Homemade Dog Treats Recipe
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Homemade Dog Treats are so much easier to make than I would have ever thought a few years ago.
For a while now, whenever the notion strikes me, I like to bake a couple of batches of dog treats for our dogs as a special little goodie.
Let me just tell you, my dogs love these homemade dog treats so much more than any store-bought treat I’ve ever given them!
I’m very particular about what my pets eat, too. I only feed them the dog food that was recommended by our veterinarian and a few extra little things occasionally that he told me was okay to feed them.
So, when I found a recipe from Cesar Milan, even though I trusted him as a great resource, I still checked the ingredients against those that I’d been told by my veterinarian were safe for my dogs before I made it.
I modified the recipe for simplicity of ingredients as well as for things that I knew I’d have on hand in my pantry and refrigerator.
Homemade Dog Treats How To
Four ingredients are all you need for these homemade dog treats.
Simple, right?
Oats, salt, beef bouillon or beef broth, and an egg. If you use salted beef broth, then you could cut the ingredients list even more and remove the additional salt.
And the instructions for making them are just as easy, making these dog treats simple enough to make on a regular basis or for giving to friends over the holidays for their pets or for celebrating.
You can use whatever cookie or biscuit cutter you have to make these, but I loved using a bone shaped cutter. The mini cutter yields about 30 dog treats and the large yields about 8. It’s great to make a variety of sizes and shapes.
Here’s the recipe for my homemade dog treats. Be sure to let me know how your pooch loves them!
Homemade Dog Treats Recipe
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups rolled oats divided
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup beef broth unsalted, low-fat or unsalted, low-fat chicken broth
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Add 2 cups oats, salt, beef broth, and egg to a large mixing bowl. Combine well. Add remaining 1/2 cup of rolled oat and combine.
- Pour onto wax paper and knead dough for about 3 minutes. Let stand for about 3 minutes to begin to become firmer. Press to 1/2-inch thickness.
- Cut with cutter and place onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container for use or store in a ziptop bag in the freezer for later thawing and use.
Can I use steel cut oats?
Hi Katy,
I’ve not used steel cut oats in this recipe, so I’ve not tested the changes that would be needed to use them here. xo
Can we use quick oats?
i would suggest you leave out the salt. people often don’t realize that animals, just like people, get plenty of salt naturally because it is in all of the ingredients. you don’t need to add any. furthermore, one of the reasons that i don’t buy a lot of foods- both for myself and my pets – is because of salt content. senior dogs and chihuahuas, for instance, can’t handle much salt. just as seniors often have a degree of heart failure and salt causes water retention, it can also mess with your dog’s health causing bloating and even more serious problems.
otherwise, i could suggest some additional ingredients, depending on the need of your pets. i have a hard time getting my dog to eat pumpkin, although he loves sweet potato. however, he needs pumpkin for the healthy effect on his digestive system. with the oats masking the pumpkin (he loves the oats) i am going to try this recipe with pumpkin added. hopefully i will be able to get some pumpkin down him.
my dog also loves certain nuts. he isn’t allowed to have very many, but chopped up, a few are ok. his favorite is peanuts (actually a bean). in moderate amounts they are good, but other nuts are harmful so i don’t give those to him.
dogs tend to gulp their food, so you have to make sure you grind the nuts to prevent obstruction. some of the things i usually add to my treats to make them more healthy are greens (my dog loves veggies), carrots, and bone marrow meal. i like to make my broth myself from meat that includes bones – and no salt.
Thank you so much for all of this added input, Fyuri! I appreciate your tips and hope your pup enjoys the treats. Thanks!
These look really good. And easy to make, which is what I need. I’m going to make them for my pup.
Hi Didi,
I hope your pup enjoys them! Thanks!
Its my first time making dog treats. i want to know do i have to keep tham in the refrigerator or can thay stay out in a container.
Hi Leida,
I only keep out a few at a time – what I’m going to use that day – and store the rest in an airtight container in the freezer. I just remove what I plan to use in a day from my freezer container and allow about 15 minutes to thaw the treat before rewarding pup with it.
My dogs love these – I hope yours do as well!
Thanks so much! xo
Making them today for the first time. Have left out the salt, used chicken broth, and added 1/3 C of peanut butter. After letting the dough set, I pressed it into a rectangle (about 1/2″ thick) on parchment then slid the parchment onto a baking sheet. Baked for the time above, then turned off the oven to let it “dry” about 20 minutes as the oven cooled. After cooling on the counter, I cut them into squares, with a very attentive pooch sitting nearby – he’s loving them! Can’t wait to use beef broth next time!
Oh that’s wonderful! I’m so happy your pooch is enjoying them! Reminds me that I need to make my pups a batch soon! They love them too! Thanks so much, Sandy! xo
I make a very similar recipe often but was wondering how long these keep for on the counter? I used to make them with shredded cheese added and after a week or so they started to mold. I omit the cheese now but will be donating these to a bakesale benefit and would like a better idea of how long they keep in the fridge ans counter.
How long do these keep for ??
I make this recipe about once a month. They only last about 4 days with 2 malamutes and two 6 lb dogs. I read that coconut is good for dogs. Was thinking about adding a 1/4 – 1/2 cup of shredded chips to recipe. Anybody try adding something to there recipe?
I added shredded carrots and chopped apples. My dog loves it!
I need dog treats to be absolutely no chicken and that means eggs to, any recipes will help
Try substituting a mashed up banana for the egg (1/2 banana per egg, I believe). There are tons of other recipes for dog treats online involving sweet potatoes, peanut butter, mashed up blueberries, and things like that that you should be able to use to make dog treats!
I wanted to make some dog treats. But my flour was expired and we were out of peanut butter! But I did have rolled oats. I searched for a flour less dog treat recipe and this recipe pulled up. So easy to make and my three dogs loved them. Thanks!