Training Treats Recipe

So McM and I are back in training. After the first session, he had gone through 3/4 of a bag of $7 training treats. Now I know where I can get said treats for cheaper or even use other treats, but I'm weird when it comes to feeding the dogs. I don't want anything not made in the USA. (If you ever read about dog food recalls, a large part come from China). I don't want to spend 30 minutes figuring out where the dog food was made. Finally there are 2 Mom & Pop shops near us, so I like to support the community. But even still, $7 is too much. The treats at least need to be supplemented with something else.

So off to the Googles I went and found this recipe. I had all of the ingredients except the bananas, so I bought those and made some treats. They are easy, but take a bit of time. This could also be that I was feeling sort of lazy in that I didn't feel like getting a mixer out so I mashed/mixed everything by hand.

The result...McM likes them for about 20 minutes of training and then he wants something else. The other 2 don't get 30-40 minutes of training, so they are fine with the 10 minutes a day of instruction they get.

I doubled the below recipe and it made a lot. I would make again.

This is the recipe as written.  I had another tray like this.  Photo by ALB

Training Treats Recipe

Recipe from Love my Puppy Dog

Ingredients
1/2 Cup All Natural Peanut Butter (I used Creamy Jif)
1/4 Cup Warm Water
1/2 Cup Mashed or Pureed Banana (1/2C = ~1.5 bananas)
1 Tblsp. Honey
1 Egg
1 3/4 Cups Wheat Flour

Parchment Paper
Pizza Cutter

Instructions
Mix the peanut butter and warm water in a large bowl with a fork until completely smooth.

With a food processor or by hand (by smashing with a fork), puree the banana until fairly smooth.

Add banana, honey and egg to peanut butter and warm water bowl, mix until well blended.

Mix in 1 cup of the flour until well blended.

Add remaining flour 1/4 cup at a time until a stiff dough forms. I find it easier to blend in the remainder of the flour with my hands because the dough is stiff.

Chill for approximately 20 minutes before rolling.

Once chilled, then place dough on one piece of parchment paper and cover the dough with a second piece of parchment paper for rolling.

Flatten a bit with your hand to make rolling a little easier.

Roll dough out to desired thickness, about 3/8" or so.

Place the rolled dough with parchment on a cookie sheet to cut into pieces for training treats. Using a pizza cutter, roll across the dough to cut long strips into the dough. Approx. 1/2" space between cuts.

Then go back across in the other direction cutting thru the dough to make small kibble sized pieces. Approx. 1/2" space between cuts.

Place the entire slab of cut dough with parchment paper on a cookie sheet and place into a pre-heated oven at 300 degrees and bake for 30 minutes and cook.

After I finish cooking I shut off the oven and leave the home made dog treats in the oven for a couple of hours to make sure they are completely dry and crunchy.

Once they are hard and crunchy, remove from the oven and break apart the pieces. This way they can be stored for a long time without worrying about them spoiling. If you have them that long that is!

The treats finished.  Photo by ALB

Sweet Potato Molasses Dog Treats

So I made these for Scuttlebutt and McMenamin. I got it from Doggy Dessert Chef. Except for burning my hands on the sweet potatoes, they were easy to make. I used the KitchenAid which I rarely use. The dough seemed really crumbly until I picked up a section. Then it was fine.

It made 3 cookie sheets worth.

The dogs loved them. D and I thought they didn't have much taste.

Sweet Potato Molasses Dog Treats

Photo by ALB

This recipe for sweet potato molasses dog biscuits make a lot so make sure you have plenty of room in your freezer, or a lot of hungry dogs around!

Ingredients
2 medium Sweet Potatoes, cooked and mashed (approximately 3 cups mashed)...I used 4.
1/4 cup Molasses
1/2 cup Whole Oats
3 tablespoons Butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
3 cups Whole Wheat Flour

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet (or 3) with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. In a large bowl mix all ingredients one at a time, kneading well after each addition.
3. Knead dough into several 5 inch balls and roll each onto a very well floured surface 1/2 inch thick. Cut with the cookie cutter of your choice. (As this recipe makes so many biscuits it’s just easier to roll it out in sections)
4. Place on your prepared cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Cool and refrigerate. ... I baked for 13 and they were soft, so I baked for 5 more minutes.

Makes 3 cookie sheets full

Puppy Cookies

In light of the recall on dog food and treats a few months ago, as well as I needed an excuse to use a rolling pin, I made dog biscuits.
Guinness and Porter love them, and they are easy to make, so I thought I would share the recipe.

Puppy Cookies
1/2C Corn Meal
6 TBSP Oil
2 C Whole Wheat Flour
2/3C Water


Preheat Oven to 350.
Mix it all together. If it seems dry, add a little water with your fingers until you can roll it into a ball without it flaking everywhere. Roll out to 1/4 inch. Cut with your favorite cookie cutters.
Put cutouts on cookie sheet(s) and bake for 35-40 minutes (37 works well for me).