Homemade Dog Treats

Duck, lamb, buffalo, white fish and salmon are usually great choices for dogs with food allergies, of course, they are more expensive because for a good allergy free one, they have to make sure there is no wheat fillers involved bulking up the meat. My dog has allergies too and it is expensive and a pain in the rear!

There are tons of homemade dog treat recipes online. You can always swap out ingredients if you need, such as rice flour or potato flour instead of wheat flour, or fish instead of chicken. Also, a lot of them use peanut butter.

Lots of recipes here:
http://www.bullwrinkle.com/Assets/Recipes/Recipes.htm

Pumpkin Treats:

1 15 oz can of pumpkin.
3/4 cup rice cereal (like the stuff for babies)
1/2 cup powdered milk

Spoon onto cookie sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes.

Peanut Butter Treats:

3 cup and 2T rye flour (or oat flour) OR 1 3/4 cups plus 2T rice, barley or potato flour
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup rolled oats
3 T peanut butter
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix everything together. Roll it out to about 1/2 inch thickness and use cookie cutters to cut out treats or cut into small pieces. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until hard.

They could always try to lure the dog down to the basement with canned salmon or tuna.

Although I may not be much help on the treats, I do have a recommendation for dog food. Mine is also allergic to chicken and beef, although I don't know that she is allergic to wheat. I found a great food at Costco. It is their own brand, Kirkland. It's Natures Domain Salmon and Sweet Potato. It's about $35 per large bag. It's actually cheaper than the dog food I was feeding her before I found out about her allergies. It contains fish, sweet potatoes, fruits and vegetables with very little extra stuff.

My dog (Boxer) DROOLED over these dog treats (see below). My son and I still make them on rainy days for friend's dogs and they love it. (BTW, found this recipe online b/c it was kid-friendly with the ingredients/smells in my kitchen. TONS of recipes out there on the www for pets.)

DOGGIE TREATS
• 2 cups flour (I use white)
• 1 cup rolled oats (I use the quick-cook kind)
• 1/3 cup peanut butter, chunky or smooth (I use smooth most of the time)
• 1 1/4 cups hot water

1. Preheat oven to 350° F
2. Mix dry ingredients together.
3. Mix in the peanut butter and hot water. You may need to add more water if the dough is too sticky.
4. Knead the dough well.
5. Flour your surface. Roll out the dough into 1/4" thickness and cut into shapes with cookie cutters.

Note - This recipe doesn't call for it, but I put an egg wash (one egg whisked with a fork and then brushed on with a pastry brush) on the treats before I baked them. It gives them a nice sheen once they're baked.
6. Bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet for 40 minutes.

Storing: This peanut butter dog biscuit recipe makes biscuits that will last in a sealed air tight container at room temperature for one week. You can store them in the refrigerator for 3 weeks and in the freezer for up to 6 months.

J. - the flatter you make them the crispier they are. Just last week I made Christmas trees, candy canes, and so forth with my cookie cutters and this recipe. Plan to give some doggie treats as gifts to a couple dog-lovers this Christmas. They're fun to make with the kids. Keep in mind you are not to give dogs raisins, grapes, or too much garlic. A little is okay. But too much can make the dog sick and/or die. Make sure your bro looks into that as y'all start cooking.

My dog was allergic to corn, so I got super-careful about readin the ingredients in things he would eat. I think there are lamb treats out there that do not contain wheat (it's a very very very low-grade filler, even lower than corn).

Also, Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance has a line of food "rolls." All of his products are designed for dogs with allergies (He also had an even more restricted line labeled "Limited Ingredient Diet."). He has some L.I.D. treats (bison and sweet potato, duck and potato, sweet potato and venison, sweet potato and fish).

I know there's a duck and potato treat roll that they can slice to use as a treat. It's kind of like wet/canned food, but not as wet. I can only find Dick Van Patten's products at Petco.