11 DIY Dog Treats (Basic Recipes)
Dog treats are an essential part of the dog/owner dynamic. They can provide nutrition in additional to regular dog food. They can also be expensive. Fortunately, with a little kitchen know-how, they can be homemade. As the recipes that follow demonstrate, they can be pretty easy to make, and your dog will find them pretty easy to enjoy.
The Basic Build of Dog Treats
From a creation and tool standpoint, there isn’t a whole lot of variance between making dog treats at home and making your own food in the kitchen. As the following video shows, you’ll notice the ingredients and utensils used jibe with stuff already in your pantry or cabinets.
Recipe 1: The Basic Dog Biscuit
If you’ve never made a dog treat before, your best bet is to start off by making a dog biscuit. This recipe keeps things simple by not overwhelming you with a ton of ingredients. It also serves as a good gauge to see how your doggie will enjoy your canine-catered cooking.
Ingredients:
· 2 ½ cups whole wheat flour
· 1 teaspoon garlic powder
· ½ cup powdered milk
· 1 tablespoon wheat germ
· 1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
· 1 egg
· 1/3 cup bacon grease
· ½ cup ice water
Your first step should be to preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. While that heats up, stir the flour, garlic powder, wheat germ, powdered milk, and the beef bouillon granules in a medium bowl. Next, stir in the egg and bacon grease, and then add the water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough is sticky.
Once it’s achieved its desired stickiness, you’ll want to roll the dough out until it’s ½-inch thick, and cut them into biscuits with cookie cutters. Put the cut biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet, making sure they’re separated from each other by an inch. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until firm, and they’ll be ready to go after they’ve cooled down.
Recipe 2: Veggie Dog Biscuits
Once you’ve mastered the art of crafting a basic biscuit, you can move onto more progressive exciting recipes. You can also move on experimenting with healthier ways to appeal to your pooch’s palate, such as creating this recipe. It’s a vegetarian biscuit, but don’t worry – your meat-eating doggie will enjoy it immensely.
Ingredients:
· 2 cups whole wheat flour
· 1 cup rolled oats, either quick or regular
· ½ cup nonfat dry milk
· 1 tablespoon dried parsley (you can use 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley if you have it handy)
· 2 large eggs
· ½ teaspoon salt
· 1 cup peanut butter (either plain or crunchy)
· ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon cold water – enough water to make a sticky dough
Firstly, preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. Next, you can either grease a pair of baking sheets or line them with some parchment paper. If you skip this step, you may find yourself dealing with sticky biscuits that may refuse to come off the sheet.
Next, you’ll start mixing the flour, parsley, oats, salt, and milk together. Add the peanut butter and eggs and stir them in the mix until it becomes crumbly. You’ll add the water to make the dough sticky and cohesive – you may have to add a little more to achieve this depending on the season.
Once the dough is prepped, you’ll roll the dough out to around ¼” thick, then you’ll cut them out with a dog bone-shaped cutter or whatever cutter you have available. Gather and re-roll the remaining dough, and repeat the process until there’s no dough left.
If you prefer to make these cookie-shaped, separate the mass of dough into balls about the size of a walnut. Put them on the prepped baking sheets, and then flatten them until they’re about ¼”.
Bake the cookies for 40 to 60 minutes, depending on the size of your biscuits or cookies. This should create doggie biscuits that are thoroughly crisp and golden brown. Be sure to allow the biscuits to cool down before you give them to your buddy.
Recipe 3: Homemade Peanut Butter and Banana Dog Treats
One thing you should always bear in mind when making doggie treats for your four-legged friend: They may look weird and inedible to your human sensibilities. Take this recipe for example; while it touts peanut butter and banana, the inclusion of parsley makes the cookies appear green. It results in an odd-looking treat, but they’re not for you to enjoy, anyway.
Ingredients:
· 1 peeled banana
· 2/3 cup rolled oats
· 1 cup oat flour
· 3 tablespoons peanut butter
· ½ cup dried parsley
· 1 beaten egg
Firstly, preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. Place your peeled banana in a large bowl and thoroughly mash it with either a potato masher or a spoon. Add in the oats, oat flour, peanut butter, parsley, and egg with the banana, stir until well combined, and set aside for 5 minutes.
You next roll the resulting mix into 24 balls, which roughly translate into 1 tablespoon\’s worth of dough. Transfer the balls to a large, parchment paper-lined baking sheet, and the press the balls into a 1 ½- to 2″ disk with either the heel of your hand or with a spoon.
Bake the flattened “cookies” for 40 to 45 minutes, or until they are firm and feature a deep golden brown on its bottom. Your dog can enjoy them once they’ve been completely cooled. You can also store these treats in your fridge for later, as long as you put them in an airtight container.
Recipe 4: Cheesy Dog Biscuits
Even though some dairy products like ice cream have been known to give dogs fits, pooches can tolerate cheese in their digestive system. As such, creating this homemade recipe featuring cheddar cheese can be a genuine treat for your pooch. You don’t even have to feel guilty about giving it to him, either.
Ingredients:
· 1 cup rolled oats
· 1/3 cup margarine or veggie oil spread
· ¾ cup cornmeal
· 1 cup boiling water
· 2 teaspoons white sugar
· ½ cup milk
· 2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
· 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
· 3 cups whole wheat flour
· 1 egg, beaten
After you’ve preheated your oven to 325 degrees F, you’ll want to combine the rolled oats, margarine, and boiling water in a large bowl. While you let it stand – and you should let it stand for 10 minutes – grease a couple of cookie sheets.
Thoroughly stir in the sugar, cornmeal, milk, bouillon, cheddar cheese, and egg into the rolled oat mix. Mix in the flour 1 cup at a time, until you’ve formed a stiff dough.
Next, knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until it\’s smooth and no longer sticky (you may need to add additional flour to achieve this). Either pat out or roll the dough to 1/2″ thickness, and then cut with a bone-shaped cookie cutter. Place one inch apart on the prepped sheets to avoid the cookies clumping together.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes in the oven, until they are golden brown. Take out of the oven and allow to cool before giving one to your dog. Store the leftover treats in a loosely covered container.
Recipe 5: Peanut Butter Pupsicles
Just because dogs are designed to essentially be lactose intolerant doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be able to enjoy a dessert to keep them cool during the summertime. This simple recipe allows you to make your little buddy his own special cool dessert treat. Better yet, you can serve the treat in a well-respected dog toy.
Ingredients:
· 1 cup peanut butter. If possible, you’ll want the peanut butter to be unsweetened and unsalted
· ½ ripe mashed banana
· Water as needed
Combine the peanut butter and a little bit of the water and/or the mashed banana. It should be noted that you can make this recipe solely with peanut butter if you wish. However, the banana and the water does help to make the treat freeze more consistently.
Here\’s where the dog toy comes in. You can either drop the mix into an ice cube tray, or you can simply take a Kong and spoon the mix into to its treat-holding orifice. Either way, you’ll want to freeze the conduit for the goodie for several hours or overnight.
Recipe 6: Bacon Cookies
Everybody loves bacon, and that includes your dog. Fortunately, your pooch doesn’t have to go without this transcendent food, as this recipe demonstrates. These treats are also somewhat on the healthy side, too, since they call for low-sodium broth.
Ingredients:
· 3 slices of uncured bacon
· ½ cup toasted wheat germ
· 2 ¼ cups whole wheat flour
· ½ cup flax seed
· 1 large egg
· ½ cup nonfat dry milk
· 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
· 1/3 cup chopped parsley
Firstly, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a pair of large shallow baking sheets with parchment paper. Next, you\’ll cook the bacon in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat for about 6 to 7 minutes, turning the bacon over a couple of times. When you drain the skillet of the bacon fat, be sure to set 1 tablespoon of the fat aside.
The next step is to transfer the bacon to a cutting board and chop it finely. You’ll then combine the bacon with the wheat germ, flour, and dry milk in a medium bowl. Then you’ll whisk the egg, broth, parsley, and the fat you set aside in a separate bowl.
From there, you’ll pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with either a spoon or a rubber spatula until a rough dough forms. Take the dough and knead it in the bowl 5 or 6 times until it comes together.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and then roll it out to a ¼” thickness. Cut out the treats with a 2” round cookie cutter and place the results on the prepped baking sheets. Bring the remaining dough scraps together and repeat the rolling and cutting process.
Bake the treats for about 35 to 40 minutes until the treats are lightly browned and fairly hard. You\’ll want to rotate the pans from top to bottom once during this process. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool completely.
Recipe 7: Carrot Chia Pet Cookies
Chia seeds have grown in popularity in recent years because they are perceived to contain great health benefits. Fortunately, this recipe allows you to extend the healthiness of this Central American seed to your pooch. Plus, it’s a good way to sneak carrots into his diet, which is also a good thing.
Ingredients:
· 1 cup all-purpose flour
· 1 cup whole wheat flour
· ¼ cup chia seeds
· ½ cup toasted wheat germ
· 1/3 cup almond butter
· 2/3 cup water
· 2 tablespoons canola oil
· 2 tablespoons maple syrup
· 2 grated carrots
The first thing you’ll do here is preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Next, you’ll line a large, shallow baking sheet with parchment paper.
You’ll then combine both flours, the chia seeds, and the wheat germ in a medium bowl. Whisk the almond butter, water, oil, and syrup in a separate bowl, and then stir in the carrots. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and then stir the mix with a rubber spatula or a spoon until you create a very rough dough.
After you knead the dough in the bowl until it becomes stiff – 6 to 7 times ought to do the trick – turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and the dough is about ¼” thick. Cut out biscuits using a 3” dog bone-shaped cookie cutter and transfer the results to a prepped baking sheet. Gather the scraps together and repeat the process.
Bake the biscuits for about 35 to 40 minutes, until they’re fairly hard and lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool completely. The cooler they get, the harder they’ll become.
Recipe 8: Liver Lickers Dog Treats
Liver may be an acquired taste for humans, but it’s one of those foods that constitutes “special treat” status in the canine set. This recipe does a great job of delivering the unique taste of that particular brand of offal to your pooch.
Ingredients
· ¾ cup nonfat dry milk powder
· ¾ cup wheat germ
· 1 tablespoon brewers’ yeast
· 1 egg
· 1 3.5-ounce jar pureed liver baby food
· ¼ cup water (or as needed)
After you pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F, you’re going to stir the wheat germ, egg, milk powder, yeast, and liver baby food together in a medium bowl. If you need to make the dough workable, add some water. Scoop up teaspoon-sized pieces of the dough and drop them onto a greased cookie sheet.
Back the dollops of dough for 20 minutes. When they’re done, carefully remove them from the cookie sheet and allow them to cool on wire racks. When they’re cooled down, store them in an airtight container in your fridge.
Recipe 9: Pumpkin Apple Doggie Mint Treats
As dog owners, we all know how unpleasant a dog’s breath can get. As such, it’s rather important for us to come up with creative ways to help our pooches fight the constant battle of chronic halitosis. This innovative recipe uses mint to try and handle the issue – all while adding in a generous amount of flavor complexity.
Ingredients:
· 1 cup pumpkin puree
· 3 cups whole wheat flour (or more as needed)
· 2 large eggs
· 1 apple, grated
· ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
· ½ cup mint leaves, chopped
The first thing you’ll want to do is preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Next, line a baking sheet with either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set this aside.
Dump the pumpkin puree and the eggs into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium-high for 1 to 2 minutes, until the mix is well combined. Then, gradually add 2 ½ cups of flour at low speed, beating just until it\’s incorporated. If the dough is still sticky, add an extra ¼ cup of flour.
Once the dough isn’t sticky anymore, add in the apple, parsley, and mint. Beat this mixture until the new ingredients are just incorporated. Afterward, transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough about 3 or 4 times until it comes together.
Next, roll out the dough with a rolling pin to ¼” thickness. Grab some cookie cutters and cut out the shapes that you want the treats to be, and then put the results on a prepped baking sheet. Put into the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges are golden brown, and then allow to cool completely.
Holiday Treats to Bring Good Cheer to Your Dogs
We all have our favorite goodies we look forward to enjoying when the holidays arrive – so why can’t our dogs have the same? While they can’t enjoy pumpkin pie or egg nog, they can indulge in treats that contain some of the ingredients and flavors reminiscent of the treats we as humans can enjoy, as this video shows.
Recipe 10: Good Dog Cookies
During the holidays, we all know it’s better to give than receive. So why not whip up a batch of homemade doggie treats for your friend’s pooch? Delivering the fruits of this recipe is an ideal way celebrate the season – provided that the canine recipient of the treats doesn’t deserve a lump of coal.
Ingredients:
· 2 ½ cups whole wheat flour
· 1 egg, beaten
· ¾ cup nonfat dry milk powder
· ½ cup vegetable oil
· 2 cubes beef bouillon cube
· 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Firstly, preheat your oven to 300 degrees F and then lightly grease one cookie sheet. Next, you’ll dissolve the bouillon cubes in boiling water. Give the resultant some time to cool down.
After the broth has cooled, you’ll combine it with the dry milk, flour, oil, and egg. Mix it well until it becomes a dough, and then knead it for about 1 minute.
You’ll then place the dough on a floured surface and roll it out to about ¼-inch in thickness. Cut out the bones and arrange on the cookie sheet. Pop them in the oven for 30 minutes, and allow to cool afterward.
Recipe 11: Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Dog Treats
It would almost be a crime to not have a pumpkin-based dog treat recipe on hand for the holidays. After all, no single ingredient is more responsible for delivering good tidings of great year-end joy than the orange gourd. Thanks to this recipe, your four-legged friend can get in on this form of edible happiness.
Ingredients:
· 2 eggs
· 2 ½ cups whole wheat flour
· 2 tablespoons peanut butter
· ½ cup canned pumpkin
· ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
· ½ teaspoon salt
Once you’ve pre-heated your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, you’ll whisk the eggs, flour, peanut butter, pumpkin, cinnamon, and salt together in a bowl to form a dough. The dough should be stiff, dry, and workable at this point, but if you feel it needs a little extra love, you can add some more water to the mix.
One you have the dough situation worked out, roll it out and cut it into a ½-inch thick roll. Cut it into ½-inch pieces, and then bake in a preheated oven for around 40 minutes, until the cookies are hard. Set aside to cool down.
It’s a Little Extra Work, but it’s Worth it!
Obviously, there is a little extra elbow grease involved in the making of these canine goodies. As such, you may find it a little too demanding of your time since you have work, personal obligations, and your own family to feed.
However, if you give one of these recipes a shot, and you see how happy your pooch will be when he receives something from your own culinary handiwork, you will find all of the effort you put into making these special treats worth your time. After all, isn’t one of the joys of dog ownership is to see your pooch happy?
Sources:
Best of Breed Dog Biscuits; November 17, 2010
Homemade Peanut Butter and Banana Dog Treats
Make Peanut Butter Pup-sicles; Loren Drummond
Author
Laura Harris