I learned a lot while working in animal rescue. Some of it was heartwarming, some heartbreaking; some was fun, some was brutal; some was to be expected, and some was surprising.
One of the more surprising, yet practical things I learned, was how to make peanut butter gravy.
Now, peanut butter gravy is not a gourmet dish. It consists of only two ingredients – peanut butter and water – the proportions and amounts of which are highly dependent upon the chef and the diner. To the human senses, its taste and even aroma are, shall we say, uninspiring. Served with its signature fixings – that is, mixed with dry kibble – it becomes downright revolting. But its uses are multitudinous and to the canine palate it is seemingly incomparable.
First things first. Choosy dog moms choose Jif. If it’s that store brand crap or, god forbid, Peter Pan, don’t bother even trying to salvage the scraps.
For real, though, any brand is fine, but as a safety concern, make sure that it does not contain the artificial sweetener xylitol. This is a dangerous toxin to dogs, and we are trying to make a fun treat, not a trip to the emergency vet. Also avoid those two-in-one jars that have peanut butter mixed in with grape jelly. Grape is dangerous as well.
So you’ve finished up your jar of good quality, non-dog-poisoning peanut butter and you’re ready to open a new one. What do you do with the old one? Throw it away? Of course not! Let your dog chase it around and try to lick it out? Maybe, but that’s gonna make a mess and most dogs won’t be able to get all of it. Plus, you’ll have to pay attention and make sure that they don’t chew off and eat pieces of the jar.
Friends, there is a better way.
Peanut butter gravy is the answer.
Pour hot tap water into your peanut butter jar until it’s about an inch full. If you are using Jif, as is proper, just fill it up to that point where the jar starts to angle in at the bottom.
Put the lid back on. Make sure it’s tight.
Then, you shake. And you shake. Shake it some more.
If you discover at this point that your lid was not on as tightly as it could have been and that you are flinging peanut butter tinted water all over your kitchen, just wrap the damn thing in a towel and keep shaking. It’s fine.
(Important Note: if at any point you feel that the peanut butter is not dissolving adequately and/or the water is not hot enough, do not, under any circumstances, attempt to microwave the jar. There will invariably be a tiny sliver of foil left over from the safety seal on the rim, and it will create a spark, and the jar will start to melt, and the label will get charred, and something may or may not explode, and the whole house will smell like melted plastic and burned peanuts for a few days. Allegedly. I’ve been told. Anyway, moving on.)
Just keep shaking. You may not get all the peanut butter bits off the sides. It’s cool man, whatever. Get a spoon and stir it in if it bothers you that much. The water will cool off pretty quickly. Also not a problem. You can add a little more hot water at a time if the peanut butter just isn’t dissolving, but if your gravy is too thin and runny it becomes very messy so be judicious.
Your final product will look something like this.
Congratulations, you have made peanut butter gravy!
That’s awesome, I hear you thinking, but what the hell do I do with it?
The answer is limited only by your own imagination and your dog’s appetite, but I’ve got some ideas to get you started.
The traditional application of peanut butter gravy is . . . well, as a gravy. Fix your dog’s dinner and pour some over the top. This works great for finicky eaters, stressed newcomers, or just as a convenient method to trick a picky pup into scarfing down their medications along with their meal. Much like cereal, the longer you let the kibble sit in the gravy, the grosser and soggier it will become. Some dogs fined this appealing, others decidedly less so. If you are already struggling to get the damn mutt to just eat something, pay attention and pick your battles.
If you are hoping to avoid future battles over medication, gravy is excellent for teaching your dog to lick a syringe (without a needle, natch). Make sure not to get any peanuts in the syringe! Offer it to your dog for a sniff, then hold it close to their lip and gently press the plunger. Spot will quickly get the hang of licking up the treat and over several repetitions you will be able to press the plunger faster. Create a habit of reinforcement in this way and you won’t have to worry about hiding liquid medications in Spot’s food; instead, they will happily take it right from your hand.
For a different type of licking reinforcement, many dogs love lick mats. You should generally use thicker foodstuffs like yogurt, baby food, and regular peanut butter on lick mats. But, if your canine is counting calories or is more concerned with cooling off, frozen peanut butter gravy is the way to go. Carefully pour the gravy on a lick mat and place it flat in the freezer to create a pup-sicle.
Of course, my go-to method of canine enrichment is the Kong toy. Mix up some gravy and kibble, let soak up to a texture that is moderately gooey but not drippy, and shovel it in Fido’s preferred hollow rubber toy. For added chewing action, or to meal prep like a mommy blogger, freeze them before serving.
And of course, you can just freeze the gravy itself in a regular ice tray. Either save it for later on a day when you don’t have time to mix up a batch or when you just want to give you dog a fun alternative to regular, boring ice cubes. You don’t even need to keep them in the ice tray once they are frozen solid; just dump them in a zip bag or freezer box for convenient, long-term storage.
While a nutritionally balanced, vet approved diet should make up the bulk of your dog’s daily intake, treats make everyone’s lives happier and, if used properly in training, healthier in the long run, too! And although store bought is quick and convenient, homemade peanut butter is the simplest recipe I know that is always a hit at dinnertime.
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