Homemade Gourmet Dog Treat Recipe

Looking for a way to show your dog some extra love? Try making these homemade gourmet dog treats! With simple recipes and high-quality ingredients, your pup will be begging for more!

Making Homemade Gourmet Dog Treats

Dogs are not just pets but family members that deserve love and attention, which includes providing them with healthy and delicious treats. Homemade gourmet dog treats are a great way to show your furry friend how much you care about them. The best part is, you can make these treats at home with simple ingredients, ensuring your dog's health and happiness.

Treats for the Holidays

During Christmas, we went to one of our favorite local pet stores. My two year old loved the little gourmet dog treats. The lady at the store gave her one to give to her little dog at home. (Mainly because Mom said "no" to spending $5.99 for a little dog cookie).  That little dog treat looked so much like a cookie that by the time I got home and got her out of the car and asked her if she was ready to give her treats to the eagerly awaiting dogs she had already eaten it and had little sprinkles kissing the corners of her mouth.

The dogs sniffed her and then miserably went away, sad that once again a good treat got wasted on the two year old. I swear I heard them say, "she ALWAYS gets the good stuff."

For Christmas we wanted to make sure that another good treat didn't get wasted, so we made a list of all the dogs that she knew of in the neighborhood and we made some gourmet dog treats for them.

It was Christmas Town Central at our house. While the two older kids eagerly (ha!) worked on making their two year old sisters gift, my two year old made her list of all the dogs she knew.

"Gabeeee, Bear, Telseee (Chelsea), Gabeeee, Bwisqwit (Biscuit),  Kaycoooo, Telseee, Gabeeeee...." You can guess how this continued. She helped cut each cookie, than put it on the cookie sheet. "See Mom? 6, 7, 8 cookies."

Once the cookies cooked and cooled, we had our next problem to tackle. How to make that pretty dog frosting you see on bakery dog treats. Once we frosted each cookie, I gave the sprinkles to my two year old. It is a month and a half after Christmas and I still find sprinkles in crevices of the kitchen I thought I cleaned and scrubbed already. Proceed with caution when handing over sprinkles to kids.

Why Homemade Dog Treats?

The food we give our pets affects their overall health and well-being. Store-bought treats are often full of additives, preservatives, and artificial flavors that can harm your dog's health in the long run. On the other hand, homemade treats are made with fresh and wholesome ingredients, free of additives and preservatives. You have control over what you put in them, and you can adjust the recipe to suit your dog's needs.

Benefits of Homemade Gourmet Dog Treats

1. Cost-effective

Making homemade treats is an affordable way to treat your pet without breaking the bank. You can make a batch of treats that will last for weeks, and the ingredients are usually cheaper than store-bought treats.

2. Healthier Alternative

Homemade treats are free from harmful additives and preservatives, which can lead to health problems. You can control the quality of ingredients that go into the treats, ensuring that they are free from artificial colors and flavors, fillers, and by-products.

3. Personalized

With homemade treats, you can cater to your dog's taste preferences, dietary restrictions, and nutritional needs. You can experiment with different ingredients to find what your dog likes, ensuring they are happy and satisfied.

4. Bonding

Making treats for your pet can be a fun and bonding experience. You can involve your children or other family members, making it a group activity. Your pet will also appreciate the attention and love that goes into making their treats.

Now that we have established the benefits of homemade gourmet dog treats let's look at some easy and delicious recipes.

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups whole wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup pureed pumpkin or squash (can use canned)
• 2 tbsp all natural peanut butter
• ½ tsp salt
• Water

For the Frosting:

• 6 oz plain greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp all natural creamy peanut butter

Preparing the Cookies

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. In a mixer, blend together all ingredients until a ball forms. If mixture remains crumbly, add water one teaspoon at a time until ball forms.
3. Lightly flour your work surface and roll out your dough to ¼ inch thick. Cut the dough into desired shapes and place on baking sheet. Leave ½ inch space between cookies.
4. Bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until cookies are hard.
5. Remove from oven and move to wire rack to cool completely.
6. In a bowl, mix together the peanut butter and greek yogurt until smooth. Frost and sprinkle cookies. Allow frosting to firm.

Storing the Cookies

Store cookies in the refrigerator in an airtight container up to one week. Freeze cookies in a freezer bag up to one month. To serve, allow cookies to warm to room temperature before feeding them to dogs.

Other Frosting Methods

You can also melt carob chips and dip the cookies in the carob. Sprinkle with sprinkles then allow the carob to set up before feeding to your dog.

We've Got Lot's of Delicious Dog Treat Recipes for all Occasions!

Whether you make these as a birthday present or a holiday gift for your special pooch, they will love them! If you love these, try our apple pumpkin dog treats recipe! Or these delicious gourmet dog cookies recipe!

If your dog is always eyeing your breakfast, try serving them some dog cinnamon rolls. Don't forget some dog hot cocoa too!

To serve some seasonal treats, try our DIY Halloween dog treat house, or some frozen dog treats!