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Home Prepared Food & Recipes

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This is the place to share your best homemade dog food and treat recipes with each other! Remember to use caution if your pet has allergies and to make any diet changes gradually so that your dog's stomach can adjust to the new foods you are introducing.


Dog cookies using your dog's canned and dry food

   
Cali, our- first- Cavalier

did someone say- "walk" ?		 
 
Barked: Tue Jun 30, '09 6:35pm PST 
One of our dogs needed to be on a special diet and there were no cookie treats available, so I started experimenting.

The one food I was using for one dog had turkey and veggies in it and when the cookies baked it smelled like Thanksgiving. The cookies were still cooling when my husband came home, he made the remark about my baking cookies for him and he went to eat one…I could have let him “sample it” but decided to be nice and tell him he would love the treat if he had 4 legs and a tail. He quickly put the cookie down.

The other food I used was fish and potatoes, this I strongly recommend baking with ventilation and open a window. I did this on a day when no one was home, turned on the fan above the stove and opened a few windows.

The dogs love them. The cookies contained all the same nutrients as their food so you can give several cookies at a time: especially when a sick puppy is not eating the regular food but readily wants and will take a cookie. The texture baked is different so it was like getting a treat not mushy food.

This is good for dog’s with allergies on special food.

Dog Cookies Recipe WOOF!

*Either a 14 oz. or 13 oz. can of moist dog food (moisture contents 76 to 78%)

*3/4 cup dry dog food

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cookie sheet greased (Pam or Mazola Pure Olive Oil spray works well)

Using a food processor finely grind dry dog food until it is a fine powder. Mix canned food and powder into a bowl and blend with a fork until thoroughly mixed. Mixture can be made into little balls then flattened or it can be rolled and a cookie cutter used to form shapes…I found the best way was little balls/flattened. Place the pieces onto the greased cookie sheet. No need to space them far apart they don’t spread out, but shrink a bit. One mixture can fit on one cookie sheet.

Place them in the oven for about 1 and a 1/2 hours, halfway through gently turn the cookies over. Turn oven off when cookies are hard. Time may vary, increase time and check every 5 minutes after the initial cook time if necessary. Cookies should be firm and not soft enough to push into.

When cookies are done, turn off oven and leave them in the oven for a few hours to ensure the moisture is gone, remove to cool completely (30 minutes or more) before placing into Tupperware. If you place the hot cookies into Tupperware prior to cooling completely moisture may form and cause cookies to mold. Shelf life is about 1 to 2 weeks in a closed container.

*This can be done with 2 cans of 5.5 oz. moist food to a 3/4 to 1/2 cup dry food. If using 1/2 cup dry the baking time may need to be increased to made the cookies harden completely.

Remember crunchy is good!!!!
blue dog
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Pumpkin Pie

Picky Pumpkin 		 
 
Barked: Tue Jun 30, '09 9:48pm PST 
Good Idea. It would be great for traveling! Are you sure no nutrients have gone away from the food?
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Zoe

did anyone say- "wanna a- cookie"?		 
 
Barked: Wed Jul 1, '09 6:20am PST 
I am pretty sure, I ran this by my vet. She took the recipe from me and has passed it onto several clients with dogs that have special diets. She and two pet stores I use keep the recipe on file.

I also gave copies to a breeder and they liked it. When I feed our dogs I lightly warm the canned food before adding it to the dry, it brings out the flavors and smells more appealing than if cold. snoopy
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Sassy

Princess and the- Pea		 
 
Barked: Wed Jul 1, '09 6:30am PST 
That sounds good! I always thought any commercial dog food baked would stink up the house. Even if some of the nutrients were lost, probably Vitamin C and B and maybe taurine and the Omega 3s, they are treats and dog food is usually over supplemented as it is. You wouldn't use these for the whole day's food.

I have read about slicing and baking the canned but not using the kibble as well. Sure sounds like a good way to go for a dog on a strict diet.
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Zoe

did anyone say- "wanna a- cookie"?		 
 
Barked: Wed Jul 1, '09 7:23am PST 
It does stink up the house if you use a fish based food, open a window!!!

I used this recipe a lot when our Shih Tzu that had Cushings and he was having trouble putting his head down to eat, I hand fed him little bits of mushy food (he was not a fan of that).

The Lysodren used to control the tumor was not helping anymore and he was removed from the medication. He was loosing his battle with the tumor and eating was difficult. I knew he would do anything for a cookie so I made up a batch of these and gave it to him through out the day. I also gave him some boiled chicken, anything to keep him going.

I don't recommend this as a daily feeding regimen but a supplement.
Cooking probably does change the nutrients some, but not much. puppy
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Cherie

I deserve to be- Spoiled!		 
 
Barked: Thu Jul 2, '09 3:55pm PST 
Just wanted to say that your recipe is very similar to taking a 12.5 oz canned ( limited ingredient-wise) and sliding out complete contents. Slice into thick 3/4 " - 1" slices and then quarter each slice. Bake at 200-225 degrees for several hours, or dehydrate if you have one until moisture removed.
For fish based ingredients, I'd like to suggest slicing some fresh ginger root ( found in most supermarkets) and rubbing cut side along the rim of the baking sheet, as well as the mixing bowl, or cutting board, etc., that will make contact with fish.
My father used to make Sunday dinner when we were growing up. He always made some fish course and always rubbed the cut side of ginger root to whatever fish came in contact with! House never smelled like fish! big grin
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