Homemade Dog Treats Part I

There are many different dog treats on the market. With the U.S. economy being uncertain, people are cutting back where they can. Some of you may have dogs that are really finicky (like my Gigi). Others may love to bake for their dogs. This post is for all of those people and all the dog owners intrigued by the idea. Below are six recipes that I thought were the most practical and dog-friendly out of the many out there in the world on the internet. In fact, there are so many good ones out there, I had to make more than one post.

Munchy Crunchy Meat Treats

by Erik

This seems like it would be very tasty. (When buying baby food, make sure that it doesn't have a high concentration of onion powder.)
Ingredients
1/2 cup non-fat powdered milk
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups rice flour
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. honey
1/2 cup water
5 tsp. chicken or beef broth
1 jar baby food meat (any flavour)
Instructions
Combine all ingredients well. Form into a ball. Roll dough out on a floured surface. Cut out desired shapes. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. Let cool. The treats should be hard and crunchy.

Favorite Dog Biscuits

These seem healthy yet tasty. Also the creator of this recipe has an excellent breakdown of the ingredients.

People can eat these too, but the sugarless dough is bitter before baking to its toasty flavored hard-texture which rivals that of bones. Peanut butter is used for flavor, egg as a binder, cereal for texture, powdered milk for nutrition and garlic for flea prevention. No salt or cornmeal since cornmeal is difficult to digest. If your dog can't tolerate eggs, add additional water to make a dough that is just slightly sticky.

Ingredients

3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups multi-grain oatmeal or old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 1/4 cups water
1 large egg (or omit and use water - see note above)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
peanut butter to taste


Adjust a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 275 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the flour, oats, wheat germ and powdered milk in a large bowl to blend thoroughly. Blend water, peanut butter and egg in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add garlic to dry ingredients, then add all dry ingredients to wet and stir until blended.

Dough will be stiff, so use your hands- it will be easier. roll or pat dough into a 1/2 inch thickness, cut our biscuit shapes with a 3-inch bone shape cookie cutter. Reroll scraps and continue until dough is gone. Place cookies on baking sheet and bake for about 90 minutes. For crisper, drier biscuits bake a total of three hours.

Store well-dried biscuits in an air-tight container - leave the container open for a few days to make sure they are completely dry.

Yield: three dozen

Tempting Training Chews

This one seems like it wouldn't be hard, and has an interesting combination of ingredients. Applesauce and grated cheese (my guess is parmesan would be a good bet)--Who knew?


Ingredients

2 1/3 cup flour- whole wheat or all purpose
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup grated cheese
1 large egg
1/4 cup non-fat powdered milk

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix. Roll the dough out to size of a cookie sheet.Place on lightly greased sheet. Use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter and create small pieces. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Turn off oven and let cool for a few hours. The treats will keep hardening the longer that you leave them. Break apart. Store covered. You can also freeze them. For training dogs use small sizes.

Heavenly Health Dog Biscuits

by KT Baldie

This was created for dogs who are allergic to corn or wheat. Some dogs are just as allergic to corn as they are wheat. My brother's Chinese Crested Harry, is practically allergic to everything. For those of you who have been looking for a treat, for these types of dogs, this may do the trick.

INGREDIENTS
1 3/4 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup golden flax seeds
2/3 cup brewers' yeast
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup brown rice flour
2 cups oat flour
2 tablespoons organic raw sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 eggs

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease two cookie sheets.
Combine oats, flax seeds, brewer's yeast, cheese, rice flour, oat bran flour and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk together chicken broth and eggs; mix with oat mixture to make a fairly stiff dough.
Roll dough into 1 inch balls, then flatten into discs. (Or, roll dough out on a floured surface to 1/4 or 3/8 inch thick and cut into 1-inch x 1 1/2-inch rectangles.) Place on cookie sheets 3/4 inch apart.
Bake until dry and the edges turn a light golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool before serving.

Cheesy Bacon Biscuits

Even though this has salt, the brown sugar and vanilla seem to balance it out. It looks really intriguing because dogs seem to love both of the main ingredients.

Ingredients

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick margarine, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups regular oats, uncooked
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
2/3 cup wheat germ
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked crisp, drained, and crumbled

Combine flour, soda and salt; mix well and set aside. Cream butter and sugar; beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture, mixing well. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 16 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for a minute or so before removing to cooling rack.

Veggie Bones

This is a good choice for vegetarians who like their dogs to be the same. The ingredients seem to be easy to get and are very practical too.

Ingredients
3 cups minced parsley
1/4 cup carrots, chopped very fine
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella or parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons bran
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 to 1 cup of water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, rack on middle level. Lightly grease a large baking sheet.

Stir together parsley, carrots, cheese, and oil. combine all the dry ingredients and add to veggies. Gradually add 1/2 cup of water, mixing well. Make a moist but not wet dough. If needed, add a little more water. Knead for one minute.

roll dough out to 1/2 inch thickness. Using cookie cutter or a glass, cut out the shapes and transfer them to the baking sheet. Gather the scraps and reroll and cut.

Bake for 20-30 minutes until biscuits have browned and hardened slightly. (They will harden more as they cool.) Speed cooling by placing them on wire racks. Store in airtight tin.

Here are the websites I used for this post, in case you would like something else to try:

All Recipes
Homemade Dog Treats
Dog Park.com
Bullwrinkle

Also, if biscuits aren't your style, you may want to check out doggy ice cream. Well thanks for stopping by. Don't be shy about leaving comments as you know I love to hear from you.