Homemade Treats You Can Cook for Your Dog on National Cook for Your Dog Day

Today is National Cook for Your Pets Day and in honor of our Culinary program and our Animal Assisted Therapy program, we have compiled a list of simple homemade dog treats that you can cook at home for your pet.

Some of the benefits of making homemade treats include:

• You know all the ingredients
• You can adjust the portion size
• You’ll have a nice supply of training treats on hand

homemade Peanut Butter dog Treats

Frozen Peanut Butter & Pumpkin Treats

All dogs love peanut butter... and better yet, this recipe from Spencer the Goldendoodle doesn't actually require any "cooking."

What You'll Need:

• Can of 100% Pumpkin Puree
• 1 cup of plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup of peanut butter 

Instructions:

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and divide the mixture into an ice cube tray. Freeze for 12 hours and serve.

Peanut Butter & Sweet Potato Treats

Try out this sweet holiday treat for your puppers, recipe courtesy of DogVills.

What You'll Need:

• 1 cup of mashed sweet potatoes
• 1 cup of whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup of peanut butter

Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the peanut butter and mashed sweet potatoes  together in a mixing bowl and slowly mix in the flour until you have a dough ball. Sprinkle some flour on a flat surface and use a rolling pin to flatten it to your desired thickness.

Add some cuteness by using cookie cutters and baking for 10 minutes. Cool for a couple of minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Peanut Butter No-Bakes

Looking for another no-bake option? Check out these yummy treats from Damn Delicious.

What You'll Need:

• 1 cup of pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup of peanut butter
• 1/4 cup of milk
• 3 cups of old fashioned oats, divided

Instructions:

Blend the pumpkin puree, peanut butter, and milk with a mixer on medium-high for 1-2 minutes. Gradually add in 2 1/2 cups oats at low speed, until they are well mixed. Using a small cookie scoop, roll the mixture into balls (should form about 20). Roll and cover the balls in the remaining 1/2 cup of oats. Cover and place in the refrigerator for one hour or until firm.

homemade Diabetic dog Treats

Did you know that November is also "Pet Diabetes Month"? Here are some treats that you can cook for them too!

Fruits and Veggies

Keep your fur babies healthy with this diabetic fruits and veggies puppy treat, courtesy of DogSpie.

What You'll Need:

• 1 cooked sweet potato
• 1 banana
• 1 cup of minced carrots
• 1/2 cup of applesauce
• 2 cups of whole wheat flour
• 1 cup of rolled oats
• 1/3 cup of water

Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Next, mash the banana and sweet potato together in a mixing bowl and mix in the additional ingredients. After dusting a flat surface with flour, use a rolling pin to flatten the dough to a 1/8" thickness. Cut into strips and place on a greased pan. Bake for approximately 25 minutes and allow to cool. 

Note: These delicious treats should only be stored in your fridge for a max of 2 weeks. 

Elvis Treats

You ain't nothing but a hound-dog... if you don't like these peanut butter and banana treats, recipe courtesy of DogSpie.

What You'll Need:

• 3 cups of oats, or as needed
• 2 mashed up ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup of peanut butter
• 1/4 cup of melted coconut oil

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the bananas, peanut butter and melted coconut oil in a large bowl. Slowly add the oats to the mixture. Once all the ingredients have been combined, knead the dough 3 or 4 times until it is completely blended and flatten with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface. Use a cookie cutter or cut the dough into shapes and place on a baking sheet. Bake until treats are golden brown for approximately 10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool completely before serving to your puppies.

Beef Liver Treats

Looking for something with a little more flavor? Check out this Beef Liver treat, recipe courtesy of All Recipes.

What You'll Need:

• 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 pounds of beef liver, cut into pieces

Instructions: 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper. Place the liver into a food processor and pulse until it's finely chopped. Add the flour and eggs and process until smooth. Spread evenly in pa an and bake for 15 minutes. Cool and cut them into squares with a pizza cutter. Store in a sealed container in the fridge once cooled.

No matter what homemade dog treat you decide to cook up for your pup, we're sure they are bound to love it -- because they love you unconditionally.

What are your favorite homemade dog treats? Be sure to share in the comments below!