You have read our article on obesity; then you will know that over 2.5 million dogs are overweight, according to the latest research. Some of this is due to people not considering treats as part of the calorie/food intake. Whilst food is the obvious reward. This does not have to be the case (Missy loves a good ball game as her reward or liver).
If you look around any pet shop or online store, you will soon discover a wide range of training treats. The thing I have found with a lot of them is that they are big chunks of biscuits. I have always found that small, highly tasty morsels are far more effective. After all, if you give them a large biscuit, you are not only helping them to become overweight, but by the time they’ve crunched through a dog biscuit, they’ve forgotten what it is they were being rewarded, and you have also lost some of the focus.
Another thing I have discovered about having a hyper-allogenic dog is that most commercial treats are full of sugar, addictive’s, and low-quality ingredients, which are very unhealthy for your dog. For example, just looking at a well-known brand of reward strips, the first ingredient is cereals, followed by various sugars.
Why not also try a treat variety from tasty cheese to the king of treats such as chicken or liver? You even mix in a small amount of regular dry dog food. Remember, if they have done something outstanding, don’t give them a bigger bit as a reward. Just make sure they have two or three small bits very close together.
Finally, remember when using food for training is to make it different from their usual– food. After all, it does not take long to work out that they can get the food for free later on, so why would they bother to work hard for it?
Equipment you’ll need for Homemade dog treats.
Making homemade dog treats requires no special equipment, just the basics. Any of these things will already be in your kitchen, and if you don’t have one or two things, don’t worry about it.
- A mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon, spatula, knife or biscuit cutter
- An electric mixer or food processor
- A muffin or fairy cake tin, baking sheet
- Oven or microwave
- Freezer bags or food-grade plastic tubs for storage
A note about ingredients
Most of the ingredients you need to make delicious and healthy treats for your dog are readily available in your local shops or supermarket, including things such as liver, peanut butter (make sure it doesn’t have xylitol), cheese, fish will all go towards creating treats that your dog will love. However, there are some foods you should not feed your dog. Chocolate, grapes, coffee, potatoes, and onions should be avoided when creating treats for your dogs.
Homemade dog treats recipes – Liver.
Missy loves her liver. Whether it be in a cake or dried and some ways, this is not surprising. When dogs had to hunt for food, the liver was considered the prize bit of a kill. T s would be the first part of the animal to be eaten, along with the heart. The liver could also only be eaten by the head of the pack. How things are different, and we cook it for them, and they all enjoy it.
Lambs liver is very easy to get from supermarkets, and if you purchase it towards the end of the day is often reduced and provides a tasty reward
Ingredients
500g chicken liver
130g digestive biscuits
3 tbsp runny honey
A handful of parsley, chopped
You will also need a food processor, microwaveable dish approximately 8 inches square (or equivalent round), foil, baking sheet, skewer or knife, and cooling rack.
Method
Turn the oven on to 200C (180C fan)
Place all ingredients into the bowl of your food processor and whizz up together until you have a smooth mixture.
Scrape the mixture into your microwaveable bowl. Now microwave on high for around 7 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.
Turn the microwaved mixture onto a cooling rack. Leave it ‘bottom side up to get rid of any condensation.
Once the mixture is dry, cut into small squares of around an inch. Now spread the squares on a foil-covered baking sheet and bake in the oven for 1.5 hours.
Allow the treats to cool, keep some in the fridge for immediate use, and freeze the rest for another day.
Roxys Recommended Homemade Dog Treats – Chicken Jerky
For this, you will need 4 or 5 food-quality chicken fillets. Then cut these fillets into about an inch. Now season the with garlic puree
Once done, place the cubes on greaseproof paper in a roasting tin. Place the roasting tin in the middle for around 2 hours or more. This will cause the chicken to be dark brown and completely dry like the jerky you buy in the shops – cooking it thoroughly prevents it from going rancid after a few days.
Place on a rack to cool. Once cool, keep in an airtight container
Like most things, some of the best treats are the ones you make yourself from quality food. So Whilst you will not become the Gordon Ramsey of the dog world. I am sure your dog will love you even more for it