Healthy Homemade Recipes for Dogs

Written by Lauren Benton | January 26, 2011 at 3:45 pm

Making dog treats at home can be fun, as well as healthy for your dog. Because each pet may have special needs make sure to review each recipe to insure it is appropriate for your pet. Remember these are treat recipes not “dog food” so they should not be used in excess.

One of the benefits of making your own treats is that you can control the quality of what goes in the treats. We suggest using the same quality products as you would if you were making food for yourself. For example use natural peanut butter rather than products with a lot of added sugar. Use organic flours and meals if they are available to you.

There are some ingredients in large amounts that can be deadly to your pet. Sometimes those ingredients may be called for in very small “flavoring” quantities. If you see any of these ingredients in a recipe you’d like to use then you should consult with your veterinarian to see if the recipe is appropriate for your pet otherwise leave the ingredient out or select another recipe. Here are some potentially harmful ingredients:

Garlic
Onions
Raisins

Banana Dog Treats

3 cups rolled oats (don’t use quick cooking oatmeal)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 milk
2 bananas, mashed

Preheat Oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9.5 x 14 baking pan. Combine oil, honey, milk, eggs and bananas in a large bowl and mix well. Add dry ingredients in 3 intervals mixing lightly each time to incorporate. Spread mixture in pan and bake for about 25 minutes. Allow to cool and cut into 2″ squares.

Carob Molasses Dog Treats: These are low in purine, so they are great for kidney stone prevention.

6 cups white rice flour
1/8 cup peanut oil
1/8 cup margarine, preferably safflower oil type
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 oz carob, chips melted
1 cup water
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup non-fat dry powdered milk

Preaheat Oven: 300 degrees. Grease or spray cookie sheets. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix until blended. Dough will be stiff. Chill. Roll dough on a greased cookie pan and cut into shapes 1/2 inch thick. Bake for 1 hour.

Submitted by J. Lauren Benton

Source courtesy of www.gourmetsleuth.com