Treat Recipes from Brendael English Springer Spaniels

Treats fall under the same category as food. If it is ingested, it needs to be free from all the artificial additives put into dog food today. Good treats are not easy to find in the pet stores. Even those labeled as "natural" sometimes have preservatives in them. When purchasing treats I find those I like and stick with them. For information on selecting food see the nutrition page.

Training treats: They are hard to find without preservatives and other nasty stuff. A good definition of a training treat is one that is small, soft, and easily swallowed. I usually take a jar and make a mix of different treats then pour a small amount into a container to take with me. Of course, don't put things in the jar that need to be refrigerated. Some of the things I use are:

Charlee Bears – found at most pet stores
Freeze-dried liver – again found at most pet stores. Look for small pieces
Three Dog Bakery – makes a nice training treat
Simon & Huey Soft Training Treats – I just love these treats
Dry cereal such as Cheerios, Chex, or Kiks
Dry dog food
String cheese – cut/tear into small pieces
Hot dogs – use turkey hot dogs and cut into quarters length wise then width wise into pieces. (Place on a couple of layers of paper towels and microwave until dried out. Don't burn them.)
Frozen tortellini – same as the string cheese, cut into small pieces.
Frozen carrots – thaw and cut into quarters. Put in a low temp oven to dry them out a little.
Pepperoni
Beef Jerky– don't get the peppered kind.

If you are into making your own treats there are many different recipes for both biscuits and training treats. You can vary the dryness of the treat by the length of time they are cooked or dry them out in a low temp oven.

My dogs' favorite treats are Jack Mackerel Treats

1 - 15 ounce can mackerel (do not drain)
3 eggs including shell
2 tbsp. of garlic powder
blend in food processor or blender
1 C corn meal (can a substitute a different flour)
add the corn meal and mix well
2 C flour (wheat, oat, rice, etc.)
Add flour slowly until dough is the consistency of a thick brownie batter but not roll out cookie dough. Depending on the amount of liquid in the fish you may not use all.

Spread dough into a greased/floured cookie sheet. Bake 300 degrees 30-40 minutes until desired consistency is achieved. Treats should be soft and firm, but not crumbly or crunchy. Cool, then cut into small cubes using pizza cutter and freeze until ready to use.
You can use the same recipe substituting salmon, tuna, canned dog food, or a pound of liver. For variety add 1 cup of shredded cheese or sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and more garlic powder.

Updated March 25, 2008