Favorite Dog Treat Recipes
Thanks to the nice people at Dog Fancy, Rodale Press, and the other fine publications who called, interviewed me, and posted links to this site back in 1997 and 1998. There weren't very many recipe Web sites — or cookbooks — for dogs back then. They were ahead of the trend. Nowadays there are plenty of resources for canine cuisine, and lots of happy dogs now have all-natural, homemade treats (and even meals). Thanks too to all of the good people who allowed me to reprint their recipes or link to their sites.
Note: Permission is granted to members of dog rescues and other animal charities who would like to include these recipes in a fund-raising cookbook. I do appreciate an email so you'll let me know, though. These recipes have appeared in charity cookbooks for various breeds, and those cookbooks have raised funds for rescues all around the US and even in Portugal... and probably other places as well, but I've lost track since this site went live in 1995.
I get a lot of emails from people whose dogs are on special diets, and who would like to make treats that are safe for their dogs to eat. Since everybody's needs are different, one recipe might not work for your dog, and another one might work wonderfully, but please drop me a line if you've made any of these goodies and substituted ingredients to meet your dog's needs. It could help the next would-be doggie chef reading these pages. Thank you!
Disclaimer: I am not a veterinary nutritionist, nor do I play one on TV. I am just a regular everyday cook who likes to make healthy treats for the canine kids in the family.
Tips for Sensitive Dogs
One very useful tip I just received came from someone who made the Liver Brownies using ground-up leftover jasmine rice instead of cornmeal. For dogs with allergies to corn, this should work wonderfully. Since you can also use your dog's regular canned food in place of the liver in this recipe, this might be the first one to try if your dog is on a special diet. Another recipe that works well for dogs sensitive to wheat and corn products (and the rare ones sensitive to beef) is the one for Pumpkin Dog Cookies.
And Now... The Recipes!
Here are some kitchen-tested dog treat recipes that the entire testing staff just couldn't resist.
- Pup Cookies, with thanks to Linda Shea
- Liver Brownies, with thanks to Sharon Prassa
- Beardie Coolers, with thanks to Lynne Corn
- Peanut Butter Biscuits and Ham & Swiss on Rye, with thanks to Carol Anne Rayson
- Beardie Valentine Kisses. with more thanks to Carol Anne
- Magic Doggie Cookies, with thanks to Bruce and Chris Peterson
- Golden Beardie Liver Brownies, with thanks to Julie Grawe
- Happy Dog Bones, with thanks to Gloria the Sighthound Lover
- Tuna/Salmon Fudge from Sharon Puline and the Keeshonds
- Husky Treats, compliments of Christine Smith
- Woofie Rewards, from the BCCA Newsletter
- Best Dog Cookies Ever, compliments of Cson Johnson
- K-9 Kupcakes from Cson (thanks again!)
- Bannockburn's Baahd Bikkies, with thanks to Carol Anne Rayson
- Frosty Paws (Two Recipes)
- Bella's Parmesan Biscuits for Dogs (of course!) with compliments from Lisa and the pack at OLiver's Brownies
Thanks to Stella the Lab and her kind people over at Dog In Sight Magazine, here are some more recipes for you to enjoy. Reprinted with their kind permission. (If you want to reprint any of these, you should contact them just for the sake of courtesy.)
Note: I'm not sure that Dog in Sight is still being published. If it is, I'll restore the links.)
Dog In Sight used to have its own Dog Treats page on the magazine's Web site. Here are some of the recipes they've featured in their print editions:
- Pumpkin Dog Cookies
- Good Dog Biscuits
- Stella's Cookies
- Peanut Butter Squares
- Honey Peanut Cookies
- Simple Dog Biscuit Recipe
- Frozen Peanut Butter Yogurt Cups
- No-Flea Biscuits
- Carob Cookies
- Microwave Hot Dogs
- Gourmet Dog Biscuits
- Molasses Cookies
- Milk Bones
The following recipes appear with the kind permission of Kirsten Pacyna at 4LeggedFriendzee and Porter, Bella, and Maya the Labs:
- Frozen Peanut Butter Yogurt Treats
- Soft Banana Strips
- Carob Crunchies
- Banana Pupcakes
- Banana Bites
- Pupsicles
More Treats
These recipes appeared in the POC Telegram and other places.
- Canine Cookies — a variation of my old favorite Pup Cookies recipe, except that the cookies are dropped instead of rolled and contain cod liver oil.
- Barney's Best Biscuits — Another variation, this one with vegetables and rolled oats.
- Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Cookies
- Peanut Butter-Honey Bones
- Microwave Doggie Donuts
Dog Treat Links
It's difficult to keep up a list of links, since people are changing ISPs all the time, or their ISPs are being bought by other ISPs or... well, you know the whole story. Anyway, these links were fresh the last time I checked. If you do discover a broken one, please drop me a note and let me know, okay?
- The Pomerama — Susann Philbrook's amazing collection of biscuits.
- Newf Goodies — a Newfie-sized list of great recipes
- DragonBear Dog Treats — Carol Hanson's marvelous, well-organized dog treat site.
- Golden Bone — an extensive list of files you can download and use with your word processor
- RecipeSource — a site with all manner of recipes, including dog and people treats and homemade dog food
- Two Dog Press — great recipes, plus you can buy cookie cutters, cookbooks, and other dog stuff!
- Gourmet Sleuth — another cool collection of recipes for dogs and for people, plus cookbooks and other great things! Includes vegan recipes for dogs with food allergies.
- Emergency Dog Links — emergency information on dog first aid, CPR, and poison contacts, dog treats, Shelties, the Hawaiian language, and more!
- Cocoa's Recipes — includes some good recipes that include yogurt.
- Kitchen Favorites — Sue's fabulous recipes from Positive Paws Dog Training in CT.
- Moc's Liver Treats and Tracking Bait — useful recipes for training treats. Grannie Annie of NEOESR would call these TDFs — treats dogs consider to be To Die For.
- Bountiful Beardie Buffet — CJ Del Valle has collected an amazing number of dog treat and food recipes into a Word- or PDF-format cookbook. All proceeds from her very reasonable $10 price go to BeaCon, the Bearded Collie Foundation for Health.
- Canine Weight Gain Recipes — A collection of recipes designed to put weight on pregnant or lactating bitches or underweight dogs.
- Rodney's Recipes — This site contains lots of information and links for human and canine nutrition, plus an exhaustive list of dog treat recipes.
- Treat Recipes from Dogster — The good people in the Home-Cooked Dog Food group at Dogster have collected these recipes. There are even some vegetable-based treats near the botton of the page for the sensitive dog.
- DogAware — Mary Straus has collected lots of treat recipes because she uses a lot of training treats. This site has some good information about substituting ingredients for dogs with special dietary needs.
- Purr-Fect Pals — This site has a long collection of links and recipes.
- Good Dog Express — These folks sell breed cookie cutters and other doggie stuff. They provide these recipes to inspire you.
- Fergus Food — Kelly's blog describing the delicious-sounding organic homemade food she makes for her Cairn Terrier. She makes no claims about being a nutritionist, but she's done research and consulted — and Fergus appears to be thriving. Be aware of your dog's sensitivities before trying these ideas on your own — for example, we wouldn't make anything with textured soy protein for our dogs, or we'd end up mopping the results up off the floors.
- Homemade Dog Treat Recipes — Great collection of links to sites with dog treat recipes and/or recipes for homemade dog food. Also has links to articles about raw diets, for those who are interested.
- Bullwrinkle.com — A Bulldog lovers' site with a truly impressive collection of treat recipes from everywhere.
- Dog Logic — More variations on fatballs, satin balls, and other dog food recipes.
- Dr. Jean Dodds' Liver Cleansing Diet — A homemade fish-and-potato diet from the Canine Epilepsy list.
