If you're looking for a fun way to bond with your pet, making the DIY dog treats is the simplest way to do it. From soft treats to hard and crispy doggie biscuits, there are plenty of options if you wish to swap the commercial dog treats with homemade dog treats.

Here are the top three easy DIY dog-treat recipes you can make from scratch at home.

Xylitol-free, Organic Peanut Butter with Pumpkin DIY Doggie Cookies

Preparation Time: 15 Minutes

Cooking Time: 40 Minutes

Additional Time: 45 Minutes

Total Time Needed: 1Hour 40 Minutes

Ingredients:

• Whole Wheat Flour (2½ Cups)
• Eggs (2)
• Salt (½ tbsp)
• Ground Cinnamon (½tbsp)
• Canned Pumpkin (½ tbsp)
• Peanut Butter (2 tbsp)

Instructions:

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 175ºC or 350ºF.

Step 2: Whisk the whole wheat flour, eggs, salt, ground cinnamon, pumpkin, and peanut butter in a bowl. Add water slowly until the dough is workable.

The dough should not be too wet that it sticks on your spoon. It should roll over easily from the spoon. Roll this dough into a roll that's ½-inch thick then cut it into ½-inch thick pieces.

Step 3: Transfer the pieces into a preheated oven and let it bake for 20-30 minutes if you prefer softer cookies. If you want them hard and crispy, let them bake for 40-60 minutes. It is advisable that you restrict your pooch to only two cookies per day to maintain the  10 percent rule for treats and snacks.

Homemade Chicken Dog Treats

Preparation Time: 25 Minutes

Cooking Time: 30 Minutes

Additional Time: 20 Minutes

Total Time Needed: 1Hour 15 Minutes

Ingredients:

• Eggs (1)
• Cooked and Finely Diced Chicken (1 cup)
• Cooked and Mashed Rice (½ cup)
• Parsley (1 tbsp)
• Rice Flour (3 tbsp)

Instructions:

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 175ºC or 350ºF

Step 2: Whisk the parsley, chicken, mashed rice, eggs, and rice flour together. The final mixture should be able to maintain its shape on the spoon. You can add broth if it's too dry to make it pliable.

Step 3: Using a spoon, scoop the mixture, and transfer to silicone-lined trays or molds.

Step 4: Let it bake for 20-30 minutes. Importantly, you should wait to see if the top turns golden brown.

Step 5: Let it cool. Serve your dog these treats and transfer the remaining to an airtight container. Store the remaining treats in a freezer for up to 90 days or fridge for up to 5 days.

Frozen Watermelon Dog Treats

Preparation Time: 15 Minutes

Additional Time: 25 Minutes

Total Time Needed: 40 Minutes

Ingredients:

• Cut-up Watermelons (2cups)
• Plain Yoghurt (½cup)

Instructions:

Step 1: Put your cut up watermelons in a blender then add the plain Yoghurt in it.

Step 2: Blend the mixture until it is smooth.

Step 3: Pour out the blended mixture into ice cube trays or molds.

Step 4: Transfer the trays or molds to a freezer then let them stay there until they're frozen solid. After that, place them in an airtight container and keep them in the freezer.

Pros of Making DIY Dog Treat Recipes

Most of these treats are easy to make and barely take more than two hours. Besides, you can use readily available materials that you use every day in your kitchen. If you’re wondering whether this is the right idea, here are extra advantages of DIY dog treat recipes you should know about.

Control

When you opt for DIY dog treats, you're in charge of the entire preparation process. This means that you use the needed ingredients in the required proportions to ensure that your dog gets all the nutritional benefits that come with them. Besides, you know your dog best, so you can always 'design' these treats to meet your furry companion's specific needs or dietary restrictions.

Tastier Treat Options

Doggie cookies and biscuits are tasty. Making some of these with meat or chicken broth will add that meaty flavor that dogs crave. This means that you get cheaper treat options that you can still save for future use.

No Preservatives or Chemical Additives

Note that, you have no control in the industrial manufacture of dog treats. Unless you lab-test the treats for chemical additives or preservatives (if they don't indicate in the ingredients), you'll never know whether what your pet is consuming is safe for it or not. If you make the treats from scratch though, you avoid all these possible health hazards. 

Cons of Making DIY Dog Treats

Unbalanced Nutrients

When making dog treats, it is vital that you mix vitamins and supplements in the right proportions. When you make these treats on your own, though, you might forget about or add too many supplements, something that might be harmful to your pet in the long run.

Excess or Very Little Calories

Unlike all-natural dog treats from reputed brands like  TailBangers where you're provided with the nutritional information of specific treats, with homemade treats, you don't have exact details on the nutrient contents of the ingredients you use. If you use too many calories, you'll overfeed your dog, and if you use minimal calories, you also risk underfeeding the dog.

Precautions When Making DIY Dog Treats

When making the homemade dog treats, you must stick to approved ingredients for dog foods. It would be best to keep an eye on possible allergic reactions when your dog ingests these treats.

If it's the first time you're giving these treats, let it eat the treats and watch how its body reacts to them. If you spot any allergic symptoms, consider stopping or making the dog get used to these treats gradually.

If you're going to use sweeteners, it would be better to use natural sweeteners from fruits like bananas or watermelons. That's why we insisted on the Xylitol-free organic peanut butter and plain Yoghurt. The sweetened versions may contain Xylitol, a toxic substance to dogs, and can be fatal even when ingested in small proportions. 

Get All-natural Additive-free and Preservative-free Dog Treats

We make doggie treats with human-grade ingredients to ensure the safety and purity of these treats. Contact us today in case you have any queries concerning dog treats.