Sunday, January 25, 2015

Homemade Dog Treats

Ok, so I know homemade healthy dog treats sound like a lot of trouble for something that you can easily purchase at the store. But the natural or remotely healthy dog treats are really expensive. I just can't justify paying that much for dog treats anymore. This recipe is so easy and it really takes very little time. I'm not a vet or a dog expert of any kind, but the ingredients seem healthy and my dog (and my best friend's dogs who I also make some for) seem to love them. I found the original recipe here, on a site called Kitchen Confidante.
I've found that the exact measurements for this recipe aren't strictly necessary. The treat recipients don't complain and if the dough starts to feel too dry I just add a few more drops of beef broth to the ball I'm working with.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oats
1/2 cup flaxseed
1/2-1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup peanut butter

The peanut butter specifically is the ingredient that I just eyeball. I mean it's just a pain to measure sticky stuff like peanut butter under any circumstances, and the dog certainly won't complain. With the beef broth, start with 1/2 a cup and then add more as needed to keep the dough pliable. I don't use the mixer for this, it's really easy to mix by hand. I combine the ingredients as well as I can with a fork, and then just mush the dough with my hands. I generally work with about 1/4 of the dough at a time. I use a silicone baking mat to roll the dough on, until it's about 1/4" or so thick. Then just cut to your desired shapes. For this batch I made small circle treats for a Pomeranian and larger bone shaped treats for my friend's 2 Pit Bulls. Sometimes, I just use a pizza cutter to make strips. Like the peanut butter content, the dogs also don't complain about the shape. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

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