Meet my girl Lola –  a creamy white, teddy-bear Golden Doodle. A full-size shaggy moppet of a dog.

Amongst other things including chronic mooching syndrome and an insatiable appetite for belly rubs, she suffers from treatment resistant clinical happiness.

At dog obediance school she was the dog leading all the other dogs astray – leaping, jumping, and prancing. The male dogs loved her. They followed her about as though she were a bacon-wrapped cheeseburger. She led them all merrily on. The dog parents watched us from their chairs at the side – shaking their heads discouragingly.

Lola is not the slightest bit discerning. She greets people, dogs, cats, squirrels, rabbits, even robins with equal enthusiasm. Everything gives her joy. Finding a pinecone is cause for celebration. Other dogs approaching sends her into orbit. If we somehow get too close to another dog, Lola leaps off the ground so that momentarily all her four paws are in the air, her muscular body is airborne, her fur parts, her ears flap, and her tail waves madly. We have lift-off. Often she adds a mid-air, half-twist – like a pro ski-jumper or a snow boarder. She then proceeds to do this about seven or eight times in quick succession in a great leaping, twisting, hairy, joyful frenzy. It’s a serious acrobatic feat for a not-so-aerodynamic dog. It’s also unstoppable once it starts.

“Cute,” the dog parents says, as they drag their dogs away hastily from the madness. “Treatment resistant clinical happiness,” we call after them, a bit pathetically, as they disappear from view.

These are Lola’s favourite biscuits. The recipe came from a friend. Her dog is quite sane – the biscuits aren’t the problem. I’ve adapted the recipe since the original (clipped out of a magazine with no reference to which magazine) contained skim milk powder. I didn’t have any so I ad-libbed a little. I added peanut butter because Lola likes it. You can add in things as you like – grated carrot, grated cheese, etc.

Lola gets a biscuit each night before she goes to bed.

Lola’s Bedtime Biscuits

1 1/2 cups wholewheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup melted bacon fat (I save mine in a glass jar in the fridge)

2 tbsp peanut butter

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup cold water

Mix the flours and salt. Drizzle with the melted bacon fat or cut the cold fat into the flour (as though you are making pastry).

Mix the peanut butter and egg together – don’t waste time getting it perfectly smooth. Add water and stir. Pour over the flour and fat. Gather dough into a ball. It will be sticky. If it’s too sticky – you can work some more flour into it at the next step.

On a well floured surface, roll the dough to at least 1/2 inch or 1 cm thickness. Thicker biscuits hold together better. Using a bone-shaped cookie cutter (or heart, squirrel, or cat-shaped cookie cutter, etc.) cut out shapes. Place on an ungreased tray.

Bake at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes or until well-browned and crispy. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight jar.