Homemade Dog Treats and Dog Food

Until our dog Summer became sick and was diagnosed with liver cancer, I had never thought about making my dogs homemade dog treats and homemade dog food.  This picture is of Summer before she became sick. When we found out she had liver cancer, I started researching and reading everything I could about dogs and cancer.

I found out that a lot of the dog food we buy our dogs is not really the best food to be feeding our dogs.  After a lot of researching, I started making Summer all of her food.  Even as sick as she was, she would eat my homemade recipes.  She ate a lot of pastas, vegetables, cottage cheese, yogurt and chicken.  I really feel that she lived longer than they thought she would because of the homemade dog food.

This page is going to be about different ingredients that can be used to make your dog treats and food and those ingredients that shouldn’t be used.  These recipes are for dogs in general and not necessarily for dogs with cancer. I will also add some recipes to this page and I will also add recipes to the posts section as this website is created.  All of the recipes I have added have been tested by my dogs and given the dog seal of approval!

Most dogs will eat just about any kind of human food.  If your dog likes sweets, you can use apples, applesauce, bananas, yogurt, honey, and you can use molasses to replace white sugar.  Other healthy ingredients include cooked eggs, rice, pastas, pumpkin, cottage cheese, peanut butter, oatmeal, liver, beef, chicken, chicken stock and olive oil.  Vegetables are good for dogs just like they are good for humans.  Vegetables that are good for dogs are carrots, artichoke hearts, cabbage, green beans, broccoli, squash, peas, cucumbers, and most other green, leafy vegetables.  Carrot sticks are a great treat for your dog and they are also a healthy treat for your dog.  You can also give your dog celery sticks with peanut butter for a treat.  While there are a lot of human foods that are good for dogs, there are those that aren’t.  The Humane Society’s web page shows items that are dangerous to most pets.  Some of these are alcoholic beverages, apple seeds, apricot pits, avocados, tomatoes, walnuts, coffee, macadamia nuts, moldy foods, mushroom plants, onions, potato leaves, rhubarb leaves, salt, tea or caffeinated items, walnuts, and yeast dough.  Grapes, raisins and chocolate can also be harmful to your dog.  Xylitol which is a sweetener found in many sugar-free gums and candies is also bad for your dog.  Don’t give your dog cooked bones (chicken, turkey, pork, and beef ).  Large amounts of garlic can cause anemia in dogs, but small amounts should be okay to put in recipes.  It is thought that crushed garlic might even provide some health benefits and it has also been said that garlic keeps the ticks off of dogs.

I used to buy those frozen dog treats at the grocery store, but I have experimented with different ingredients and have found
some different homemade frozen treats that are much cheaper and that my dogs like as well if not better than the grocery store treats.  The following are my frozen treat recipes.  Your dog will love them and besides that, they are good for your dog!

Frozen Pumpkin Pops

1 16 oz. can of pumpkin – not pumpkin pie filling

1 32 oz. carton plain yogurt (I use the low-fat or non-fat yogurt)

Mix the two ingredients together and pour the mixture into

cupcake papers or ice cube trays and freeze them.

Frozen Yogurt Pops

1 32 oz. carton plain yogurt (I use the low-fat or non-fat yogurt

Pour the yogurt into cupcake papers or ice cube trays and

freeze them.

Frozen Banana Pops

1 32 oz. carton plain yogurt

2 ripe bananas

Mash the bananas with a fork and mix them with the yogurt.

Pour the mixture

in ice cube trays and freeze them.

Frozen Peanut Butter Pops

1 32 oz. carton plain yogurt

2 ripe bananas

6 tablespoons peanut butter

Mash the bananas with a fork or a blender.  Mix the peanut

butter and bananas together and add the yogurt.  Mix well and

pour in ice cube trays and freeze them.

Dogs love frozen treats and there are a variety of frozen treats that can be made.  My frozen treat recipes are variations of each other and as long as the ingredients are good for your dog you can mix it up and experiment for yourself.  Another idea for frozen treats would be to freeze applesauce in ice cube trays.  You could also mix in a banana if you like!

Below are a couple of the recipes I have made for my dogs.  I usually double the recipes and refrigerate what I don’t feed them and save it for their next meal.

Cottage Cheese and Yogurt

1 carton of cottage cheese

1 carton of plain yogurt

Carrots – chopped or shredded

Chicken

1 tsp olive oil

You can boil a couple of chicken breasts and cube them

or use canned chicken (like the canned tuna).  Mix all the ingredients

together.

Macaroni and Cottage Cheese

1 cup macaroni – boiled

1 carton cottage cheese

Mix the two ingredients together and add cooked liver or boiled chicken.

You can also add carrots that have been chopped up and peas.  You can cook the peas

or add frozen peas.

White Rice and Chicken

1 cup of cooked plain white rice

1 or 2 boiled chicken breasts

Mix the two ingredients together.  You can add vegetables such as peas, carrots,

cabbage, etc.  Steam the vegetables before adding to the rice and chicken.

Potatoes

Peel 2 or 3 small to medium potatoes and

boil.  Smash with a fork and add any kind of vegetables

that your dog likes and 1 tsp olive oil.  Only add vegetables that are

good for your dog–see vegetables listed at the top of

the page.

Experiment with your dog and when you figure out which fruits and vegetables your dog likes it will be easy for you to come up with your own recipes for meals and treats.  Fruits and vegetables are healthy for your dog but like most everything, they should be given to your dog in moderation!  If you make every meal for your dog, you should consult your vet about supplements that your dog will need.

More recipes will be posted in the posts on this site.  Happy cooking!