Singing "Old McDonica had a farm"....

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Doggy Delights: DIY and Save $$$

We have three dogs: A Border Collie, a yellow Labrador-pit bull, and an ALL-CONSUMING Sheltie. I had been buying doggie treats at the local discount store, because they can get rather expensive. One day, I ran out, and of course I looked at my expectant fur babies and said “Sorry, you’ll have to wait til I go to the store!” Then my thrifty 17-year-old said “Why Mom? Why don’t we just make them?

As a mom who is starved for time (most of the time), I thought “what a great activity for some family time!) Thus began the Doggy Delight endeavor. Why delight? They are easy to make, the ingredients can generally be found in your kitchen, and they can’t be beat $$$ money wise.

Even without bringing major brand competitors into this scenario, the off-brand I was buying at the discount grocery was 4/$1.00. There were two bacon size pieces in the bag. In breaking that down further (by the time I broke them in half), it was approximately .06 cents per piece because I turned it into 4 pieces. However, with that said, the discount grocery is not right around the corner, so it was a ‘planned trip.’

By the time we finish making these treats (in the smaller shapes (like drop cookies), we can generate about 75-80. The cost will depend on which recipe you use and how big you decide to make the treats.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Be VERY careful about checking the ingredients you use. Some human foods can HARM YOUR DOG like FOOD COLORING! If you are EVER in doubt… CALL YOUR VET!

We explored different Websites and settled on http://www.bullwrinkle.com/Assets/Recipes/Recipes.htm (from here on out known as Bullwrinkle.)

They have so many different recipes, I may never be able to make them ALL! So, I will list a few (for references), but they deserve ALL of the credit!

Homemade Dog Treat Recipe: Party Pupcakes

1 large apple
1 1/2 cups wheat flour
1/4 cup oatmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey 2 eggs
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

For the Frosting
8 oz Neufchatel Cheese (lowfat cream cheese)
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
2 tablespoons honey
2-3 tablespoons flour

Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly oil a cookie sheet. Combine flour and charcoal. Add all the other ingredients. Drop teaspoonful’s on oiled sheet, about 1 inch apart. Bake 15-20 minutes. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator.

Now, most of us have these ingredients in our homes already. How simple is that? Don’t want to fire up the oven just to make treats? Wait until you’re cooking dinner to bake them!  

Here is the one of the recipes we made last time:

Homemade Dog Treat Recipe: Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits ½ cups water(add more water later if required) ½ cup oil  2 eggs 3 tablespoons peanut butter 2 tsp. vanilla 2 cups flour ½ cup cornmeal ½ cup oats Blend wet ingredients together. Whisk dry ingredients together and mix into wet mixture to form a ball of dough. Roll out and shape. Put onto a non-stick cookie tray or lightly greased one. Cook 20 minutes at 400 F. Turn off oven and allow the biscuits to cool in oven until crisp and hard. Store in airtight container.

This recipe made approximately 75 treats. Total cost to make approximately $3.50, making the price about .05 cents per treat, without even leaving home! J Enjoy! And be blessed.
~Pam Donica (lifesong9498.blogspot.com)

My daughter’s note to moms and youngsters:

It was fun to make the dog treats because we could find stuff in our own kitchen that wasn’t harmful to our dogs. It was fun, easy, and the dogs loved them. You don’t have to be a professional baker to make them, they are really easy. If a kid or baby gets into them, they aren’t harmful, they are very edible. If you don’t like the ingredients (I hate peanut butter and it makes me gag), you can always trade them out for things you (or the dogs) like.

~Autumn (13 years-old)