It’s always best to buy natural dog treats to save your pet from unnecessary additives that may pose health threats. Fat and sugar-rich dog treats contribute to weight problems and should, most often, be a complete no-no.
When looking for good dog treats, look for ones that have a high concentration of fibers and proteins. Treats that consist primarily of fish are always good. And treats that consist of dried meats (like venison) are also good. Both have a pretty strong odor, but dogs love them and they’re often low in calories and fats.
If you’re using treats as a positive reinforcement during training, try cutting back on the portions at the next meal time to help balance his diet. A good rule of thumb is to not let dog treats make up more than 10% of your dog’s diet! I have, on occasion, used multi-grain Cheerio’s as training treats for my Cairn Terriers since it allows me to give several treats over the course of working with them without it being too big of a snack.
When choosing treats, rely on your instincts when you’re label-reading. Or why not try making some of your own. Here are a couple of our favorite recipes. They’re easy to make and the dogs love ’em.
Homemade Dog Treat Recipes
The best part of making homemade dog treats is that you know what goes into them and they’re fresh. It’s also a fun activity that my kids thoroughly enjoy! Here our two of our favorites:
Both of these recipes came from Rover’s Recipes, an eBook that, unfortunately, no longer seems to exist.
Since the old eBook is no longer available anywhere we could find, we thought we’d find some others to consider.
We really like Will Bake For Wags: Illustrated Dog Treat Recipes by Tennille Harron (Author) and Derk Harron (Illustrator). Amazon sells the hard cover, paper back, and a Kindle Version.
Last updated: May 12, 2021
Originally published: May 3, 2009
Great recipes! My dog loved the apple cinnamon biscuts! Next -tempting training treats!
My golden loved the apple cinnamon biscuits. I love making organic treats. I’ve also found some recipes for organic flea and tick control.
http://www.ehow.com/how_5011861_make-natural-flea-control-dogs.html
http://www.ehow.com/how_5011875_make-natural-tick-control-pets.html
I have found the best dog food ever….the dogs love it and it is all natural made by a woman with a pretty extensive chef background, who started making it for her beloved animals after the pet food scare. My dogs have never looked or felt better. She is based in California but does ship to the home or deliver. Check it out…..it saved my dogs…..www.vickiesvittles.com
She has organic dog treats too!!!!!
Once our dogs experienced upset stomachs and intestional distress after some virusus we started making our own dog food. It wasn’t an original idea but our vet said to make it rather than buy his expensive canned version. You just boil and drain hamburger and mix with boiled rice. Chill and bring to room temperature to serve. They really eat it up.
Anything we can do to go more natural or to use homemade ingredients is a great way to show our love for our pets.