What’s the latest in home-made dog treats? Silicone! That’s right—from molds shaped like paws or bones to pans meant for low-fat roasting that (flipped on their backs) allow you to bake tiny treats that are perfect for training . . . small enough so you can use many of them during a training session without risking your dog’s becoming full.
Dog trainers around the world are finding that the “pyramid pan” offers a great alternative to chopping up tube meat, hot dogs, or cooked chicken to use for treat rewards. Eileen Anderson, whom we met recently through an interview about her book on canine cognitive disorder (doggy dementia), has a great video tutorial on these pans and their use, including a great non-stick recipe to try:
http://eileenanddogs.com/2017/01/11/making-500-non-crumbly-dog-treats-from-a-mold/
Treat Play Love Training in Queensland, Australia, also has a blog post with excellent photos of their experiments with the “pyramid pan,” including recipe suggestions:
https://treatplaylove.com.au/2017/01/24/pyramid-pan-dog-treats/
Here’s a recipe from ConnecticutLifestyles.com for use in the silicone dog bone or paw shaped cookie sheets, or with a more traditional cookie cutter:
Peanut Butter Dog Treats
Ingredients
1 cup flour
1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon applesauce
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Add wet ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Knead into a well-formed ball.
- Press dough into the cavities of the dog treat “cookie” pan. If you don’t have this pan, you can also roll the dough out on a wax paper lined cookie sheet until about 1/2 thick. Then use dog bone cookies cutters to create the fun dog bone shape.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
- Store in an airtight container.
For more recipes from Connecticut Lifestyles, plus some photos of the treats:
http://connecticutlifestyles.com/homemade-doggie-treats-favorite-pooch/
Dog Treat Kitchen offers a wide variety of recipes for canine comestibles. Here’s one that uses pumpkin, always a doggy favorite—and good fiber for digestion, too:
Pumpkin Dog Treats
Ingredients
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
2 1/4 cups oat flour (or rice or whole-wheat flour)
3/4 cup all-natural honey
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, honey, eggs, and canola oil.
- Once combined, mix dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until totally incorporated.
- Spoon mixture into your muffin tin/silicone mold, then place in oven and bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool before serving to your pups.
For more recipes from Dog Treat Kitchen:
http://www.dogtreatkitchen.com/index.html
