to hear about it!
Trisha says
See the Dog Fighting post for this comment, I originally put it in the wrong place.
Judi says
I think you are thinking of Calming Caps for reducing visual input.
JJ says
Trisha: I think you meant to put this comment under the Sept 2nd post???
(And thanks for your thoughts on new fears in aging dogs.)
liz says
“…about those tomatoes….”
Soup! The quickest, easiest way I’ve found to knock out around 3lbs. of tomatoes at once, or double the batch when utterly overwhelmed.
I always think it’ll be too hot outside to enjoy the soup and make it with the intention of freezing. Have yet to put any up, however, as it’s too delicious not to eat or give away and perfect for cooler nights. (Almost as easy as pie, especially if you don’t mind an occasional seed. I seed and peel haphazardly, cook, puree, then strain before adding basil/pesto and/or cream. I used the Joy of Cooking’s recipe as a guide but you can do almost anything to it and it’ll still turn out.)
Thank you for the Yum recipe!- googling the basic ingredients previously yielded a mix of casserole recipes with a minor resemblance… the secret being in the egg?!
Regarding the crisis that is resident dogs who are a danger to one another:
This sentence from the post echoes in my head: “A willingness to take risks is very personal, so each dog owner has to decide what level of risk they are willing, and comfortable, to take.” Being that some of us may know exactly how risk averse we are, and others may not know what they can truly tolerate, I say kudos to all who’ve gotten professional help to determine the best course of action, to in some way determine what is tolerable for all. (I consider myself to be a selective risk-taker, and I have trouble with cost benefit analysis without painful scrutiny of every single element… until I act generally in a moment of modest consideration mixed with impatience/intuition. Doesn’t sound like I’d be a good fit if I ever come across this situation, but…)
I can only imagine the amount of reflection that goes into having a potential fight around every corner of the house. An additional consideration beyond what written in the post, included because I believe I would ask myself, repeatedly: what is the utmost goal I’m trying to achieve? What is my motivation for change, or for not changing? As painful as it is when multiple goals conflict, taking a long look (or many long looks) may help to reveal which goal is the most important, to whom, and for which reasons.
I wish there was an easier solution, and my heart goes out to all in this struggle.
Trisha says
Thanks JJ, I did mean the comment for the 9/2 post. I moved it, thanks again! And yeah Judi, yes, they were called Calming Caps. Thanks!
Kat says
Had this for dinner tonight. Very yummy indeed and a delightful solution for that oversized squash that was found hiding under the leaves. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
KT says
I made the Yum last night but added fresh corn cut off the cob. Seems like an addition of green chili and maybe some cooked chicken would make it a perfect meal with a salad. It was awesome!
My dog would never touch a raw veggie! Or a cooked one either for that matter.
Holly says
Re: fresh produce for pups
My dog LOVES fresh produce, from broccoli stems to cantaloupe to apple and peach peels. After I have a mango, I hold the pit for her while she scrapes off the last meat with her teeth. A raw sweet potato seems to be a big hit, and it gives her something to exercise her jaws on for a few minutes. In agility class, I use carrot ‘pennies’ as treats because they are easy to toss without rolling away, and Skye can see them easily on the floor (and my knife skills have improved as a result of all that chopping!).
Trisha says
KT: Sound super yummy. This is the kind of dish you could throw lots of things in and it would be great, right? (It has nothing to do with all that cheese, right?)
ute hamann says
Imagine sitting outsife in the dark at night, on the table in front of you the food, meat, veggies, getting crispy and smelling more and more wonderful. The infrared light goes on and all is like kind of a camp fire situation.
A friend gave me her old halogene FlavorWave oven and this is where I cook everything during the summer to keep the house cool. It is just a big glas pot and a cover with the electrical part.
You cook without additional fat. I prefer to put the meat on top (chicken legs, hmmm) so that their fat drips over the veggies; potatoes and all the other vegetables on the bottom. My recipe: potatoes mixed with a lot of fresh leaves of sage, und whatever veggies (never forget tomatoes) you have in the garden plus onion, garlic. Sit down and observe what is happening: as I said its like camp fire or barbecue situation
Ute