Swansea Dog Trainer

Archive for the ‘Dog Treat Recipes’ Category

One of my favourite tools for helping dogs with Separation anxiety, or even just to keep them quiet while I get on with work is a Kong. When starting out use dry dog food taken from their dinner rations until they get the hang of it, and it will quickly become your dog’s most prized posession… and that’s where the fun starts!

Your dog has a game, to get as much food out as possible before he gives up.

I have a game, keep my dog as busy as possible for as long as possible. Making the challenge to remove food sufficiently difficult, but not so difficult that he gives up after five minutes. Here is one of my favourite recipes. As with all home made recipes, do keep an eye on portions and don’t overdo any one item.

The concept here was to make a dog-friendly paté. I fried some liver in a little oil being careful not to burn it. Fry until cooked through and can be easily split with a spatula. Add to food processor with a little butter or oil to help keep it stuck together and blitz until smooth. Leave covered to cool.

Stuff a mixture of this liver paté with dry dog food so the paté fills in as much space as possible.

For dogs with a lower attention span, this can now be given. Alternating with peanut butter can make it more difficult… keep an eye on those calories though!

For the real hardworking dogs, terriers and real food obsessed animals, don’t stop there… leave it in the freezer overnight! That will really drive them crazy.

I’m currently fostering a Fox terrier with severe separation anxiety, he becomes so stressed with absence that he will soil himself in minutes after bouncing off the walls… when crated he tends not to soil but will bang against the sides causing red marks between his toes… With the frozen Kong, I’m able to leave him for half hour before he pays any notice…

As with human food, always clean the kong fully inside and out between uses (the blunt end of a cutlery knife works well to scrape out stubborn contents). Check the Kong between uses, any splitting or removed chunks and it should realistically be discarded. Never refreeze food products, if he’s given up and it’s not empty, bin the contents.

If you find your dog is breaking his Kong a little too quickly, Kong have an ‘Extreme’ version of their toy which they believe is the strongest dog toy ever! (well they would wouldn’t they?) Extreme Kong

When I attend a client’s house and meet their dog, I often need to prove my friendliness with a food offering. Even without initial fear, for your dog to take commands from a total stranger, she has to have something particularly special on offer. I’m often told by owners how they aren’t food orientated while they’re scoffing down my treats. Shortly after I’m asked how I did it. So here are a few of my secrets:

Liver Chews

Ok these are very messy but I’ve yet to find a single dog who doesn’t love them.

Buy some liver from your local supermarket. Tesco do a wicked tub of frozen chicken livers in the frozen poultry section, or pork/beef/lambs liver in the fresh meat section. (usually top shelf slightly out of the way)

They are cheap and full of blood which I’m sorry to say, dogs love!

There are two ways to prepare them and once done are much less smelly that some other options on this site.

1) Quick fry

chop into small pieces and fry until cooked through. Liver can be given raw but I prefer cooked to ensure parasites and bacteria are destroyed, not only for the dog but also because when I’m handling dog treats it’s not always easy to keep your raw meaty hand away from your face. This method works wonders, especially if they’re still warm when offered (not hot). But you would need a waterproof treat bag to store and they need to be eaten on the day or thrown away.

2) Baked dry

Chop into small pieces on a baking tray and place in the oven at 180 deg for around an hour. This will cook them through and evaporate most of the moisture giving a cleaner end result. Keep an eye on them as depending on your oven and the treat size, we don’t want them to burn, just dry out.

These are much better for treat bags, they still leave a little mess, but then treat bags should always be washed regularly anyway, much more portable but again won’t keep for very long.

When I attend a client’s house and meet their dog, I often need to prove my friendliness with a food offering. Even without initial fear, for your dog to take commands from a total stranger, she has to have something particularly special on offer. I’m often told by owners how they aren’t food orientated while they’re scoffing down my treats. Shortly after I’m asked how I did it. So here are a few of my secrets:

Tripe Biscuits – do this only if you can stomach the smell of tripe!

Mix 1 part tripe (available at all good pet shops and many butchers) to 1/2 part flour in a blender (I use Doves Farm plain white for a gluten-free mix as many dogs have an wheat intolerance)

Optionally add a small amount of Marmite for extra meaty smell (not too much as the salt content is also high)

blend together well adding a little water if necessary to create a sticky dough, add more flour if necessary so you’re able to handle it. (Washing up liquid and warm water will remove the stench don’t worry.

Roll out as thinly as possible on a baking tray and use a pizza cutter to mark off small squares (treats should be tiny, but big enough to actually hold)

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. The idea here is to remove the moisture but not burn the flour. (This will stink I warn you, but a well aired house and good extractor fan will remove the smell within a couple of hours)

Allow to cool and break into your treat bag.

Do make a note of the date as most home made treats will attract bacteria. Use within a couple of days and keep in the fridge when not in use.