Can't count on Santa Paws to bring good treats...
November 13, 2011 9:06 AM   Subscribe

I'm looking for tried and true recipes for dog treats. I want to show my neph-dogs some love this holiday season with some homemade treats or biscuits, but I'm not sure I trust random googling. Any recommendations for doggie cookbooks or recipes that your pups have enjoyed? (I would also accept cat treat recipes!)
posted by firei to Pets & Animals (12 answers total) 26 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: 1# calf liver
3 eggs
1 C cornmeal
garlic powder to taste

Puree in a food processor or blender, pour into a suitable oiled container (we used a disposable foil 8x8 pan) and bake for about 30 minutes at 350. Cool, then cut into suitable treat sizes. Our dog goes bonkers for these. Just make sure you keep them refrigerated or frozen, as they have no preservatives.
posted by Gilbert at 9:14 AM on November 13, 2011 [2 favorites]


Best answer: yes!
posted by wocka wocka wocka at 9:58 AM on November 13, 2011


Slice sweet potatoes, and lay on waxed paper on a cookie sheet. Bake until tender. Transfer to a food dryer, and dry until crisp. Sweet potatoes are rich in vitamins, and digestible by dogs when cooked. They make chewy treats than can occupy a dog for a minute or two, and are just sweet enough to entice them.

If they absorb too much air moisture over time, you can redry them. They don't spoil easily, as long as they aren't stored in large heaps (that can retain a lot of moisture... ask me how I know).

One variation mixes mashed, cooked sweet potatoes with mashed liver, for extra vitamins, but as with Gilbert's recipe above, these won't keep at room temp.
posted by IAmBroom at 10:20 AM on November 13, 2011


Best answer: Just say "Liver Treats" after feeding them any of these, and watch them cock their little furry heads until they almost fall off. Liver Bait #2 is closest to what I make for my dog and my friends' beasties, but we just call it "doggie crack". I chop mine first though, and cook it longer until it's really dry. I don't freeze it, just put it in glass jars with tightly sealed caps. It doesn't smell nice when it's baking, but you cannot get my dog to leave the kitchen during that time, so I think it's a human thing.
posted by peagood at 10:22 AM on November 13, 2011


I would skip the garlic powder, but liver is cheap and tasty enough. The local farmers' market guys make liver treats and hand out samples, and win many hearts thereby.
posted by restless_nomad at 10:28 AM on November 13, 2011 [1 favorite]


Please be careful with the amount of garlic you use in preparing dog treats. Avoid onions altogether.
posted by trip and a half at 10:30 AM on November 13, 2011 [1 favorite]


Oh, hi, restless_nomad!
posted by trip and a half at 10:33 AM on November 13, 2011


My dogs really love these peanut butter treats. The blog posts shows them as big cookies, but I roll them out quite thin and score the sheets into thumbnail sized square to use as training treats.
posted by Squeak Attack at 11:32 AM on November 13, 2011


Best answer: I've made these twice for my dog and he loves them. I'd recommend cutting them into some shape the dog's owner would get a kick out of.
posted by chrisulonic at 11:58 AM on November 13, 2011


I also make slow-baked sweet potatoes, and I don't have a food dryer. Just bake them at 250 for about an hour each side (sliced about 1/4 inch). I store them in the fridge, though they're probably fine stored on the counter for a week or so. My dog loves them, and they're cheap as hell. Two big sweet potatoes make about 20-30 treats.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 12:30 PM on November 13, 2011 [2 favorites]


I made these pumpkin biscuits for my pups and they love them. I keep them soft-ish so it's easier to chew, but bake longer at a low temp to crisp them up.
posted by melissasaurus at 12:37 PM on November 13, 2011


Response by poster: Thanks all! :)
posted by firei at 6:33 PM on November 13, 2011


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