Homemade Dog Treats!

[ZennaBug]

One of my dogs has pretty severe food allergies, so I've had a really hard time finding treats that she can eat.  And the ones that have limited ingredients tend to be expensive, which is hard because we really don't have that much money to spare.  So when I saw a recipe for "Sweet Pawtato Chips," I decided to try them!  The only adjustment was that I found a good vegetable stock to use instead of chicken broth, because Ava can't eat chicken.  But they were easy enough and the dogs LOVE them!!!  I wanted to share with you guys, since it's an easy way to make yummy and healthy treats that your dog will love (and so will your wallet).  And for those of you who have pups with sensitive tummies like my poor Ava, these will be a lifesaver!

Step 1:  Slice the sweet potato into slices 1/8" thick.
 I cut some of mine too thin and it didn't turn out so well lol.

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Step 2:  Soak the sweet potatoes in vegetable broth for 30 minutes.
I used Kitchen Basics "Unsalted Vegetable Cooking Stock."  Ingredients: Vegetable stocks (onion, celery, carrot, mushroom, red pepper) and tomato paste.  This broth has low saturated fat and cholseterol, only 240mg of sodium (the least we could find), no MSG, and guarantees that it contains NO eggs, gluten, soy, or corn (all of which Ava is allergic to) and other common allergens.

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Step 3:  Arrange slices on cookie sheets.
You're supposed to line the sheets with parchment paper first, but I forgot to grab some and decided that it didn't make a difference.  I was wrong, definitely use the parchment paper.

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Step 4:  Bake at 400°F for 25-30 minutes.
Since I cut my slices too thin, I ended up cooking them for only about 20 minutes.

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And the end result!  The plate on the left were the slices that I cut too thin and burned to smithereens.  The ones that were cut thicker ended up a lot better (though not terribly pretty).  Next time I'll be more careful with the thickness and will use parchment paper, so they shouldn't get as crispy.

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  Milo and Ava approved! 

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[kaoskat]

Seems like a neat idea! Glad they like them! I'd be careful using vegetable broth with onions in it though. Onions (and garlic) have been found to be toxic to dogs and cats (more so in cats).

[melodys_angel]

Ill have to see if my brothers crazy pug will like this--thanks <3

Is Ava a shih tzu?

[Eviecorn]

Thanks for posting!  I have a dog with allergies and I'll try making some for him sometime.

[ZennaBug]

Seems like a neat idea! Glad they like them! I'd be careful using vegetable broth with onions in it though. Onions (and garlic) have been found to be toxic to dogs and cats (more so in cats).

Gah!  I remember hearing that before, I had totally forgotten  (I don't cook with onion often enough to ever worry about them).  Pretty much ALL the veggie stocks had onion too.  I'll just make my own stock next time and leave out the onion I guess.  Thanks for reminding me  *hides*

Is Ava a shih tzu?

She's a mutt    We were told that she was a bichon mix, but she hit full size at 5.5 pounds, so that's not right.  I think she's might be a shih tzu/pomeranian mix based on her body shape/size, muzzle, and fur.

Thanks for posting!  I have a dog with allergies and I'll try making some for him sometime.

I hope he likes it!    (though Kat has pointed out that the onions in the stock might be bad, so you might see if you can find anything that will work better.  I may just make my stock from scratch now)

[Eviecorn]

Thanks for posting!  I have a dog with allergies and I'll try making some for him sometime.

I hope he likes it!    (though Kat has pointed out that the onions in the stock might be bad, so you might see if you can find anything that will work better.  I may just make my stock from scratch now)

I make my own veggie broth from scratch without onions (I'm allergic to them) anyway, and I can easily omit garlic.  If you want a recipe I can pass it along!

[ZennaBug]

Thanks for posting!  I have a dog with allergies and I'll try making some for him sometime.

I hope he likes it!    (though Kat has pointed out that the onions in the stock might be bad, so you might see if you can find anything that will work better.  I may just make my stock from scratch now)

I make my own veggie broth from scratch without onions (I'm allergic to them) anyway, and I can easily omit garlic.  If you want a recipe I can pass it along!

That would be awesome!  I want to make a HUGE batch of these this week, since the dogs love them so much.

[HavACrumpet452]

Cute dogs. You should avoid onions, garlic, and chives in pet foods. All are in the same family and can cause heinz body anemia. Symptoms don't present for a few days and the anemia can build with continued dosages of the toxin without allowing time for the red blood cells to rebuild. However, I wouldn't worry. I'm sure the stock was mostly tomato and its not like they drank the bowl, the potatos were just soaking in it.

If you'd like another recipe for homemade treats try this one too.

2 cups flour (choose any kind your dog can have)
1 T baking powder
1 cup peanut butter (or any ingredient with pastey consistency, I like using strained peas or carrots)
1 cup milk (lactose free is fine if you want, once again milk is just the base ingredient but play around if you like)

Preheat oven to 375F. Combine all ingredients and be sure if you are playing with different flavors just to make it a cookie dough consistency you can roll and cut with cookie cutters. You may need more flour. Roll the dough to 1/4 inch and cut out with cookie cutters. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Watch closely if you are using your own ingredients.

I've done lots of playing around with this adding mashed vegetables or even cheese and bacon bits and basting them with bbq sauce. Its really just a base recipe with the right amount of liquid to flour and baking powder to make any cookie you like.

[hathorcat]

Oh this is a great idea! My bubs Harry has food allergies...mainly from the heavy protein content in the cat food he steals...but I have been trying to find something snack wise that I can trust - I ll be giving something like this a shot!