Homemade Dog Treats

We just got an amazing new puppy, Hercules, which we are raising naturally. I’m just as concerned with what Hercules is eating, as I am with what we eat. I’ve looked into several different brands of “natural” dog treats but none really fit ideal I had in mind.. So I’m making my own! These are so easy and are much less expensive than the packaged ones at the store.

When I say these are easy, I’m not kidding. And they are so simple, there really isn’t even a recipe to share.. nothing to measure, nothing to mix. Just dehydrate meat pieces!!!

Meat – I made 3 versions, Hercules likes them all equally…. Venison (Deer), Beef Liver and Chicken. As with any animal protein, always stick with organic, free range, grass fed, local, etc… And when you are making dog treats feel free to get the least expensive cuts available.  Cut your meat up into bite sized pieces….

Dehydrate – Just spread out your meat pieces in a single layer in your dehydrator and let it work it’s magic!! How long they need to dehydrate depends on how big your pieces are and how full your dehydrator is… We like our Nesco Dehydrator and use it for lots of dehydrating (not just dog treats).. herbs from our garden, mushrooms, beef/venison jerky, etc… Even used it to fix my iphone when I accidentally took it swimming (yes, it was completely submerged and after overnight in the dehydrator it worked perfectly!!) We also bought extra trays for it so that we can dehydrate lots of stuff at once!

Since Hercules is just a little puppy, we’re doing lots of treat-based training.. I keep a small jar of these out for easy access and then keep a big jar in the freezer, since I made up a big batch.

If your dog has been eating processed treats and you want to switch him/her over to these awesome natural treats.. mix up the old treats with these new treats in a jar/baggie.. let the smells/flavors combine.. then gradually phase out the old treats!!