I have heard of a number of gourmet dog treats (and other pets as well), and I'm wondering if anybody here makes homemade pet treats. I couldn't see myself being able to justify spending a lot of money on gourmet goodies for dogs, but I would probably take the time to makes some. Any recipes or advice?
I don't make a lot of homemade treats, but I do make my own dog food. I guess you can make treats if you have an oven. There are many recipes online that you can try. In fact, they are much healthier than the ones sold in stores because they don't have preservatives.
Our dogs would not eat them. They loved table food, but not any attempts at home made dog treats. They would rather eat the processed pre made ones out of a bag first. On one occasion, our beagle was asked to be on a news segment for our local news station, because there was some lady talking about her home made dog biscuits. We knew damn well our beagle wouldn't eat her treats on air so to avoid embarrassing the lady, we had to quickly and discreetly toss some of her favorite treats on the floor beside the lady's home made dog biscuits so it looked like she was eating them, but she wasn't lol.
I have never tried the home made treats and I do not think I have the patience for all that. Also we always give home cooked food to our dog as it keeps it healthy in the long run. I do not know whether my dog will like the treat or not.
I have the following recipe: Brown 1 lb ground beef, add one package frozen veggies, now add 5 cups water and 2 cups rice and cook for 30 to 40 minutes. When the water is absorbed, the dog food/treat is done. You can either form them into 1 cup balls for a meal, or use a melon baller and form them into tiny balls for a treat. You can put them on wax paper and then in zip lock baggies. They freeze nicely and can be taken out as needed. This gives the dog the nutrient he needs. But if you cook the veggies from scratch make sure to dice up the veggies in small pieces because the dog often swallows his food whole. This way he will get as many of the nutrients as possible. I often use hamburger meat as its cheaper in the grocery section of your supermarket. Or if you go to a butcher for your meat, he will often ground up the lesser cuts and so its cheaper and fine for dogs.