Whether or not you make your dog's food, you may enjoy baking some wholesome dog biscuits for him.
Creating Your Own Dog Biscuits
Baking dog biscuits is easy, like making cookies.
There are myriad biscuit recipes available in books and on the internet, but you can easily make up your own.
Use whole grain flours for the base. Whole wheat is the easiest to work with, and the least expensive, but other flours can also be used. Rice flour is probably the most difficult to work with.
For flavor, use ground or shredded fruits and/or vegetables, ground meats (leftovers can be used), nuts or seeds. Avoid using raisins, but other dried fruits can be added.
Water, broth or milk can all be used as the liquid. No sugar or salt is needed.
Oil will make the dough easier to work with and the biscuit crispier, but it is not necessary if you want to avoid adding extra fat. Leavening agents are not needed either, and I have not found any real benefit in adding them.
Working the Biscuit Dough
The dough can be made stiff by using little liquid, just enough to make the dough come together. This dough can be rolled and cut, or shaped into balls and then flattened. For fun shapes use cookie cutters. To cut many biscuits quickly, just use a pizza cutter or knife and score into squares.
If you don't want to roll the dough, make it softer with the addition of more liquid, and then make drop cookies. Flatten these out a little before baking, as they won't spread like regular cookies will.
Bake the biscuits at 400o for 12-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the dough.
Drying and Storing Dog Biscuits
At the end of the baking time, turn the oven off and leave the finished biscuits overnight or until completely cool. Alternatively, dry for 8-16 hours in a food dehydrator. If you want a softer cookie, omit this last step, but store the biscuits in the freezer.
Biscuits will keep at least a month at room temperature, if properly dried and stored. Store in ziplock bags or airtight containers, away from heat and moisture. For longer storage, you can easily freeze any dog biscuit.Freezing the fresh-baked biscuits (undried) is also a fun way to give your dog a cold treat in the summer.
Dog Treats Not Always Dog Biscuits
Of course, a dog treat does not have to be in the form of a biscuit. Many dogs love chunks of crisp apple or pieces of carrot. You can also dry pieces of meat such as chicken or liver in a food dehydrator or low oven.
Drying Meat for Dog Treats
Choose lean cuts, and cut off any visible fat. Cut the pieces about four times larger than you want them to end up, but don't make them too large. Thinner pieces will dry faster.
Dry for 10-12 hours at 140o - 150 o. If using an oven, prop the door open slightly to allow for air circulation.
To test for dryness, allow a piece to cool, and then break it. It should bend before breaking; if it bends and doesn't break it is not yet fully dry. If it snaps without bending, it's fine - over dry for a person's taste maybe, but the dog won't mind.
You can season the meat with a little garlic powder or herbs before drying if you like. This will add a little flavor that the dog will like and also act as a bit of extra preservative.
You can make mixed treats using the drying method as well. This is especially good for making grain-free treats or cat treats. Mix ground meats with cooked potato, applesauce or ground vegetables. Form into thin patties and dry as above.
