For a while now I’ve been playing around with the idea of making Bentley, our black lab his own dog treats. He loves his cookies that I buy from the speciality pet store but man are they pricey! Also, recently a neighbor of mine has gone through quite the ordeal with her poor fur baby getting sick from allegedly eating some bad treats. So the combination of paying top dollar for something that could potentially make my boy sick pretty much made up my mind that I’m taking matters into my own hands from now on! I mean…look at this face…
Our family couldn’t bare it if something bad happened to him! So I’ve been playing around with a few recipes the past couple of weeks. Some have been total successes and others failures. I plan to share the success with you over the next few weeks, you know…Once they go through vigorous “lab” testing and all. 😉
First up is the easiest and most inexpensive healthy treat option…Sweet Potato Chew’s.
All you will need to make these delicious doggy treats is 2-3 good sized organic sweet potatoes. This should be enough to last for a week for one larger dog or a few smaller dogs. I give Bentley 2-3 treats a day.
The benefits of sweet potatoes in moderation for dogs are the fact that they are a great source of dietary fiber. They also contain vitamin B6, vitamin C, beta carotene, and manganese which are all beneficial to your sweet baby.
All I did to make these sweet potato dog treats was to slice them about 3/4” thick, placed on a baking sheet, and popped them in my oven set very low 175-200 degrees for 8-10 hours. This way they would cook and dehydrate slowly. For a smaller sized dog you could make these treats thinner and smaller, and adjust the cooking time accordingly. Just remember the thinner the slice the faster it will cook and the crunchier it will turn out, so instead of a chew it will be more like a chip.
Bentley went nuts for them! Of course 😉
I can’t wait to see what he thinks of the next kind I make, but something tells me it will be just as big a hit as these!
Do you make your own pet food or treats? I’d love to hear some of your recipes!
For more pet related posts check out my PET PAGE, and follow along on Facebook and Pinterest too while you’re here!
Talk to you soon friends, take care!
XO
I can’t wait to try these. My furbabies love treats but whatever you do, DON’T give them treats from China as they have made many pets very ill and many others have died. It makes me so very sad. They are so innocent and feel anything we give them is safe. I also will never buy mine any toys made in China because they too can be very dangerous. As a matter of fact, I try to buy only USA products. Also, please tell your neighbor, she may not know about the warning of China made treats killing pets or making them extremely ill. Love all you do. How do the Lab and little Peanut get along????
Oh my goodness Debbie! That’s exactly what happened, and what she was told by her vet. Her poor dog was and still is very ill. Luckily the vet thinks he’ll be making a full recovery but it’s been a huge mess with vet visits and very costly meds. So scary that these treats are still on the shelves! She contacted the pet store and the company, but I doubt anything will be done by either of them. You’re so right about the “MADE IN CHINA” thing…Please tell everyone you know NOT to give their pets any kind of jerky products as well until there’s a clear culprit with what’s causing these dogs to get so sick and die. Very scary! We pick up peanut on Thursday morning if you’re referring to the new black lab pup I posted on Instagram 🙂 We’re super excited to bring her home!! If you’re talking about Baby Rosie, my daughter’s kitten…they adore each other! XO
All my pets,(cats, dogs, chickens) have eaten people food, especially for treats. Most lived far beyond their expected life spans. I don’t trust what is in pet food. Those sweet potato treats look good enough for me to eat!
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Wow! That’s great news about them living far beyond expectations, Maureen!
My dog loves sweet potatoes! I never knew how to dehydrate them in the oven though, thanks! My dog’s favorite treats are peanut butter and yogurt mixed up and frozen in ice cube trays. I mix in apple chunks too sometimes. He sits and stares at the freezer when he knows they’re in there. He also loves frozen pineapple.