A Dog Owner's Guide To Making Organic Gourmet Dog Treats

By Joyce Brooks


If you are like many other dog owners, you worry about what your pampered pooch is ingesting. While food is the main focus of concern for many dog owners, the treats that they eat are also something to be concerned about. One way to avoid potentially unhealthy ingredients is to make your own organic gourmet dog treats. Whether you are making them for your own canine or for other special dogs in your life, here are some tips that you can use to do so easily and safely.

One of the first things to consider is whether your pet has any allergies or food sensitivities. If so, you need to make sure that you are not including those ingredients in the treats that you make. Usually dogs will be allergic to proteins, wheat or corn. Other allergies do exist but they are much less rare.

The next thing to do is to familiarize yourself with which ingredients are harmful to pets. Some, such as chocolate, onions and raw garlic can end up being quite toxic to pets and should not be included in the treats that you want to make. There are substitutions that you can make such as using carob in the place of chocolate.

If you look at the treats that are available in stores they tend to fall into two categories. Many of them are variations on a cookie or biscuit. Others are made from meat that has been dried or turned into jerky. If you know which kind your own canine prefers, experimenting with this style of snack may be a good starting point.

Beef liver is a great snack for dogs. It can be cut thinly and into small pieces and then dehydrated. Liver from other animals such as lamb, chicken, turkey and duck can also be dehydrated as can organs such as lungs. Just make sure it is completely dried out before storing it as it can spoil otherwise.

You may also want to think about making jerky. You can season meat or some vegetables to change the taste. Just make sure that any seasonings you do use do not have any onions or raw garlic in them. These can end up transforming a delicious snack into something toxic. Some vegetables such as sweet potatoes can also be turned into jerky or dehydrated treats as well. These can be fantastic for pets that have allergies to meat or other ingredients but who still want a chewy treat to enjoy.

A lot of people like the idea of baking biscuits or cookies for their dogs. They can be easy to make and may be less expensive to prepare than liver or other meat. If you want to change the flavor you can add ingredients such as pure pumpkin, honey, unsweetened peanut butter or pureed sweet potato. Just remember to make sure that you are not adding ingredients that could make your pet sick.

Once you have mastered a few basic recipes, you can begin to get creative. Your dog will love the safe, delicious treats you are making for him or her and you can ensure that you control the quality of the ingredients and keep your pet happy and healthy at the same time.




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