Homemade Dog Treats

In response to a request for recipes for other types of dog treats, I thought I'd share two that I found out there on the web, and one that I have in a recipe book for dogs - The Good Treats Cookbook for Dogs by Barbara Burg.

Many of the dog treat recipes out there use whole wheat flour.  I try to avoid wheat as much as possible in what I feed our dogs.  Wheat is one of what I call the 'three nasties' for pets - wheat, corn and soy.  I don't think any of our dogs have allergies to these three ingredients, but I avoid them nonetheless.

Here's a link on substituting wheat flour with other types of flour - http://forum.lowcarber.org/archive/index.php/t-214051.html.  Personally I would favor rye flour, barley flour, millet flour or rice flour.  I'm not sure how much the substitution of wheat flour with any of those would affect the consistency of many of the dog treat recipes out there, so that would be something you'd have to try.

Here's a soft treat using rice flour and rolled oats:

Ingredients:

1 cup rice flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1/2 cup finely grated carrot
2 eggs
3 tbsp molasses

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, stir together the rice flour, rolled oats and cinnamon.
In a small bowl, combine the applesauce, grated carrot, eggs and molasses.
Make a well in the medium bowl's ingredients and pour in the applesauce mixture.
Mix thoroughly until well combined.
Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
Drop teaspoon-sized clusters on the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
These treats will last in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. They will be good in the freezer for 4 months. The yield is approximately 70 teaspoon sized treats. You can make them larger for a larger breed dog, just be sure to bake them an additional 5-10 minutes.


Here's a peanut butter biscuit recipe that doesn't specify the type of flour to use:

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbs. peanut butter
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 Tbs. chicken broth*
1 egg white
1 tsp baking powder

Instructions:

Mix flour and milk until lumpy and then add peanut butter and broth.
Add parmesan cheese to the mixture followed by egg white. Mix well until it has the consistency of pancake batter. Add baking powder.
Place on greased cooke cheet, making 2 inch drops. Bake at 400°F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool before serving.

* A note about broth - if you use store-bought broth, I'd recommend low-sodium, organic broth.  Preferably, it is easy to make your own!


And here's Ms. Burg's recipe for Carob Chip Cookies:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup whole rolled oats
2 cups rye flour
1 cup all-natural peanut butter
1 cup milk
1/4 cup unsweetened carob chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine oats and flour. 
In another bowl, combine peanut butter and milk.
Add peanut butter mixture to dry mixture and blend well.  Fold in carob chips.
On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough and roll out to 1/4" thickness.
Use cookie cutters to cut into shapes, repeating rolling and cutting until all dough is used.
Place biscuits on lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes.
Cool on rack and store in a sealed container.

I hope your dogs love their home made treats.  Happy baking!