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With recent news of dog illness and deaths associated with store-bought dog treats and recalled kibbles, many of us are turning to homemade alternatives to treat our furry friends. Besides saving a few bucks, making treats at home allows you to make sure that your pooch gets his daily treat without the chance of unpleasant side effects related to consuming commercial foods. Unlike most commercial foods which contain food coloring and preservatives that can trigger many side effects, homemade treats contain only the ingredients you add – no hidden dangers.
Here are a few simple, do-it-yourself, homemade dog treat recipes to get you started!
Dog Bone Bonanza:
Ingredients: ½ pound of uncooked ground beef, ½ cup of chicken broth, ½ cup of mashed black beans, ½ of cottage cheese, and 2 teaspoons of low-sodium soy sauce.
Directions: Start by mixing the ground meat and the chicken broth in a huge bowl. Add the cottage cheese, soy sauce, and black beans into the blend. Mix these ingredients thoroughly and then form them into small bone shapes. Put the moulds on greased cookie sheets and then bake for about 40 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Allow the bone treats to cool before storing them in a container to avoid mold growth.
Peanut Butter Poppers
Ingredients: 2 cups whole-wheat flour, 1 tbsp. baking powder, 1 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth), 1 cup milk
Directions: Preheat oven to 375’F. Combine flour and baking powder in a bowl. In another bowl, mix peanut butter and milk, then add to dry ingredients and mix well. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Bake for 15-20 minutes on a greased baking sheet until lightly brown. Cool on a rack, then store in an airtight container.
Buddy’s Bacon Bites
Ingredients: 6 slices cooked turkey bacon, crumbled, 4 eggs, well beaten, 1/8 cup bacon fat, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup non-fat dry milk powder, 2 cup graham flour, 2 cup wheat germ, 1/2 cup cornmeal
Directions: Mix ingredients with a strong spoon; drop heaping tablespoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet. Bake in a 350 oven for 15 minutes. Turn off oven and leave cookies on baking sheet in the oven overnight to dry out. Yield: about 4 dozen dog cookies.
Remember, when making your own treats at home, to allow the treats to cool completely before putting into a container. Storing hot treats allows for the growth of molds and bacteria when heat isn’t allowed to escape and instead forms condensation inside your container.
When buying the ingredients for your treats, choose only high quality, all natural products whenever possible.
When you make your own treats at home, not only can you feel assured that your dog is getting only safe ingredients, there’s a wonderful sense of joy when your dog enjoys the treat you’ve made yourself.
Do you make your own dog treats? We’d love to know your recipe!
Lynda K
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:22 pm
Oh my goodness…it just amazes me when people complain about ingrediences that are in these wholesome treat recipes you posted above. The fact is Id rather have alittle bacon grease and a egg or two in their treats than all this nasty crude and chemicals and preservatives and who knows what else they put in the store bought treats. At least I know they are wholesome and cooked in my clean kitchen. Treats are maybe 1 or 2 aday. Not to be used for a steady diet or replacement for their food source. I cook chicken and remove skin, add brown rice and carrots, lamb or beef. Make my own dogfood. You people need to read up on your knowledge of what is nutritious for dogs.
Julie.Tucker.Goldman
Jun 17, 2012 at 12:15 pm
All these treats are not good for our dogs and we would think that you at dogington would have checked these BEFORE you post them, please we all read this paper but not for the treats that will possibly make our dogs sick or kill them this is a VERY big disappointment in your judgement
Brandy Arnold
Jun 15, 2012 at 9:08 am
Keep in mind, these are to be fed as TREATS! These are not a meal replacement. Just like humans like to enjoy a cookie every now and then, any of these ingredients are healthy for dogs in moderation.
Also, look at the ratio. The recipe calls for 2 teaspoons of soy sauce added to a half pound of meat and 1.5 cups of other ingredients. If sodium is a concern, choose low-sodium soy sauce. The bacon bites only calls for 1/8 a cup of bacon grease with more than 5 cups of other ingredients. But, like any other recipe, it’s totally ok to modify it to your needs.
Plus, since you’re making the treats yourself, you can take comfort in knowing that they’re safe from contaminants or harmful ingredients disguised under barely pronounce-able names.
Lynn
Jun 15, 2012 at 3:00 am
I was reading the ingredients in amazement. Such UNHEALTHY recipes with bacon, eggs, bacon fat. Even the healthiest treat still calls for too much peanut butter. Sounds like these are being tasted by humans. Certainly not a dog lover. Come on, soy sauce is SOOOOO high in sodium. What is bad for us is just as bad for them.
Susan
Jun 15, 2012 at 12:23 am
My dog can’t eat eggs, makes her sick 🙁
Jamie
Jun 14, 2012 at 9:11 pm
Hmmm… The recipes call for milk… Pretty sure dogs are lactose intolerant…