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This is likely very basic baking for most of you, but I need to preface this by saying that I can MAYBE get a box mix cake to come out right- baking is definitely not one of my strong points, so please be kind and hold the laughter. I get tired of spending so much $ on good healthy dog treats, so I thought I would give it a shot and make my own treats. I do use whole foods as training treats, just cut up cheese, chicken, liver, but I like to give them a cookie at night and mid-day when I am home.
I tried a pumpkin and peanut butter recipe that I found on the internet and adapted it a bit to use rice flour instead of wheat. The first batch was too moist so I was worried they wouldn't come out right, but baked them a bit longer and they were fine- got nice and crispy. The second batch I added a bit more flour and got the consistency right. The dogs went nuts for them.
Lessons learned-
1) Homemade dog treats are EASY to make and CHEAP even with good ingredients
2) Perfection not needed- too moist, bake them longer, dogs won't care if they are strange shapes, overdone the dogs won't care, the beauty is in how they taste
3) I can control ingredients- no preservations (freeze excess), can make awesome high value stinky treats using sardines, tuna, liver, cheese, etc
I don't know why I haven't tried to make treats before- a huge lack of confidence I guess and thought it would take too much time, but I am glad I finally took the plunge and now I have about 2 weeks of healthy tasty treats for less than 1/2 the cost of store bought.
Now I am excited to try the totally disgusting sounding sardine and tuna treat recipe next- yuck.
Does anybody else make their own baked treats or am I the last person on earth to discover how easy and cheap it is?
I would make them all the time for Kona and Sophie, but new old dog Britty doesn't approve of them so she gets Stella & Chewy's meaty mix-ins. My old standby was basically oats, molasses, grated apples, grated carrots, some eggs and a little flour to hold it together. Glad your pups like your baking, mine would rather have a roast.
I don't bake special treats. My dogs get homemade dog food and not a lot of of treats. If I am giving treats, they get cheese, meat, or bully sticks. The Genuine Little Princess adores tortilla chips, so I will slip her a tortilla chip every now and again.
I cooked a fresh ham that had the skin on it and that skin was cooked up crisp. I cut it into thumbnail size pieces and the dogs sometimes get a piece of that.
Wyatt McRiot is crazy for apples, so he gets a bit of apple every time I eat an apple.
Sure do cook Leo's treats myself. I never thought of cake mix though, great idea Twelvepaws. I just use a few recipes I've found off the internet that he likes, and they start with flour and go from there. I'll have to try cake mix. What's the sugar content in cake flour?
Leo loves when I make coconut ices. One of his favorites.
Sure do cook Leo's treats myself. I never thought of cake mix though, great idea Twelvepaws. I just use a few recipes I've found off the internet that he likes, and they start with flour and go from there. I'll have to try cake mix. What's the sugar content in cake flour?
Leo loves when I make coconut ices. One of his favorites.
Sorry, but NO, no cake mixes for the dogs! I wasn't clear. What I intended to say was that I am not a skilled baker, to the extent that I can barely make a boxed cake mix (for the humans). So, I was a little intimidated by the prospect of making dog treats.
Cake mix for dogs- no wouldn't do that, sorry for the confusion
Good idea though about the coconut ice- I may need to steal that.
I would make them all the time for Kona and Sophie, but new old dog Britty doesn't approve of them so she gets Stella & Chewy's meaty mix-ins. My old standby was basically oats, molasses, grated apples, grated carrots, some eggs and a little flour to hold it together. Glad your pups like your baking, mine would rather have a roast.
I like your idea of mixing grated carrots and/or apples into the batter, good idea. It was really easy- just eggs, pumpkin, peanut butter, and rice flour, pretty foolproof even for me. I always have rolled oats in the house so will try with those next time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke
I don't bake special treats. My dogs get homemade dog food and not a lot of of treats. If I am giving treats, they get cheese, meat, or bully sticks. The Genuine Little Princess adores tortilla chips, so I will slip her a tortilla chip every now and again.
I cooked a fresh ham that had the skin on it and that skin was cooked up crisp. I cut it into thumbnail size pieces and the dogs sometimes get a piece of that.
Wyatt McRiot is crazy for apples, so he gets a bit of apple every time I eat an apple.
Tortilla chips are popular in my house too. And yogurt too, but my dogs would starve before they would actually eat an apple or carrot- chew it up and spit it out all over the house yes, actually eat it no.
Last edited by twelvepaw; 12-27-2015 at 05:29 AM..
Thanks about the NO cake mix. OK, never heard of it, but willing to try if proven. Like you, I 'over-bake' the dog's biscuits, so they are hard and crunchy.
The coconut ice is simple. Fresh coconut in food processor (I guess a blender would work?) for 3 or 4 minutes to cream. A dash or sugar. (optional, Leo has a sweet tooth) Vanilla yogurt. Place in ice cube trays and freeze.
All in processor at once.
The coconut ice is simple. Fresh coconut in food processor (I guess a blender would work?) for 3 or 4 minutes to cream. A dash or sugar. (optional, Leo has a sweet tooth) Vanilla yogurt. Place in ice cube trays and freeze.
All in processor at once.
That sounds yummy- and easy. My dogs would love them Thanks!
I baked some for the first time a couple of days ago. No idea why I hadn't before. They were so easy to make and the dogs love them.
I'll definitely keep making them.
I make my dogs treats all the time. Wheat flour, rolled oats, peanut butter, molasses, milk all mixed together and baked. Cheap, easy and the dogs love it.
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