Your dog is your best friend, so it’s no wonder that you want to paw print ice cube trays now and then. Unfortunately, many of the commercial dog treats out there are full of stuff that’s not-so-good for dogs. That’s why making your own is such a great idea. These DIY dog treats are made with simple ingredients that you probably have in your kitchen already, and you can feel good about feeding them to your pooch.
Why DIY Dog Treats?
There are many commercial dog treats available at the store, which going by the labels, are wholesome for your dog.
However, you may still want to make your own dog treats because;
- Despite the ingredient list on the packaging, sweeteners, preservatives, and additives may be added that do not have to be listed on the package. With a DIY meal, you know everything you have put in.
- These are fun to make in your spare time with simple recipes to sharpen your cooking skills
- You get to control the number of calories per treat for the specific needs of your dog.
- You best know what your dog likes and you can adjust your recipe to match.
- These are cheap while not compromising on quality.
Easy DIY Dog Treats to Spoil Your Furbaby
1. Pumpkin Dog Biscuits
Spoil your four-legged fur babies with homemade treats made of oats, peanuts, and pumpkin puree whirled together in the food processor. Just press the mix into a treat pan, bake, let cool, and pop out to give a dog a bone.
When your dog has an upset tummy, pumpkin can help ease the irritation. But if your dog refuses plain pumpkin or pumpkin mixed in with his food, bake some pumpkin dog biscuits instead. What dog can resist a good biscuit?
2. Crunchy Carrot Cookies
Carrots provide a low-calorie snack for dogs, they should be good for your overweight dog who just loves munching on food. Use a natural sweetener or small amounts of brown sugar to sweeten the cookie to make them more palatable.
Your furball will have a blast chewing on these crunchy carrot cookies. Aren’t the squirrel shapes fun?
3. Bacon Flavored Dog Treats
Do not throw away that bacon fat you trim off, neither should you give it to your dog directly. Use the fat to make him bacon-flavored treats. He’ll wag his tail at you all day if he gets some bacon-flavored treats
Make a dough using all-purpose flour and melted bacon fat with some eggs and milk to bake these biscuits.
If you save bacon fat (and if you don’t, you totally should!), make a batch of these bacon-flavored dog treats for your pooch. You get to enjoy the bacon, and your dog gets something, too. Win win! Psst… check out our wacky bacon recipes while you’re here!
4. Squirrel-Shaped Cookies
Your garden has been invaded by these little rodents that have the uncanny ability to evade all traps, you only have one line of defense, your dog. He will run and bark at the squirrels until they have no choice but to go look for another garden to invade. I must point out that sometimes your dog does more damage to your kitchen garden than the squirrels ever could, but who cares?
This running and barking takes up a lot of energy, what could be more poetic than a squirrel-shaped treat afterward?
You must buy some squirrel-shaped cookie cutters to make these homemade dog treats with rolled oats, wheat flour, beef stock, and other goodies. Get the squirrel cookie cutters here (affiliate).
6. Sweet Potato Dog Treats
Some dogs are grain sensitive or may even have grain allergies. Worry not, make cookies out of sweet potatoes and coconut flour for a healthy meal laden with calories. My dog loves sweet potatoes ad making a wholesome meal by blending them into cookies just sounds perfect.
For a grain-free option, try sweet potato dog treats with sweet potato, honey, carrots and peanut butter. That even sounds tasty to me!
7. Homemade Chicken Biscuits
Use chicken broth and rice flour to bake hypoallergenic cookies for your dog that are very tasty. With these cookies, you can rest easy that your dog won’t suffer an allergic shock from his meal.
For dogs with sensitive stomachs, homemade chicken biscuits use gluten-free rice flour and get their flavor from chicken broth.
8. Homemade Recipe For Dog Breath Mints
Almost without exception, dogs love to lick our faces and it can be particularly gross if your dog has bad breath. Well just like you like to pop a mint in your mouth before kissing anyone, your dog should also get some mints.
Make some cookies of plain oats, parsley, and mint leaves for that fresh breath in your dog’s mouth. These ingredients have properties that not only leave the mouth smelling fresh but also kill bacteria in the mouth that brought the bad breathe in the first place.
We all love our dogs, but you have to admit, doggy breath is the worst! DIY dog breath mints can save the day.
9. Fruity and Fun DIY Dog Treats Recipe
Dogs love watermelon, but they make a mess of themselves gobbling it down and so we have to make bite-sized treats they’ll enjoy without making a mess of themselves. Just blend a seedless watermelon in coconut water and freeze the puree in icecube trays. These treats are good for you too, just don’t forget who you made them for in the first place.
Frosty watermelon dog treats will be a welcome treat in the summer. Make it with pureed watermelon, coconut water and honey.
10. Banana Pup Pops
Tired of banana bread but you still have some overripe bananas you have no idea what to do with? This recipe is just for you.
Have you seen a happier pup than this pretty girl and her banana pup pops? They’re made with overripe bananas, plain yogurt, and a little peanut butter. Possibly the yummiest DIY dog treats with those ingredients.
11. Frozen Apple Dog Treats
Puree apples in plain yogurt and freeze into bite-sized cubes that your dog can lick and eat one by one.
Apples and yogurt make yummy frozen apple dog treats that’ll keep your pup cool, too. Did you realize there are so many frozen dog treat options?
12. Carrot Oat Applesauce
These treats are solid and so easy to carry with you on that road trip, but also, a bit gummy, so the dog will have something to chew on. Better use the steel cut oats for these treats, instant oats are hard to shape.
Carrot oat applesauce dog treats work well for both dogs and horses. Love the texture on those!
13. Chewy Cheddar Puppy Puffs
These chewy treats have all the cheezy goodness and satisfying factor of all-purpose flour. Bake cheddar and parmesan cheeses in low-fat milk dough to create 10-minute puffs that can be stored for up to a week in an airtight container. Your dog will stop anything she is doing when you reach for that container.
And here’s the same gorgeous girl enjoying chewy cheddar puppy puffs. What a lucky dog!
14. Peanut Butter Coconut Oil Dog Treats
Coconut oil does wonders for the fur and skin of your dogs. This recipe is a fun and healthy way to deliver that all essential coconut oil to your dog’s tummy. The oil is also said to minimize the risk of diabetes and heart disease for your pawed friend.
Make a slurry of equal parts of liquid coconut oil and peanut butter with a dash of cinnamon and freeze in bite-sized treats. I use these paw print ice cube trays to make my treats.
To improve skin and coat health, make some peanut butter coconut oil dog treats. Turns out coconut oil is just as good for our dogs as it is for us!
15. Chicken Jerky Dog Treats b
Chicken is a low fat, high protein source of food, perfect for humans, and dogs too. To make jerky, cut the chicken breast into strips and dehydrate them in an oven for at least two hours. The dehydrated meat can last up to a fortnight in airtight containers. You can spice your chicken with dog-approved spices for extra flavor and nutrients.
You only need one ingredient for chicken jerky dog treats: chicken breasts. Easy peasy!
16. Peanut Butter Dog Treats
Make a dough using whole wheat flour, peanut butter, chicken stalk, and a natural sweetener like mashed bananas to bake these treats. A bone-shaped cookie cutter gives your cookies that classic look we see in all the commercials.
And finally, you can’t go wrong with classic peanut butter dog treats for your furbaby. I’ve never known a dog who doesn’t love peanut butter!
