Find the right food for your pet
Find the right food for your pet

Healthy Dog Treats You Can Make at Home

Nutrition and Feeding

Staff Author

initial Paw prints

Homemade Treat Recipe

Yield: approx. two dozen treats

Using canned food:

  1. Open the can and shake the loaf of food out of the can.
  2. Cut the loaf into 1/4" thick slices, and then cut the slices into bite-sized pieces.
  3. Bake the treats in a microwave oven on high for approximately 2½ to 3 minutes.
  4. Store baked treats in the refrigerator and discard leftovers after 5-7 days.
  5. Homemade treats should not exceed 10% of your pet's total daily intake because heat alters the nutritional characteristics of the food.
  6. Do not freeze homemade treats.

For a conventional oven, follow the instructions above and place the bite-sized pieces on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until crispy.

Using Dry Food:

  1. In a blender, add 2 cups of dry food and grind into a powder.
  2. Pour powder into a mixing bowl and gradually add about 1 to 1¼ cups of water, stirring until it forms a dough consistency.
  3. Shape into individual "treats" or "cookies" and flatten the dough using the back of a spoon (the cookies will not flatten like standard "people cookies" do.)
  4. Place treats on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until crispy.
  5. Store baked treats in the refrigerator and discard leftovers after 5-7 days.
  6. Homemade treats should not exceed 10% of your pet's total daily intake because heat alters the nutritional characteristics of the food.
  7. Do not freeze homemade treats.

Cookie cutters make treats fun to make and serve. Only Prescription Diet® a/d® Canine/Feline food, Prescription Diet® n/d® Canine and Prescription Diet® s/d® Canine foods cannot be made into homemade treats using the above recipe. However, you can use the following recipe for homemade treats for these foods:

  • Roll the canned food into little balls and place in the freezer to serve later as a frozen treat. Since it is not possible to bake n/d® Canine into treats, this is a great alternative. Also, this is refreshing to pets during the hot summer.

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