In my first post, I mentioned that renewed concerns about chicken jerky from China causing illness in dogs was one of the things that motivated me to make good on my long-time intent to create a Family Friend Pet Sitting blog.
This topic has been in the news as recently as May 23, 2012, and I saw a warning being circulated on Facebook about it again this afternoon.
Here's what Snopes.com has to say about it: UNDETERMINED.
Here's what I say about it: DON'T RISK IT!
Here's what the Krebs greyhounds say about it: WE WANT OUR CHICKEN JERKY!
So, we decided to start making our dog treats at home. I did some research on the internet about making homemade chicken jerky for dogs. I learned you can use your conventional oven, or you can use a food dehydrator.
We purchased a Nesco food dehydrator on Amazon for around $60 about a month ago. We have successfully made several batches of jerky using chicken breast, turkey breast, very lean beef steak and beef liver. All of it has been given 16 enthusiastic paws up!
Here's what I've learned so far -
1. Select very lean meat. Meats with higher fat content takes longer to dry, and jerky made with fattier meats can spoil if not refrigerated.
2. Consider buying organic meats for your dogs. Yes, it's more expensive. It's also healthier, and hopefully the animals were treated more humanely on the farm they were raised on.
3. The thinner you slice the meat, the quicker it will dry. Slicing the meat while still partially frozen allows you to slice it more thinly. Be sure to use a very sharp knife!
4. We start our dehydrator before going to bed and 8 hours later - voila! Fresh, healthy dog treats we feel good about giving to our dogs. Peace of mind is priceless!
5. Some people use seasonings or marinades on the meat prior to making the jerky. I personally follow the KISS method - it saves me time, and I don't have to be concerned about sodium, etc. Dogs don't need meat to be enhanced - it's MEAT!
6. Beef liver REALLY STINKS. I've never been squeamish about meat before, but handling raw beef liver and preparing it for the dehydrator had me gagging. It stinks when it's raw, it feels horrible, and it stinks while it's dehydrating! For that batch, the dehydrator did its overnight shift in the garage. Phew!
Finally, you can make homemade biscuits and cookies for your dogs using a dehydrator too. We haven't tried that yet, but I'll let you know The Krebs Crew Review when we do!
I typically don't give my kids the jerky but may give it a try. Thanks for the tip! Do you have any doggie treat recipes that are good for them?
ReplyDeleteHi Angie! If you don't want to do meat jerky, you can make it with sweet potatoes. It's healthy for them and it also works well as a dental chew. Two of our dogs love it, and the other two, not so much. So you'd have to see what your babies think.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the question about other doggie treat recipes - I'll answer that with a new post. Stay tuned!