Healthy Homemade Pet Treats

• Posted on 23 September 2015
• By Dr. Jill Tack
• Posted in cat treat recipe, dog treat recipe, homemade cat treats, homemade dog treats, treat recipe
• 0

When I think of fall, I think of pumpkin. I don’t know about you but my dog loves pumpkin, almost as much as she loves peanut butter. When I look for treats to give her, I look for whole food ingredients that are packed with nutrients. Yet, I've found it hard to find these types of simple ingredient treats that I wouldn't feel bad giving her. I was shocked to see that many pumpkin and peanut butter treats were filled with byproducts like:

When I think of fall, I think of pumpkin. I don’t know about you but my dog loves pumpkin, almost as much as she loves peanut butter. When I look for treats to give her, I look for whole food ingredients that are packed with nutrients. Yet, I've found it hard to find these types of simple ingredient treats that I wouldn't feel bad giving her. I was shocked to see that many pumpkin and peanut butter treats were filled with byproducts like:

• • Meat Meal

• • Meat Fat

• • "Natural Flavors"

• • Sugar

• • Corn Flour

• • Corn Syrup

• • Onion Extract

• • Artificial Colors

• Chemical Preservatives

While the ingredients that contributed to the actual flavor of the treat (pumpkin and peanut butter) were low on the ingredient list. How can that be?!

This got me thinking about treats for my feline friends. Would it be as difficult to find a healthy treat for them? When looking at the ingredients list for treats including their favorite foods, organ meats, I found that they were still filled with unhealthy things like:

• • Meat Byproduct Meals

• • Corn Gluten Meal

• • Animal Flavors

• • Artificial Flavors

• • Artificial Colors

• • Chemical Preservatives

• • BHA

• BHT

It shouldn't be this hard to find treats that our pets love that are made with simple, pure ingredients. So, we decided to make our own! See our below recipes for healthy homemade pet treats.

Beastro Bites: Homemade Dog Treat Recipe

Our first task in creating a nutritious homemade dog treat was to find the ingredients. We started with Dr. Harvey's Canine Health and ground it into a flour. This organic mix of grains and vegetables is a perfect substitute for wheat or corn flour and is made with no dyes, chemicals, or preservatives. The whole foods found in Canine Health are also packed with nutrition, providing a natural source of vitamins and minerals that our pets' bodies can easily break down and use.

Next, we chose pumpkin for all of its great health benefits (and flavor!). Pumpkin has been shown to help prevent cancer and cataracts and reduce the risk of arteriosclerosis. Pumpkin also improves the immune system, aids in heart health, and provides vitamins and minerals to the body. Nummy Tum-Tum is a great organic canned pumpkin that was so easy to work with!

Our last ingredient was the DOGforDOG Dogsbutter Original Peanut Butter. This peanut butter is made with just three ingredients: peanuts, flaxseed, and vegetable oil. Peanuts are a great source of protein while the flaxseed provides vitamins and minerals. Plus, for every jar purchased, DOGforDOG donates an equal amount of food to a dog in need.

To make these treats you will need:

• 2 cups of Dr. Harvey’s Canine Health
• 1 cup of Nummy Tum-Tum Organic Pumpkin
• ½ cup of DOGforDOG Dogsbutter Peanut Butter

Once you have all your ingredients ready, just mix them together and roll them out. We decided to cut ours into star shapes, but you can choose whichever shape you want. Next, pop them in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes at 350°F. These treats will stay soft when baked. If your pup likes a crunchier treat, you can leave them in a bit longer.  

Beastro Bits: Homemade Cat Treat Recipe

These treats were so easy and you can feed them to your dog, too!

We used:

• 2 egg yolks from a local family-owned farm
• ½ cup Dr. Harvey’s Canine Health, ground into ½ cup of flour
• 1 ½ pound of raw organ meat blend from Oma’s Pride

Egg yolks are packed with protein and amino acids, while organ meat is a great source of protein, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Organ meat is also high in taurine, an amino acid that is essential for healthy cats. We used a blend of beef heart, liver, and kidney for these treats.

When you have all of your ingredients ready, mix them in a bowl until you have a meatloaf-like consistency. We lined a tray with parchment paper, then spread the mixture out on it. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes at 350°F until firm (they will still be spongy in texture). Let cool, then cut with a pizza cutter into small bites.

Within an hour we had two treats done and our pets loved them both! It was so much fun to make treats with natural, nutrient-dense ingredients. If you give either of these recipes a try, snap a picture and tag us on Instagram or Twitter using @thepetbeastro, or post on Facebook so we can see how they turned out!