Be sure to check with your vet about ingredients. Some dogs (including my own) are allergic to corn and wheat products.
Kathryn Michel, a vet professor at the University of Pennsylvania vet school cautions against putting any of the following in dog biscuits: chocolate (especially cocoa powder, milk chocolate, and unsweetened baking-type chocolate), raisins, grapes, macadamia nuts (right! at the prices these are....?), garlic, leeks, onion (including onion powder, fresh onions, or dried onions), anything with potato skins in it (potato salad, baked potato skin appetizers). Caffeine- and alcohol-containing foods/drinks also should be omitted. These things can cause erratic heartbeat, kidney failure, and neurological difficulties (hind-end weakness, tremors, or other difficulties walking).
Other Notes:
You'll check with your vet, right?!
A piece of dry dogfood is great. (Look at your vet's or a fancy pet food place for sample packages.)
A "high value" treat is reward for learning something difficult. A common one is a piece of mozzarella "string cheese." Cut while chilled. Slice longways and then into cross sections no more than 1/4" thick (you'll have half-moon shapes). These are high-fat. Consider breaking each half-moon in half. Dogs like peanut butter, too, so a peanut butter-containing treat might be regarded by your dog as a high-value treat.
An even higher value treat is something with meat! I give two liver treats and hotdog jerky recipes below.
Training treats tend to be high in calories (that's what makes them tasty!), so use them judiciously. Consider breaking them into small pieces.
And remember what makes any training treat so effective is the anticipation of the treat! Size doesn't much matter. It's the anticipation of something given from the loving hand of his person as much as how the treat tastes! In fact, I am pretty sure a lot of treats Chocolate eats he doesn't even taste!
Hotdog jerky is great for training "leave it" and using it as the reward for ignoring the lure. And for other commands the dog is having trouble with. (Note: It's the handler having the trouble.) It's also great for teaching potty habits: for example, "get busy" (useful for quick pottying in a rainstorm!) and "good go outside!"
Cut hotdogs crosswise into "coins," no more than 1/4" thick (3/16" is better). Put them on a microwave-proof plate and nuke 'em for a couple minutes. How many depends on your microwave; start with 2 minutes.
As they cook, they'll puff up. Keep cooking until they begin to dry out. Watch. You can always cook them some more! They're finished when they're pretty dehydrated but not completely dried out and thin, as jerky for people is. Especially if you are making this for a puppy or a senior dog, don't cook them into oblivion!
Cut them into halves or whatever while they're still warm. Less crumbling (waste).
Cool completely. Store airtight in the refrigerator.
Notes:
slab of raw beef liver
one egg (including shell)
uncooked oats (or whir uncooked Minute Rice just barely to break it down -- you don't want to make dust!)
Puree liver with egg. Add uncooked oats until about consistency of a [chocolate] cookie dough.
Turn into a glass baking dish, greased well and floured. Puree should be about 1/2" to 3/4" deep in the dish.
Bake at 350 about 15 minutes or until the treat seems set. Check several times. You don't want to overbake and have a hard treat. Cool, cut into pieces about 1/2" to 3/4" square. Put on cookie sheet and freeze. Then transfer into zipper bag for freezer storage.
Recipe #2
If you prefer, bake the slab of liver on a greased cookie sheet at about 400 for 10 minutes. Turn over liver, turn off the oven, and allow the liver to continue cooking and then cool. Cut up, and freeze in a zipper bag. Less fuss than making the biscuits, above, but the downside is that when these thaw, you'll basically have a hunk o' liver in your pocket!
Mix. Roll out and cut with a cute little "dog bone" cutter, your favorite canape cutter shape, or cut 'em into squares or "fingers" with a paring knife.
Bake on a greased sheet for 35-40 minutes at 350. Baste with more beef broth every so often.
Cool and store airtight in the refrigerator. Best if allowed to come to room temp first.
Place dry ingredients in a bowl and add liquids, stirring well. Shape dough into a ball and roll out on a lightly-floured surface about 1/2" thick. Cut in desired shapes.
Re-roll scraps and repeat. Be careful not to get too much flour in them as you re-roll. When the dough seems to be getting brittle, forget about the cookie cutters and just cut the rest into strips or whatever with a paring knife.
Arrange on a microwaveable plate or on waxed paper (or cooking parchment paper - - you should be so rich!). Microwave on high for 8-10 minutes until firm. Everyone's microwave is different, so check the biscuits at the 5-minute point.
Let cool until hardened.
Store airtight in the refrigerator. Best if allowed to come to room temp first.
These treats are not to be confused with my own microwave adventures.
Bake at 350 in an 11x7" pan for about 20 minutes.
Store in the refrigerator because of the eggs and fish. Guaranteed to make a pup happy!
Mix dry ingregients separately from milk and peanut butter. Combine. Roll out to 1/4" thickness and cut shapes. Prepare cookie sheets with Pam. Bake at 385 for about 20 minutes. Cool and store airtight in the refrigerator. Best if allowed to come to room temp first.
Open a can of dog food (low-cal, if your pet needs it) at both ends and slide the food out. Slice 1/4" to 1/2" thick. Cut each circle in quarters. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 325 degrees until the moisture is gone and the treats are crisp, about 20 to 30 minutes. If they are not quite dry, continue baking (check every 5 minutes). Another option to finish the process is to turn the oven off, keep the door closed, and wait until the over has cooled completely.
Store air-tight.
The calories in these treats must be counted in your pet's daily intake, especially if your dog is a little more "meaty" than he should be! Look at the can to see if you can calculate the approximate caloric value.
2 1/2 c flour
2 c whole wheat flour
2 c cracked wheat (also known as bulgar; try health food store if your grocery doesn't
carry this
1 packet dry yeast (kind you use to make bread)
2-4 t salt
2 c chicken stock or another liquid, warmed
1/2 c non-fat dry milk solids
1 egg beaten with 1 T water
1 T liquid milk
Dissove yeast in 1/2 warm water. Combine dry ingredients. Add yeast mixture and chicken stock. Knead 3 minutes.
Roll 1/4" thick and cut into shapes. Place on cookie sheet and brush with egg wash.
Bake 45 minutes in 300 degree oven. Turn off heat and leave overnight to harden.
2 c flour
2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c raw wheat germ
1 c instant brown rice
1 c oats [uncooked oatmeal]
1 c cornmeal
1 c non-fat dry milk solids
2 t salt
1 packet dry yeast (kind you use to make bread)
2 c chicken stock or another liquid, warmed
Dissove yeast in 1/2 warm water. Combine dry ingredients. Add yeast mixture and chicken stock. Knead 3 minutes.
Roll 1/4" thick and cut into shapes. Place on cookie sheet and brush with egg wash.
Bake 45 minutes in 300 degree oven. Turn off heat and leave overnight to harden.
Mix ingredients. Roll out 1/4" thick on floured board. Cut into shapes.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
Note: These are also high in fat. Give your dog one of them and wait to see what happens with his stool.
Combine all. Make ball about the size of a large walnut and pat into a flat shape about 1/2" thick and place on cookie sheet.
Bake 15 minutes at 350. Turn off oven and leave to cool with door closed.
Store airtight or freeze.
Note: These are also high in fat. Give your dog one of them and wait to see what happens with his stool.
In addition to pigs' ears, Chocolate adores "Greenies," which are available at pet stores and created by a canine dentist. In fact, Chocolate prefers these to pig ears! (I held out both, and he chose the Greenie.) They are pricey ($1 each where I live), so he gets one only on Saturday. And he seems to know when it's Saturday, too! I understand "DentaBone," much cheaper, is like Greenies, except not quite as tasty (or so the dogs say!). And I think there's another knock-off, but I don't know the name.
Note: There have been some problems with Greenies (not fully digested, causing blockages), so do be sure to watch your dog when he is munching on one of these. A dog tends to chew just enough to break off a piece - and then he wolfs it down (not chewing his food completely, as Grandma advocates). Confiscate the Greenie when the piece is about 1" long. And keep an eye on your dog afterwards to make sure he's ok. We have never had a problem, but some families do. Better safe than sorry.
Unfortunately, Chocolate was overweight from eating a pig ear each day. I reduced the pig ear to 1/6 of one per day. (Have fun cutting these! Use tin snips. You laugh.) I also reduced his total amount of food. Now he weighs 17 lbs., perfect for a mini poodle. Check with your vet about your dog's ideal weight range.
Chocolate also has trouble with allergies (gooey eyes, not to put too fine a point on it), and the vet suggested it might be the cornmeal or wheat in his kibble. She said that many dogs are allergic to corn and wheat. She suggested we go to a kibble that is made with potatoes or rice plus meat. How's this for aristocratic dogfood: rabbit, fish, venison, and duck?!! This food helped a lot. But it's also high in calories, so poor Chocolate has only 1/4 c morning, noon, and night. He's not happy about the amount of food, but I'd rather have him healthy than itchy and miserable. This food is not cheap! Of course! It's from Innovative Veterinary Diets and is called "Limited Ingredient Diets."
She also suggested I eliminate the pig ears and the Greenies altogether to see if that would help, also. "What shall I give him instead?" Try a carrot - - a full-sized carrot, she said. Ok, that works - - but Chocolate still expects his pig ear! He looks at me after he's eaten his whole carrot and says, "Ok, I've humored you. Where's the pig ear?"
2004 Update: The vet has put him on an eye drop and an allergy pill. I lure him to get the eyedrops by holding out the allergy pill, which must be bitter, with a little aerosol cheese on it. These meds seem to have helped. He also began turning up his nose at the big carrots, so he did without for a couple of months. Now I buy the little pre-trimmed carrots. He appreciates those much more than he did the big carrot.
No more pig ears, but he still gets his Greenie on Saturday! This seems to be not too much corn- and gluten-free eaties.
2009 Update: Guess what? It wasn't allergies at all! It was "dry eye." Diagnosed by another vet in the practice. She prescribed cyclosporine 0.2% drops, and that cleared it right up. Started with a drop per eye, morning and night. Now we're doing morning only. He still gets his Saturday greenie, though, and is still on the aristocratic dog food. Still cute, too!
