Homemade Dog Treat Recipe

Want a healthy homemade dog treat recipe? Here's a good one!
Submitted by Marla Matera, it calls for applesauce, mashed sweet potato, and Greek yogurt.

Homemade Dog Treat Recipe

Sweet Potato Apple Pup Cakes

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup flour (whole wheat, spelt, oat, barley, etc.)
• 3/4 cups rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup mashed sweet potato (baby food sweet potatoes works well)
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 apple, peeled and diced small
• Non-fat plain Greek yogurt for frosting
• Small treats for garnish (crumbled biscuits/cookies, fresh or dried fruit)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Mix dry ingredients together in one bowl.
• In another bowl, mix the wet ingredients together. Combine wet and dry ingredients until well-blended.
• Then, scoop the batter into paper lined muffin tins (6-8). Fill to the top as this dough is very dense and will not rise.
• Bake standard sized muffins for 25-30 minutes, mini muffins for approximately 15 minutes (or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean).
• Cool on a rack.
• Frost and serve, or freeze the muffins without the frosting.
• Refrigerate muffins that are not eaten.

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For a dog muffin frosting that does not require refrigeration, use 
Fido's Frosting, all natural sugar free yogurt cake frosting for dogs.

Dog treat business spotlight

Thinking about starting a dog treat business?

Want to expand on your hobby of making homemade dog treats?

Can't decide on a good name?

Would you like to see how others are packaging dog treats? 

Just need a little inspiration or motivation?

Dog treat business spotlight

Follow the link to MarketingDogTreats.com where we post interviews with independent dog treat business owners from our dog bakery community.

As of this date, you can read about:

• The Gourmet Greyhound
• Baron & Henry's Homemade Dog Treats
• The Pawtastic Barkery

We have many more exciting stories coming!

Who knows? Maybe you will be next.

Pill pockets recipe for dogs

Do you have a hard time "convincing" your dog that he or she should take his medication? Try pill pockets that you make yourself!

Q: I have to give my dog medicine and use the pill pockets. Do you happen to have a recipe that I could use to make my own?

A: Jodi Chick, a freelance writer for Kol's Notes, submits this recipe:

Ingredients:

• Peanut butter
• Oatmeal flour
• Coconut flour

Directions:

• Mix the peanut butter with equal parts of the oatmeal and coconut flours.
• Roll the mixture over the pill.
• Only make as much as you plan to use in 3-4 days and refrigerate.
• Freeze the extra mixture in 3-4 day portions.

She notes that soft cheese or canned dog food can be substituted for the peanut butter if your dog enjoys those ingredients more.

Ellen Cobleigh, founder of The Gourmet Greyhound, offers this recipe that she located in "Celebrating Greyhounds" magazine for "Pilly Putty":

Ingredients:

• 4 tsp and 2 tsp flour
• 2 level tbsp molasses
• 3/4 tsp cooking oil
• 1/2 tsp concentrated chicken stock or beef stock paste

Directions:

• Put the flour in a bowl and make a well in the middle.
• Pour in the molasses, oil and stock paste. Blend with a fork.
• Apply a few drops of oil to your hands to keep the mix from sticking. If you use gloves, put the oil on the gloves.
• Mix until smooth and consistent. The mix will form a "putty" consistency. If it seems too dry, add more oil one drop at a time.
• To store the unused portion, coat the inside of a ziplock bag with oil to prevent sticking and place in the bag.
• The mixture will begin to firm up as it sits, so for best results use within the week.
• You can freeze it up to 2 months. Let it thaw 24 hours before use.
• Do not refrigerate.

Do you have a recipe for pill pockets that you can share? Please submit it in the comments section below. You will get full credit for it!!

My dog eats poop

Q: Help! My shih tzu eats dog poop! What can I do to stop her from doing this? 

A: We took this reader's concern to our knowledgeable community of dog treat business owners and came up with terrific suggestions. Please write back and tell us what worked the best for you so we can share it with others who have a similar issue with their dog.

Stop dog from eating poop!

Why do dogs eat poop? Some may do it due to a health issue, because their digestive systems aren't functioning properly and they are hungry. Others do it "recreationally."

If you think your dog has a health issue and appears to be starving, please get him or her checked out by a veterinarian as soon as possible. 

Some dog food is not well-digested so when it is excreted, it appears to be available food.

You may have a dog who is eating poop just because it's there, or trying to destroy the evidence if he poops in the house. It is also thought that dogs eat poop as a survival tactic stemming from their wild ancestry - to hide their presence from predators.

The number one suggestion: pick up and remove all dog feces as soon as possible before the dog can get to it. 

If this is not feasible, there are natural ingredients as pictured above that may be helpful to stop a dog from eating poop, otherwise known as "coprophagia":

• Pineapple 
• Pumpkin
• Chili peppers
• Anise seed

These natural ingredients contain enzymes that work to break down the fecal matter into distasteful and even more foul smelling waste. 

Pineapple: Juice, canned or fresh fruit 
Pumpkin: Canned or fresh
Chili peppers: "season" the food with hot sauce or pepper
Anise seed: 1/4 to 1/4 teaspoon of anise seed sprinkled on the dog's food. 

Do not cook the pineapple or pumpkin as that will deactivate the enzyme that is necessary.

Make sure to give ALL the dogs in the household the anti-poop ingredients.

There are commercial products available. These have been recommended.
Click the links to learn more:


Dis-taste

Potty Mouth

S.E.P.

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Dog Jerky Treats

Question about dog jerky treats: 

Q: Please help. I tried making dog jerky treats, but it was not easy. I cut the meat by hand and then pounded it using a mallet. It took me forever! It also created a mess in my kitchen. Is there an easier way? 

Chicken Jerky Dog Treats

A: Here are some fellow dog treat business recommendations that should be helpful to you! We offer three suggestions recommending three different products - highlighted in blue - with links to the actual product. The dog treat business names are highlighted in mauve with corresponding links to their Facebook pages enabled.

1) Knife and cutting board set from Cabela's makes cutting easier

The following suggestion comes from Lynne:

• Precook chicken breasts in the oven or microwave.
• Let cool.
• Using a sharp long knife and cutting board, slice the breasts very thin. 
• Tub a little ginger or cinnamon on the breats.
• Dehydrate the chicken for about 12 hours 

Make dog jerky with this set from Cabela's

2) Chef's Choice electric slicer works well on frozen chicken


The next suggestion comes from Kimbra's K9 Crunchies based in Eagle Point, Oregon.

• Freeze chicken breasts.
• Slice them into think strips using an electric slicer.
• Dehydrate.

Kimbra says that before she started using the electric slicer, she cut the

meat by hand, but found that cutting either frozen or partially frozen meat makes the job easier.

Chef's Choice electric slicer

The Doggy Dessert Chef agrees that cutting slightly frozen chicken makes a big difference in the ease.

3) Deni electric meat slicer

Deni electric food slicer

This electric slicer is the favorite of Zelda's K-9 Treats and Things, LLC,  

based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin suggests to freeze chicken breasts and leave the hearts in as well. 

Zelda says that if you decide you want to make dog jerky using tongue, be sure to wear rubber gloves and hold your nose. However, it is definitely worth the effort in the end.

Do you have a question about a particular product? Write your question in the comment box and we will get an answer for you from one of our dog treat business community members.