Dog Treats

With over 50 million dog owners in the USA, there has got to be something about these animals that make them "man's best friend." What makes them this? Well there are a few simple things such as loyalty, unconditional love and companionship. Now what simple things makes us "dog's best friend"? affection and reward we could guess. So lets keep this simple idea going and make some simple and healthier dog treats for our buddies.

Step 1 What you will need

You are only going to need a total of 5 ingredients which are easy to get (most of you will already have them) and are dog safe. (told you it would be simple)

Flour (white or whole wheat)- 2 cups (unsifted)
Peanut Butter, smooth - 1 1/4 cups
Garlic - 2 cloves
Vegetable oil - 1/2 cup
Water - 5 tbsp.

THAT'S IT!. I'm using whole wheat flour because that's what I have on hand. The type of vegetable oil that you use isn't a huge concern either. Just use what you have (I used canola.) I prefer to use smooth peanut butter as dogs bodies don't break down nuts very well. So unless your dog is a good chewer (doubt there is a good chewing dog out there) , stick to smooth.

Some kitchen tools that you will need are:

Mixing bowl
Wooden spoon
Knife
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Cookie sheet
Oven

Some of the optional tools are:

Electric mixer
Garlic press
Rolling pin

Comments

[WhyHello]

(my sister tried a milk bone, lolo and she doesnt even own a dog, youre not alone! lol!)

I'm getting ready to print tall this stuff out (including the suggestions from commenters c: ) I cant wait to try it, i've been baking loads of cookies and i wanna give my dog something!

Big Dogs FTW

(for the win if theres anyone who doesn't know)

[digitalbrad]

my "big dog" test subject is now eatting 6 cups of food a day. Parker the other test subject was recently put down :(

I'm sure your test subject will really enjoy these doggy biscuts though.

cheers

[rbolio]

Hi!

So I tried your recepie today, and I must say....im a klutz in the kitchen and this recepie was REALLY easy.... However i'd change a couple of things:

1) I'd add an egg or two for the recipe to help the cookies stick together when they are made (mine kept crumbling even after made :( )
2) I'd add a little more water to make the mix easier to handle

3 ) finally i recomend leaving it for 12-14 minutes in the oven , because 10 minutes isn't enough and 15 min burns them :$

Soooo that's my recomendation! :D
-rbolio

[digitalbrad]

Yes I remember when I made them they were a little crumbely. But mine did stay together. But yes, those eggs would help forsure.

Even if you cooked them for 10 mins and just shut off the oven, they could help them firm up aswell. Thanks for the additions. just about everything in the world can always be made a little bit better

[fragmaster4]

good thing these have a flavor don't buy the dog biscuits from the store! They don't taste anything like what they are supposed to. (Don't ask how I know) >=/

[chemoon5]

leo is gorjuss - thanks for the recipe - as a fellow bullmastiff lover I can relate to the drool bit. They are great food a holics!

[sflinn]

I would suggest you omit the garlic. Garlic, like onions, are toxic to dogs. It causes a stomach irritation that can affect red blood cells. Its called Allium poisoning

[opticalfx]

There is no proof that garlic is any worse for dogs than it is for us. This Garlic-phobia hasn't been around that long. Personal preference that is all.

[digitalbrad]

I think it depends on the persons opinion. I mean there are numerous people that say they have used it with their dogs to help with fleas and worms for 16 years or the dogs life, or that it healed the dog who was close to death. Then again there is also numerous people who say it almost killed their dog. So I guess it's upto the cook and the opinion and beliefs. But if your dog has no fleas or worms or no problems you want to try and cure then I suppose leaving it out wouldn't hurt anyone.

[sflinn]

I think it depends on the dog as well. My American bulldog could eat a tin can and be fine, but a smaller dog could succumb to the garlic. So I would recommend to avoid it on smaller dogs. Also take caution on how much. P.S. Huckleberry loves your instructable!

[digitalbrad]

Yes it all depends on on many things forsure. The actual amount of garlic in each of on these cookies is very minimal. I would say the size of a pinhead or smaller. I like your dogs name.

[WhyHello]

Should I skip the garlic to be safe?

[JakeTobak]

Leo is extremely cute, Parker looks like a furry pirate. I might try this and use one of those sushi mats to roll it. I don't do a lot of cooking, but sometimes it's fun to make stuff from scratch, even if it doesn't taste as good as processed food :P

[digitalbrad]

Yes store bought peanut butter cookies taste a lot better than these :P One Idea that i saw was to roll the mixture in saran wrap and pinch the ends and make it all nice and tight, then let it chill in the fridge. Possibly a couple eggs or a tad more water would help you out in the mixture. There is probably 20 ingredients that may help it out, but I like it simple for all us people who don't have tons of ingredients and crazy cooking know how. Let me know how it works!