Rick Woodford

I began cooking food for my dog Jackson when he was diagnosed with cancer and given a year to live. I resolved to send Jackson out in style by cooking food usually reserved for humans, only to find out that the transition to human food made Jackson feel better and live for four additional years cancer-free. Preparing wholesome, healthy meals from scratch is an excellent way to be sure you know the health benefits of everything that goes into your dog’s mouth.

Tips to safely give your dogs the real food they crave. Join Better Nutrition Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Join Better Nutrition Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. Join for free Get access to everything we publish when you sign up for Outside+. I began cooking food for my dog Jackson when he was diagnosed with cancer and given a year to live.

Silicone bakeware is all the rage lately, and one type—a 16" x 11.5" nonstick baking mat aptly named the Pyramid Pan—can be used to whip up more than 500 dog treats in a jiff. The mat has lots of little pyramids and was originally intended for cooking meat using less fat. But flip it over and the pyramids become 556 little indentations, perfect molds for tiny dog treats. A friend pointed me to a recipe from Eileen Anderson's website that was designed to be used with these mats.