Home-made healthy dog treat recipes

Dog treats come in all shapes and sizes these days and trying to decide which ones are best for your dog can be quite overwhelming!

It is important to choose treats that are as healthy as possible and 100% natural. Treats make fantastic training tools and can be great to use as enrichment – however it is important to remember that treats should make up no more than 10% of the diet, so you should take this into consideration when feeding them.

We wanted to share a few simple recipes that you can make at home for your dog to enjoy. These recipes are not only really tasty, they also help with dental hygiene and repelling external parasites.

It is important to remember that we need to provide our dogs with a natural, healthy and complete diet to ensure their immune system is functioning at its best so our dogs can feel at the top of their game.

In our blog this week, fantastic nutritionist Bianca Major shows us a couple of her easy recipes to make at home.

Homemade dental treat

Ingredients:

1cup of Bone broth
4tbs of Gelatine
2tbs of dried mint
1tsp of Spirulina

Method:

Heat the Broth on a medium heat, add in the other ingredients.
Stir and turn to a low heat until the Gelatine has completely dissolved.
Allow to simmer for 15mins depending on how firm a texture you would like your chew (you can increase your simmer time to 30mins for a tougher chew)
Pour into silicone moulds and allow to chill in the fridge, ready to serve!

3 ingredient Flea repellent treat

A healthy functioning immune system is vital in helping to repel fleas, and this treat can help!

Ingredients:

1 cup of melted coconut oil
4tbs of Brewers yeast
2tsp Garlic powder

Method:

Melt the coconut oil, add the rest of the ingredients and stir.
Pour the mix into silicone moulds and allow to cool.
Voila -Suitable to serve frozen or chilled!

What can I add to my dogs diet?

There are lots of other ways to improve your dogs diet with simple ingredients you probably already have at home, or can pick up next time you are at the shops.

Our nutritionist gives her top picks:

Canned Sardines or Mackerel: The addition of fish to the diet, like canned sardines or mackerel provide a fantastic source of Omega-3 for anti-inflammatory properties. They are also highly palatable even for fussy dogs.

Turmeric: Packed full of anti-inflammatory properties turmeric is rich in flavonoids and antioxidants found to support immune function. Mixed with coconut oil and black pepper known as Golden paste this delicious mix is beneficial to humans and dogs.

Goats yoghurt: This is a fantastic probiotic for your dogs. Gentle on the gut, it is more suitable than normal dairy as many dogs struggle to digest this. Readily available in most supermarkets it is usually very popular with dogs and also fab to freeze and get creative making treats.

Spirulina: a staple in most smoothie lovers homes, spirulina is not only great for us but it’s also great for our dogs! High in iron and B-vitamins it’s great for supporting the immune system. Just watch out for your carpets as it does stain!

Green tea: easily available from the supermarket, make one for yourself and your dog! Rich in bioactive flavonoids it does more than just hydrate, it decreases cellular inflammation and supports brain function. The catechins in Green tea may also benefit oral health inhibiting the growth of bacteria build up in the mouth helping to reduce that dog breath.