Who doesn’t love to give treats to their furry family members?
I don’t know about your dogs, but my dogs love to get treats. And I love to give them!
Our furry friends, whether it be dogs, cats or horses are part of the family too! Why not treat them to some special homemade treats? I love knowing that what my dogs eat isn’t only delicious but also healthy for them.
Making homemade treats is not only fun and rewarding, but also allows you to control the ingredients, ensuring that your pets are getting the best nutrition possible. Plus, it’s a great way to bond with your pets and show them how much you care.
Here are three simple and easy-to-make treat recipes. Whether you want to give your dog a treat as a reward for a new trick, for training, or just because, these homemade treats are sure to please.
Carrot Oat Applesauce Treats for Dogs (Horses like them too!)
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 12
Calories: 49kcal
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup oats (quick for dogs; quick, steel-cut or old-fashioned are fine for horses)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup (about 1 large) carrot finely grated
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and cover a baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Mix all four ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Use a tablespoon to drop clumps of the mixture onto the baking tray. Shape if you wish. (Fun silicone shaped cookie molds work great for this)
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, until treats are set.
Homemade Frozen Pumpkin Banana Pup Pops Dog Treat Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup plain non-fat yogurt
- 1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie mix)
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 ripe banana
Instructions
- Add the banana and pumpkin puree to your blender and mix until it’s nice and smooth. If you don’t have a blender, you can mix by hand using a fork, especially if you use a nice ripe banana.
- Combine the yogurt and mashed banana/pumpkin mix in a large bowl. Add the honey. Stir until all ingredients are well combined.
- Spoon the mixture into silicone candy molds or ice cube trays.
- Freeze overnight, then pop out to serve.
Soft homemade treats for older dogs – Meaty or Veggie options
Ingredients:
Meaty treats:
- 1 (2.5 ounce) jar chicken, ham, turkey or beef-flavored baby food
- 4 teaspoons dry milk powder
- 4 teaspoons dry Cream of Wheat
Veggie treats:
- 1 (4 ounce) jar baby food (in any flavor your dog likes but doesn’t contain doggie don’ts)
- 6-1/2 teaspoons dry milk powder
- 6-1/2 teaspoons Cream of Wheat
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Mix all ingredients well in a small bowl. The resulting batter should be shapeable (not too thin); it’s OK if it’s a bit sticky, as long as it will form a ball. If it’s too thin, add equal amounts of additional dry milk powder and Cream of Wheat. Just add a bit more at a time. Unlike your cookies, you can’t over-mix this, but if you add too much of the dry ingredients, they can become hard treats. It just needs to hold together well enough to ball up (sticky is good!). Let it sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.
Wet your hands and form the dough into small (nickel-sized) balls and place them on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Wetting your hands will allow even sticky dough to roll into a ball without much trouble. Don’t worry if your balls aren’t perfect.
Using a fork dampened with water, press the balls into a flat disc about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch thick. It’s nice if it leaves pretty fork marks on the cookie, but your dog won’t mind either way.
Bake for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before giving them to your pet. Feel free to taste them. All the ingredients are people-friendly and some of them are quite good! (You can give them to cats, too.)
Store the treats in the refrigerator for about a month (depending on the type of baby food you used) or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
The treat recipes above are not only tasty but have added health benefits – aid in digestion, skin and coat health, vitamin enrichment and fiber. It’s a good idea to keep an eye out for artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners and preservatives that are in your dog’s food and treats. Grandma Lucy’s Organic Dog Treats are “Kosher Certified”, which means they meet the strict guidelines of kosher food laws. There are many different flavor options to choose from that re sure to please your dog’s palate.