Many of the treats you can buy in-store are a corn-meal biscuit with “flavor” added – most often chicken, bacon, or cheese. Manufacturers concentrate on the look and smell of the treat (things that are sure to appeal to the the owner) more than the actual ingredients or flavor. With homemade dog treats made from scratch, you can guarantee your pet is getting all the flavor they love and the real nutritional value of the ingredients!
Here is one of my dog’s favorites – Pumpkin Dog Treats:
Ingredients:
- 2-½ cups whole wheat flour (easier for dogs to digest than all-purpose flour)
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1 tbs. peanut butter
- 2 tbs. dry milk
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ cup water (may be more or less)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and dry milk in a large bowl.
- Add pumpkin puree, eggs, and peanut butter and mix until you get a dough-y texture.
- Add water as needed if the mixture is too dry to mix well. However, the dough should be “dry-er” than typical cookie dough.
- Once all ingredients are sufficiently mixed, roll out the dough to about ¼” thickness. Be prepared to get your hands dirty – I usually have to knead the dough with my hands in portions so that it gets warm enough to roll out. Sprinkle whole wheat flour to keep the rolling pin from sticking to the dough.
**You may notice that this dough doesn’t smell too great to humans – but I promise your dog is salivating! Luckily, once it is cooked, the little bit of ground cinnamon you added is what you will smell.
- Use household cookie cutters to create fun shapes for your treats.
- Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and cook for 35-40 minutes.
- Let cool for at least 15 minutes.
- Once the treats are no longer hot and will not burn its mouth, your dog can enjoy!
- To save some treats for later, stick them in the freezer.
Easy to make, and your dog is guaranteed to love them! If you’d like for me to bake some treats for your dog, you can contact me through the sites mentioned in my bio below. 🙂
Sounds like a great recipe for my boy – Thank you so much for sharing your recipes – Sky’s a very lucky girl!! 🙂
Store bought boxed treats are just as unhealthy for dogs as poptarts and potato chips are for people! Processed food is junk food and it’s unhealthy for you best friend.
I enjoy making homemade treats for my three dogs, and I can’t wait to try your recipe! Pumpkin is a great ingredient for dogs and they love the taste! Peanut butter is always a hit with my dogs as well. They always know when I’m making them treats and they hand around the kitchen staring at me, especially when they see the doggie cookie cutters come out!
Hey Becca,
Our nutritionist on staff, Guilio Ferrari, really likes your “cookie” recipe, as he called it :), but he suggested a few little changes so it’d be perfect for all dogs, including ones that might have sensitivities to certain foods that can cause allergies.
He said he loved your recipe, and said to tell you he would be be making it this weekend at the SuperPetFest(.com), and that he will be calling it “Becca’s Pumpkin Delight”.
His suggestions were:
1. DEFINITELY wheat (even whole wheat!) is a villain. Change it to either whole oat flour (not half as bad), spelt flour, coconut flour, tapioca flour, etc. Potato flour is a little controversial, since it’s glycemic index is so high, but for a treat (small quantities) it’s ok, as long as the dog isn’t allergic to it.
2. He’s not a fan of milk for dogs, and here is the reason: COW’s milk contains Alpha 1 and Alpha 2 proteins. Dogs don’t digest Alpha 2. Also, dog’s after the age of 1 don’t produce lactase, an enzyme essential to digest milk. Is it NOCIVE for dogs? Not necessarily. It may cause some bloating, gas, or may just run right through. But it’s not going to add anything to the nutrition. At these small quantities used in the recipe, it’s a toss up, really. He would prefer if goat’s milk (raw if possible) was used.
3. And last but not least, it would be better if the peanut butter was sugar-free, natural peanut butter. The one where the oil separates. There is waaaay too much sugar in regular store bought pb’s.
You know, those sound a lot like suggestions that would be good for us humans, too!
Love that they are bone shaped!