Like most girls, I've thought about what my wedding will be like....err maybe only once or twice (or three times). I think a farm wedding in the summer would be straight up dreamy; with a barn, and tall grass, mason jars and fireflies--it'd be magic. It got me sort of thinking about how awesome it would be to have a petting zoo, too. A freakin' petting zoo! How amazing would that be?! Now, I usually have huge issues with petting zoos, because while I LOVE petting farm animals, I don't really dig petting goats--they kinda suck. I don't get them. We don't get each other. And that's usually all petting zoos consist of...that and random chickens that want nothing to do with you. Kinda boring.
So at my future wedding's petting zoo, there will be animals I do wanna pet like dogs, cats, pigs, and miniature horses. And I will pet them in between dances and knocking down champagne, and so will my guests. It'll be lovely.
And you know how you you're supposed to give guests, like, a little gift bag or something? Well, I'd want to give the animals gifts too. I'd probably give the pigs the leftovers from the reception, the miniature horses would get some sweet apples, I'd give the cats some private time...and the dogs, well, I'd make them these homemade treats. I bet they'd really like them because I gave them a try and they're not half bad. Sooo if your dog is peering over your shoulder as you're reading this blog post, you can tell them this: these treats have a predominate peanut buttery taste, the texture is hearty and nourishing due to the rolled oats, and the finish has a lovely hint of coconut and chicken. Yum!
{Chuck and my little brother, Daniel. Chuck will be getting a care package this week and these will be included--he's pumped about them.}
Homemade Dog Treats
Recipe tweaked from Shared Sugar
I added virgin coconut oil to the batter because it's awesome for dogs and humans alike. If you don't have coconut oil on hand, and don't want to run to the store, simply replace it with olive oil.
½ cup of peanut butter (I used the creamy kind)
¼ cup honey
1 tablespoon of virgin coconut oil (or olive oil)
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together peanut butter, honey, oil and chicken broth. In a separate bowl, combine flours and oatmeal. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Place dough on flour dusted surface. Roll or press dough out to about ¼” inch thick. Use a small bone cookie cutter to cut out cookies. My cookie cutter was a 5-inch bone-shaped , but for small dogs you may want to use a small cookie cutter (around 2"). Roll out leftover scraps and cut out as many as possible. Put cut out cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 14-16 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack.
Jessi says
Hi, I was wondering what the shelf life is?
Adrianna Adarme says
These stay good in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month. Even if they get a little stale, the dogs can't tell 😉
cathrine says
Thank you, great article about dog’s treats. I found more about obedience treats specifically here:http://dogsaholic.com/food_treats/best-dog-bones.html
Victor Johnson says
Mmmm, coconut oil honey-oat cookies... I mean, dog treats* lol
Adrianna Adarme says
I've eaten them before and um they're not bad! Haha.
Justin says
Fantastic recipe - My puppies looked so sad when I ran out of biscuits!
If you're ever on the lookout for more dog treat recipes, my girlfriend has started a website - http://caninepantry.com - with recipes for all the treats she makes for her little Pomeranians.
Cassandra says
hi yes i was wondering if i could trade out the peanut butter for sweet potatoe?? or could i do both?
Adrianna Adarme says
I'm actually not sure. They both have very different consistencies so I'm not sure it would work. Sorry I can't be more help!
Chelsea says
Wondering about how you measure * sorry for typos
Chelsea says
I was wondering about for you measure the coconut oil, do you heat it up and use it as a liquid, or as a solid?
Rebecca says
These look great--I'm about to try them now!
Just wondering... do you know what breed your dog, Chuck, is? His face, head shape, and ears loos EXACTLY like my dog's, and I've been trying to play detective and figure out what he might be 🙂
Adrianna Adarme says
We think he's a canaan dog! But obviously not sure since he's a rescue. Take a look at 'em:
https://www.google.com/search?q=canaan+dog&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=S3XpVJnIA8jqoAS1pIHoDg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1248&bih=654
Stephanie says
I'm way to lazy to roll them out. I drop them like you would oatmeal cookies and they always work just fine. Last batch I made, I added a whole bag of carrots I ran through the food processor and my dogs loved them!
Christine says
These treats didn't work for me as the dough was way too wet and no matter how much flour or oats I added it didn't get anywhere near the consistency that I would be able to roll it out!! Very disappointed and waste of time and money to have even tried them!!!!
Adrianna Adarme says
Hi Christine, Sorry this recipe gave you trouble. Not sure what happened since many people in the comments have made them with success. Unfortunately since I wasn't there I can't tell you what went wrong.
Christine says
I did use liquid honey, because that's all I had, could that be why?
Adrianna Adarme says
I used liquid honey, that should've been fine. Hmm...is there anything else you changed?
Christine says
No 🙁
Tracy says
Do you think I could substitute molasses for honey (which has gotten so expensive)? Thanks!
Adrianna Adarme says
Hmm...not sure. I'm not even sure if molasses is ok for dogs. Sorry about that!
janet says
Molasses is fine for dogs. In fact, honey is bad for dogs in large quantities. I never use more than 1/4 cup or so for a full recipe of treats.
kirstbag says
These look so awesome! We are going to make a whole batch of these and sell them at the local Christmas Fair!! I think they will definitely sell!!! 😀
trisha says
I was wondering if you have tried freezing or vacum sealing them and if so, what would the freezer life be? I am going to make these for xmas gifts for friends, great recipe thank you!
Adrianna Adarme says
Oh I haven't tried this, if you do, please report back.
Brandi says
I am doing the same thing. I am going to store them in foodsaver bags. My friends do that at Christmas with regular cookies.
Liv says
Is this good for hamsters too?
Susan says
Does anyone know how to make dog treat for dog with urinary crystals, that would be safe.Just spent 1600.00 on surgery for blockage
Kathleen says
I started making my own dog treats when my shih tzu got a urinary tract infection. I use a turkey cranberry recipe (all organic ingredients) and a pumpkin peanut butter one as well. I, of course, changed her diet to a urinary care one (she didn't care for the hills' Science so my pet store did some investigating and found essentially the same ingredients in a Wellness brand). Really don't want to go thru that infection again so I'll do anything to keep her healthy.