Homemade Dog Treats

My cool cat Sam loooooooves rawhide bones. Each time I would go grocery shopping I'd buy her one. On grocery day she'd delicately sniff around the bags of groceries littering the kitchen floor as I put everything away and when she'd find the one with her bone in it she'd pull it out of the bag and bring it to me to open. Then she'd demolish it in a matter of days. She loved them and I thought nothing of the process in which they were made. 

A few months ago I bought her some treats to use when I train her and they gave her a terrible belly ache. So I read the ingredient list to see what may have been upsetting her stomach. I didn't know what half the ingredients were which got me thinking about what else I feed her. Which is when I found this article and many others that spell out how raw hides are made. 

After some quick research, Sam doesn't get rawhide anymore, and while some store bought treats still work for us I have also begun making her homemade treats from natural ingredients. 

Now before you go rolling your eyes that I bake my dog homemade treats they really are so simple and quick to make. Seriously. I make them all while the baby throws around eats lunch and I clean the kitchen, so simple. 

I use oats, coconut oil, and dog-friendly veggies. That's it!

I didn't start Avery on solids until she was almost seven months old. And when I did she loved homemade purees and a select few store bought ones as well. That lasted like a month and then she was like can I get some real food?! So her sudden dislike of purees left me with a cabinet/freezer full of baby food. So rather than have those go to waste I mixed them with the oats and Sammy's dog treats were born. 

Here's what you need:

1 Cup Oats

8oz of Pureed dog-safe fruits and/or veggies

1 TBSP Coconut Oil

Mix everything well. You don't need to pull out the mixer, I did it by hand with no trouble. You want the consistency of oatmeal cookies. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop mixture by the tablespoon full onto parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for 30 minutes. Cool and serve. 

This makes enough to last me the week as I don't give her loads of treats each day.

In honour of Valentines Day I made them in heart shapes this week. Mainly because I have heart cookie cutters that I had been using for everything every since January because basically the Christmas tree gets put away and the hearts, pink, and red come out in full force over here.  

Sammy absolutely loves her treats! And I feel good that I'm no longer giving my pup some over-processed, bleached raw hides. 

If you give it a try let me know! And if you add other things to the treats do tell! I think eggs or peanut butter would be great additions as well. I did mix a batch that included peanut butter in the mix but she ate it directly out of the bowl while I was in the living room changing the baby. Welcome to my life people.

Happy puppy treat baking!