Feature and I are nearing the end of our week here at Argus Ranch (in Auburn, Wa). Students have been great, I have my own house on site so I can cook my own dinner every evening (okay my vegan friends Mel and Helen King are here as well so I haven’t had to cook every night). I have managed worked out every morning before teaching and got in at least one training session a day with Feature.
Feature has had it great. As much as I am sure she misses running with Encore, she is enjoying her life as my “only dog”. On Wednesday she got a massage session and a swim in a beautiful therapy pool for dogs. In addition to all of that, Holly, who owns this wonderful facility, gave me some homemade dog treats for her. Feature loved them, I thought they were great for training, virtually no crumble, so here is the recipe.
Put into a Blender
3 raw eggs
1 can of sardines packed in olive oil
1 package (an inside sleeve not the entire box) of graham crackers
Mix until liquidy then pour onto a cookie sheet and spread out. Back at 350 F for approximately 20 minutes until it looks rubbery and light brown on top. Let cool then cut. Have at ’em, Feature loves them and I think they are terrific.
Got a good dog cookie recipe? Tell us why you like it & share it with the rest of us.
Today I am grateful for western hospitality.
Silly question, but should these be refrigerated? How long do they typically last before spoiling (if they even last long with my very food-motivated golden 😂)?
I had the exact same question – so I am keeping them in the freezer. I grab a handful when I need them for training and they thaw in seconds.
My other question is how many is too many haha! My dog loves them.
So much better than store bought.
I keep mine in the refrigerator. If you keep the, out they will become super crunchy treats..
My summer favorite!
Watermelon Dog Treats
Ingredients
* 2 cups watermelon, cut into chunks
* ¼ cup plain yogurt
Instructions
* Combine the watermelon and the yogurt in the blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into molds or ice cube trays.
* Place the molds in the freezer until frozen solid. Transfer to an airtight container and store in the freezer.
I see this is an old post, but Susan, if you are reading it…I got so excited when you said you visited Argus Ranch!! I live so close and did some training there. Do you have any plans of coming back?? What an honor it would be to have you!!!
I just love all these comments and great recipes to try! My darling pup has historically not been treat motivated, but the sardine graham cracker treats are an absolute hit. I think I could get her to do just about anything using them. Who knew?
I am a vegan and am allergic to shellfish. What can I use to replace the sardines or any of the meat or fowl?
any suggestion for what I can replace the sardines with – i am deathly allergic to all forms of seafood – I cannot even breathe it or I will have an anaphylactic reaction
Can meat works ~ chicken or ham. I like to rinse them really well as sometimes they can have a salty brine.
I am anxious to try the sardine treats for my black standard poodle.
I noticed that peanut butter was included in some recipes. Please check the ingredients on the jar to ascertain that there is no soy or other added ingredients which could be detrimental to your dog’s health. Thank you.
I train on dirt, so a treat with good visual contrast is really important to me. While I train at home with a variety of treats, when I’m at my club, I need a treat that both I and my dog can see, even if it gets covered in the dirt. I tend to value very light treats, so cheese is a staple, but I want to up my game. Chicken is a no-go, as it crumbles. I am thinking of adding yellow food coloring to some of the treat recipes to make it easier for my dog to see and for me to see.
Has anyone done anything similar?
I would seriously suggest that people omit the garlic from their recipes. Dogs are actually not supposed to have onions and garlic is in that family (alium). In fact, garlic is far more dangerous to dogs (and many people) than onions are, it is just we usually don’t use as much garlic as we do onion.
FWIW. https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/advice/can-my-dog/can-dogs-eat-garlic/ “garlic and other members of the allium family, including onions, contain thiosulfate, which is toxic to dogs but not to humans.”
And please don’t say, “My dog has eaten garlic/onion/etc. for years without a problem.” It may be that the dosage over the years has been low enough that the dog wasn’t killed, doesn’t mean we should continue to feed it to them.
“SEPARATING FACT FROM FICTION
For the last few decades, primarily as a result of the onion’s reputation for triggering Heinz body hemolytic anemia because of its higher concentration of thiosulphate, garlic (the onion’s “kissing cousin”) was also said to be toxic. Garlic simply does not contain the same thiosulphate concentration as the onion does. In fact, it is barely traceable and readily excreted. “In the testing of onions and garlic on (the dog’s) blood cell oxidation, onions have about 15 times the ability of garlic to damage red blood cells,” states nutritionist Dr. Dave Summers on IndigoPetz.com.1
Almost all the “evidence” against garlic for dogs comes from a 2000 study at Hokkaido University.2 Four dogs were each given 1.25 ml of garlic extract per kg of body weight for seven straight days. For example, if the dog weighed 50 pounds, he would be given approximately 25 large raw garlic cloves. None of the dogs showed any outward toxicity symptoms, but there was an effect on their red blood cells, even though at these highly-elevated doses none of the dogs developed anemia. “We believe that foods containing garlic should be avoided for use in dogs,” the researchers stated. However, a study published by Chang, et al in 20043 clearly showed that allicin is beneficial to mammals’ health, and there was no report of hemolytic anemia in spite of the high concentrations of garlic provided during the study. “In contrast, the maximal aggregation percentage returned to the control level at 1mM of all(en)yl thiosulfates in both canine and human platelets,” rather than remaining high enough to be a problem as originally thought. This encouraged the scientists to reverse their earlier 2000 recommendations against garlic for dogs and actually recommend garlic to promote immune functions and prevent cardiovascular diseases.
There can be multiple causes for Heinz body hemolytic anemia. Wendy Wallner, DVM, reminds us that other substances such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) and benzocaine-containing topical preparations can also cause Heinz body hemolytic anemia in the dog. These preparations probably account for many cases since ingredients in creams are absorbed through the skin, allowing toxins to build up in the bloodstream.”
https://ivcjournal.com/garlic/
Ok here is my favorite cookie recipe, it is from Annick, I don’t have the measurements, so I just make it until it is thick and spreads onto cookie sheet.
Oatmeal, put in blender to make flour consistency
Pumpkin, canned
Peanut Butter
2 Eggs
Blueberries
Mix spread onto cookie sheet, and bake in oven, cut into squares using pizza cutter and you have a very healthy treat for you and your pup, dogs love the taste and they are not crumbly, Enjoy
Bake at what temperature and for how long?
Ok Amy this goes back a long time, I looked at my recipe and I don’t really have a time, 350 degrees, what I have wrote down, is it is spread out on a cookie sheet, and before it is completely cooked dry, take it out and cut with the pizza cutter, you don;t want them dry, moist is better.
Penny
do you have any instructions on quantity of each ingredient?
Hi Jason, you can follow along on this podcast and download Susan’s Tasty Treats ebook. Lots of recipes for you! https://dogsthat.com/podcast/59/
I made this recipe with oats insread of crackers. Works perfectly and makes a brilliant fishy flapjack that my dog loves! Happy baking!
What amount of oats did you use in place of the graham crackers?
Reading through these recipes has me thinking that some sound so good for me and not my dog. *wink* Actually the beef heart with bacon sounds scrumptious! And my dog votes a loud, “Bring it on!”
Dumb question, how many ounces are in the can of sardines?
Wish someone had replied to this .
I’m thinking our cans of sardines might be smaller than those in the US and Canada … ??? Cos this recipe was not pourable – very thick and gluggy even with a little water added.
But, be aware, all folks overseas from Susan to remember the difference between Fahrenheit and Celcius. Other than that the sardine cookies are just great 😀
I can’t wait to try some of these recipes. At least when we make them ourselves we know exactly what the ingredients are and how they are handled.
Thank you to everyone for sharing.
A dear friend of mine makes dehydrated chicken strips and the dogs love them!
Dried cooked liver slices
As soon as porc liver is on sale here (living in France) I buy lots. Preparing takes time but you can prepare a lot and keep in dry place in paper bag. put slices in your coat pocket on walks, during training or whenever you want. You can easily break off small pieces or for jackpot giving a whole slice. Kind of smelly to prepare.
– Cook in water (about 30 minutes for 1 kg of liver)
– Slice cooked liver in very thin slices (as thin as you can)
– Put slices on baking sheet with baking paper or paper towels.
– Dry in the oven (with door open) at about 130 to 150 F until slices are hard and dried (about 3 hours).
– Store in paper bag in dry area. Will keep for months.
Slice beef heart and bake on parchment paper lined cookie sheet at 350 for 20-30 minutes. Cool and cut in cubes. I freeze it in small bags and bring it out for training. My dogs go nuts for this.
They also love roast chicken hearts. I get each by the pound at the local Asian market in large quantities for less money than the smaller amounts at my grocery store.
Beef Heart Cookies
Cook a beef heart sprinked with garlic powder in the crockpot over night, add 1 to 2 cups water depending on size of heart – blend/process it with the resulting juices. Add a half dozen eggs and some parsley, spread it thin on a large cookie sheet (sprayed with Pam and then lined with parchment paper)Bake at 350 until dry (about 35 – 40 mins). Turn off oven and leave for about 30 minutes. The dogs love it (why I can’t imagine as it tastes a lot like cardboard). No mess or grease on the hands. I never met a dog who didn’t love these!! 🙂
Hi Paula
A beefheart recipe that is widely used in these parts is:
Beef heart – slice and boil with a whle bunch of garlic.. drain
Cut up into 1 inch size chunks, put on foil lined baking sheet, now put slices of bacon overtop and bake at 350 for 5 min. toss around, more baking, toss…ummmm yummy or what..and the bacon goes nice and crispy and can be used for an extra special treat…I just do a whole bunch at once and then freeze till needed..
These are more crunchie but can be cut into shapes and are really neat as just a reward here and there. They look quite cool since the parsley is baked in little splotches here and there.
-6 oz of canned salmon
-3 eggs
-2 cups of rice flour
-½ cup of fresh parsley (1/4 if dried)
-roll the dough to ¼ inch
-bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes
KEEP REFRIGERATED
Another recipe
Have yet to try these but a good friend on facebook let me have this recipe and swears that her dogs can’t get enough of it. I imagine they are similar to the tuna fudge.
-1 large can tuna
-2 cups flour
-1 cup whole wheat flour
-1 cup corn meal
-2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese
-2 tablespoons parsley flakes
-2 teaspoons canola oil
-1 cup water
-puree the tuna and oil together until smooth
-mix with other ingrediants in large bowl
-add water last, a little at a time and mix until dough is formed
-Roll out and cut with any shape cookie cutter
-bake at about 325 degrees for about an hour or until fingernail won’t easily penatrate
KEEP REFRIGERATED
Thank you to everyone else who has posted including Susan. Great to get some new recipes that I’m eager to try out!! Great idea, Susan.
FEEDback: Eager to earn his treat of succulent sardine cookies my dog has been doing some lovely loose leash walking and giving me great eye contact !
At my dog club the treat withstood a lot of distraction.
I love making the tuna and the liver brownies so look forward to the new recipes.
But I didn’t like the clean up until I started using parchment paper. spread the mix all on that and even cover with it.. and when it’s done.. just turn the cookie sheet over and it falls out onto the cutting board to cool. No hard edges and easy clean up.
Oh man! I made the sardine cookies last night. They are PERFECT for training, and my dogs love them. Thanks so much for posting the recipe, Susan!
1 small jar of applesauce
2-3 crushed bananas
( during blueberry season I add blueberries and a little more oatmeal
1/2 envelope of gelatin
add oatmeal to make brownie like batter( about 2.5 cups) pour into baking pan
bake 325 for about 25-30 minutes
another one
8 oz of any kind of meat canned or cooked( if using turkey, chicken, hamburger, pork or fish I use a food processor to shred it).
2 eggs
about 1 cup of potato flour
about 1 cup of oatmeal
1 T of olive or canola oil
a couple of shakes of garlic powder with parsley)
1 envelop of gelatin
Mix and pour into baking cookie sheet
Bake 325 for 25-30 minutes..
Homemade meatballs ( for special training)
Mix 1-2 eggs, 1 cup of oatmeal and a few shakes of garlic powder mixed with parsley into about 1 lb of ground turkey, pork, or beef.
make little balls and cook on stove top until meat is done.
I double and triple the recipes and put in the freezer until ready to use.
Happy baking
Ok Laura that first recipe sounds delish!
Do the sardine cookies smell really strong? (Just curious . . . .)
I love both sardines and graham crackers and thought they smelled more like graham crackers than sardines while baking so was not offended. My friend who is visiting, however, noticed the fish smell but said it was mild. Happy baking!
I have never seen a dog that did not adore these sunshine liver brownies:
• 3 to 3 1/2 lbs of liver, beef or chicken
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 4.25 oz jar fresh minced or crushed garlic
• 2 cups white flour
• 1/2 cup corn meal
• 1 med shaker of grated parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover cookie sheet with foil, coat with cooking spray, sprinkle lightly with corn meal and set aside. Process liver and garlic in food processor or blender until it looks like milk chocolate. Pour into large mixing bowl and blend in the rest of the ingredients. Spread evenly onto cookie sheet (the mixture will be thick) and sprinkle lightly with corn meal. Bake until no pink is left. Bake them for about 30 min for one pan and then turn the oven off and let the pan cool inside. Cut the brownies and freeze. They last for months in the freezer and this recipe makes a large amount.
Well, I’m from Ontario but living in france this may seem weird but I had forgotten what a graham cracker was ! Check it out! wikipedia tells us “the graham cracker was developed in 1829 by presbyterian minister Sylvester Graham…It is sweet rather than salty…digestive biscuits are the closest approximation” Bingo! as it turns out my dog goes crazy for little bits of digestive biscuits (made with wheatmeal) that are sometimes available here. I’ll definitely try the sardine-cookie recipe, sounds great!
He also loves bits of a snack made by Sodergarden (Danish?) called crispy pork scratchings. (made from pork rind and fat) They were a short-term feature in a store and I went back and bought up the last dozen or so bags.
I use in moderation because of added salt.
The easiest last-minute high value treat I found is to put a frozen ground steak (I get 100% beef with nothing added) into the microwave 2 min. until just cooked. Put it whole into a bait bag and just break off bits as needed.
Thanks everyone, I’ll try every one of the recipes on this post!
Thanks Susan, just made these for my furkidz. Grahams Crackers not avail. in Australia so had to substitute them for something else. So easy to make and from the initial taste tests, my furkidz think they are pretty good :-)))
Will have to try the other recipes people have posted.
The tuna fudge recipe is a favourite around here and my fussy dog loves them. I mix it up as well and sometimes use canned salmon or canned chicken breast instead of tuna. I also use the over-microwaved hotdogs but slice/pre-soak them in some water for about 5-10 minutes changing the water at least once. It gets rid of a lot of the sodium.
Cheese also works if you slice up a cheese string and then leave uncovered in fridge for a few days. They get a nice hard crust on them that is way less messy but still darn tasty according to the dog.
Gonna definately try your recipe!
I used to make tuna fudge all the time until my older dog’s tummy decided to reject them. 🙁 I even had success microwaving it when my oven died! Just spread it about 3/4″ thick on a microwave-safe plate and have at it.
I love Susan’s idea as well as the baby food recipe above. My sheltie is allergic to poultry, and my English Springer is allergic to beef/lactose intolerant, so I am perpetually searching for treats that make both dogs happy. I use a lot of pork hotdogs, and even soy-based products! (One loves plain tofu; the other enjoys tofurkey and other meat-imitation things.) I cut everything up really small, so I am not concerned about too much sodium. 🙂
The tuna fudge recipe is great because you can substitute potatoe or rice flour for dogs with allergies!
My dogs would love this recipe! I’ve also always wanted to try the Tuna Fudge recipe that Aliza posted.
~Nat
One of my students came up with this receipe:
1 jar of baby food (chicken, ham, banana-strawberry, whatever)
1/4 cup skim milk powder
1/4 cup cream of wheat (plus a bit more to thicken if necessary)
Mix ingredients, should be kinda like cake batter consistancy, spread on to cookie sheet very thin, bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes.
She’s been bringing all kinds of flavors to class and every dog seems to love them!
should have been “thoughT flour would do”. 😉
Thx for the tip! I immediately mixed all the ingredients, lol.
I am wondering though, how liquid do you mean by liquidy exactly? 8) Is there anything you could compare it with? I’m about to put it in the oven, but I’m not sure whether I should add some extra flour (sorry, no Graham crackers in my country, though flour would do).
Rubberized hotdogs (via micro – overcooking) is always a special treat here for the pups. I don’t use them too often as there is a ton of salt, but for an extra special behavior they get to live it up!
So funny I can’t stand hotdogs, so my partner laughs when they are in the fridge and knows I am training something special!
Thanks so much for a recipe to make sardines more ‘handlable’ (is that a word?!). I use sardines out of the can as one of my rewards for recalls duing field work with my Vizsla and she goes bonkers over them, but of course, they leave your hands pretty gross. I will definitely try your recipe and hope that it doesn’t dilute that yummy (to dogs anyway!) sardine taste.
I also cut a 1lb of liverwurst into strips and dehydrate overnight. It will stink up the house so I try to put it behind a door(usally the bathroom).
Last time I did it I went to bed and heard a crash downstairs when I came to see what it was I found the youngest had gotten into the bathroom and tipped over the dehydrator and ate half of it!!! Bad Mama must have not closed the door all the way.
He’s a good boy but just couldn’t contain himself, it smelled too good.
When the liverwurst jerky is finished it will be dark (about 8hrs). Place in a ziplock bag and store in a cool dry place
Aliza
Aliza
Can you do these in the oven on low?
Colleen
I use this recipe alot
tuna fudge
2 cans of tuna (do not drain) or 15 oz can of salmon undrained
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4C parm. cheese
1 TBSP garlic( reduce for less smelly treats)
mix all together and put in a greased 9×9 pan
bake at 350 for 20 mins
cut into small sizes for training.
It make alot but it freezes well.
Aliza
Just thought I would share that they say not to give pets garlic.. And every tuna fudge I find says to add garlic… But the ones I use to make it the pass do not say garlic.. And the smell was not bad…