# Healthy Treats



## Manhattan Guy

I've done some searches through past threads/posts here and I have not found much on the subject of healthy treats. Currently I'm giving 1-year old Atticus Wellness Just for Puppies treats. While most of the ingredients seem good (and he likes them) there are some ingredients that are not recommended (garlic!). I used Gimborn freeze-dried beef and chicken liver as training treats during his puppyhood, but I don't want to focus exclusively on liver as treats. And he does enjoy baby carrots, but again, I don't want to give him only that. I'm hoping to find something healthy, small - "Havanese bite-size" - and not super expensive. I'd love to hear what others recommend. Thanks!


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## SMARTY

Looking forward to other answers. I have a home made recipe that I got from a trainer not sure how healthy it is but that my girls love these treats. I break them up into tiny pieces for training.

Dog treats

1 lb calf or beef liver or two 15 oz. cans drained Salmon
6 eggs
4 cups oatmeal
Garlic powder, optional

Purée the liver (Salmon) in a food processor, add eggs
(my processor/blender is small so I halved the liquid mixture) 
To half the liquid mixture, add 2 cups of oatmeal
Blend, and then do the other half

Pour into a lightly greased and floured baking pan
(mine is 15 ½ inches X 10 ½ inches X 1/2 inch)

Bake for 30 minutes at 350. Let cool, cut into 1 inch squares and freeze for storage.


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## davetgabby

gee Sandi that sounds good. I think the sort of thing that Sandi mentions , is the healthiest. A little work but worth it. If it's something you eat ,it probably is just as good for your dog.


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## brookeandcolby

Colby eats "Charlee Bears". I think I heard about them on this forum and he loves them (although they are just about the only kind he gets). They are bite-size and only 3 calories per treat so he can have lots! I had originally bought the Wellness puppy treats also but I think they were giving him loose stools so I switched.


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## Manhattan Guy

Sandi, thanks for the home-cooked recipe for the treats. What size can of Salmon would you use for this recipe? Around here, they come in various sizes. Also, any thoughts on healthier alternatives to butter and flour to prevent the mixture from sticking to the pan? Thanks!


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## SMARTY

Manhattan Guy said:


> Sandi, thanks for the home-cooked recipe for the treats. What size can of Salmon would you use for this recipe? Around here, they come in various sizes. Also, any thoughts on healthier alternatives to butter and flour to prevent the mixture from sticking to the pan? Thanks!


No Flowers in Recipe please, corrected........LOL

Two 15 oz cans of Salmon drained.

I use a very small amount of Olive Oil, no butter, and a very light sprinkle of flour to keep from sticking. You might try a non-stick pan.


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## Manhattan Guy

Thanks for the clarification Sandi - the olive oil is a good idea. I'm going to try it with parchment paper as a pan liner.


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## ama0722

A lot of us make our own jerky as well with a dehydrator and with my own dogs and bribing other dogs, I can tell you even simple chicken or beef jerky is a big hit. The great thing is you know exactly what goes into it. The bad thing is you do have to leave it in the fridge or freezer cause no preservatives. 

Another thing I personally do is give my dogs some leftovers. Last night, I had agility class and all the dogs wanted to play with me. I will tell you when I admitted what I had (left over chicken cordon bleu!) I was teased about how spoiled my dogs were. Fortunately I don't have dogs with weight issues so I can give them more calories in treats.


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## SMARTY

Manhattan Guy said:


> Thanks for the clarification Sandi - the olive oil is a good idea. I'm going to try it with parchment paper as a pan liner.


That should work, let me know how Atticus likes them.


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## marjrc

Sam, some good brands of healthy treats are EVO red meat biscuits, as well as their chicken and turkey, and fish varieties. http://www.naturapet.com/search/

Also, Northern Biscuits.They have no grains either. http://www.northernbiscuit.ca/ I like these because they have very few ingdts. and aren't too hard. You can break them up into very small pcs. and they dont' have a lot of calories.

Cloud Star has great treats too: http://www.cloudstar.com/5DD044CB6F...Treats&pc_id=7BB50C50C0654DACBFD7B43EEA4D407A Some of their products include a lot of "iffy" ingdts, but their tender jerky treats are good.

These are great! Salmon 'sushi rolls' for dogs: http://funtimedogshop.com/item.php?item_id=31 It's 100% dried salmon, rolled into a sushi-looking shape and nothing else! My Sammy loves them.

SOME garlic is o.k. for dogs and it gives treats a bit of flavor, so don't worry about that.


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## Scooter's Family

I use Natural Balance treats. They have several flavors but my dogs prefer the turkey and cranberry. They're small biscuits that I can easily break into 3 bits for them.

Boiled chicken is a huge hit! 

Amanda is known as the treat lady because she always has doggie treats in her pockets!


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## Luciledodd

I just keep hamburger or a pork cutlet in the fridge and give Rosie a little meatball of the hamburger (raw) or a bite of the pork when she is especially good. Also baby carrots and apple bits. Can't see buying anything for treats when I always have a little meat left over. Rosie begs for a treat when I am at my cutting board. I usually give her a bite of whatever I am cutting up. She thinks that everytime she goes potty outside that she has to have a treat and runs to the fridge and waits for me to get it.


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## ShirleyH

*Only the Best*

Hi Manhattan Guy,

Absolutely love the name Atticus Finch and he's a darling. I love the Newman's Own Organic Dog Treats in various flavors--currently Salmon and Sweet Potatoes are the favorite. These are medium size and breakable and I do give half at a time. These are made with organic barley flour and organic sweet potatoes and no wheat or corn. Do check them out at Amazon where you can get 6 pkgs. for around $20--(10 oz. packages and they go a long way). Besides the quality of the product, I love patronizing this company. Paul Newman's organization has done so much for charitable causes.

Good luck with lucky Atticus.

Keeper's Mom


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## Manhattan Guy

Hey everyone - keep the responses coming! Thank you all - this is such good information. 

Despite the heat in NYC today, I decided to make a batch of the salmon treats Sandi gave the recipe for - Atticus sat in the kitchen the whole time they were cooking. I used parchment paper to prevent sticking to the pan instead of oil and flour and I omitted the garlic. I also cut them into strips in the pan after aboout 25 minutes and turned them over a few times to allow them to cook like a biscuit on all 4 sides for another 10 minutes+/-. They came out great - actually, given the human ingredients, I tried one and they were quite good. Atticus liked them and he counts more than me. When they were done I cut a bunch into bite size morsels but I also cut a bunch long enough to be inserted into both larger and smaller size kongs - hope that works. 

So, by my rough calculation - all the ingredients (eggs, oatmeal, salmon) add up to about 2200 calories. I got about 400 morsels from half the batch, so each is approximately 3 calories. The strips cut for the kong are probably 30 calories each for the 20 larger size kong pieces and 20 calories each for the 30 smaller size kong pieces. Just a guess, but probably in the ballpark.


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## SMARTY

Manhattan Guy said:


> Hey everyone - keep the responses coming! Thank you all - this is such good information.
> 
> Despite the heat in NYC today, I decided to make a batch of the salmon treats Sandi gave the recipe for - Atticus sat in the kitchen the whole time they were cooking. I used parchment paper to prevent sticking to the pan instead of oil and flour and I omitted the garlic. I also cut them into strips in the pan after aboout 25 minutes and turned them over a few times to allow them to cook like a biscuit on all 4 sides for another 10 minutes+/-. They came out great - actually, given the human ingredients, I tried one and they were quite good. Atticus liked them and he counts more than me. When they were done I cut a bunch into bite size morsels but I also cut a bunch long enough to be inserted into both larger and smaller size kongs - hope that works.
> 
> So, by my rough calculation - all the ingredients (eggs, oatmeal, salmon) add up to about 2200 calories. I got about 400 morsels from half the batch, so each is approximately 3 calories. The strips cut for the kong are probably 30 calories each for the 20 larger size kong pieces and 20 calories each for the 30 smaller size kong pieces. Just a guess, but probably in the ballpark.


Very good, I had not thought of them in the Kong which my girls go crazy for when I get them out. I hard bake a beef roast, cut into chunks and pack into the Kong frozen which keep the girls busy for at least an hour.


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## Evye's Mom

I have use my dehydrator to make beef and chicken jerky but it is time consuming so when I'm in a hurry, I cook a boneless chicken breast. Slice it really thin and over-bake it in the oven until it's dry, almost brittle. Like Amanda said, you have to refrigerate them and freeze any you don't think you will use up in a week's time.

Sandi, I am going to try this recipe. I'm pretty sure I have some parchment paper too.


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## Evye's Mom

Actually, I think I'm going to go make them right now. 

Sandi, did you add the garlic? And how much?


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## hartman studio

Sandi,this does sound really good- I'm going to try making them,too.I was also wondering how much garlic (powder?) you used.
I tried two of the Natural Balance treats(but not the turkey), but neither of my dogs liked them. I just bought the Paul Newman ones, but with Mindy being sick I haven't tried them yet.

Sharlene, do you bake the chicken breast first, then slice and rebake? If so do you use a high temp to crisp them up?


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## Evye's Mom

I'm making Sandi's recipe right now but only had enough to make half a batch. I didn't add the garlic. Getting ready to throw them in the oven.

I cooked the chicken both ways, just in a pan on top of the stove or if I had the oven going I would throw in a breast. Just so it's done enough and it will slice nice and thin.


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## SMARTY

Actually I didn’t measure the Garlic powder, if I had to guess around 1/8 teaspoon, I just sprinkled it in the mixture.

Half the batch makes quite a bit. The full recipe fits perfectly in my baking pan.


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## Evye's Mom

Glad I asked about the garlic and glad I omitted it. I chopped some fresh garlic for dinner and was going to add that but was too uncertain.

Even making half of the batch, I still filled over 3/4 of a 15" jelly roll pan. They smell good baking....good enough to eat.


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## Evye's Mom

The dogs thank Sandi for this recipe. They love it. I have 6 little paws on the cabinets begging for more.


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## boo2352

I mentioned Barkwheats in an earlier post. They're made in Maine from ingredients from local farmers and other fair trade ingredients. MacGyver has the ginger ones before car rides, and they really help.


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## mimismom

Hi! 

We use Zukes Mini Naturals. they are moist tiny bite size treats. They go crazy over them.


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## Manhattan Guy

To everyone who is thinking of making Sandi's salmon treat recipe - as I mentioned earlier, I did make them and Atticus loved them. I froze them and today I took one of the strips I had cut to fit a small Kong and stuffed it, frozen, into the Kong. Well, Atticus worked on that for almost 2 hours, never giving up until it was done. Obviously, he loved it.


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## SMARTY

Glad to know Atticus enjoyed them, I'm going to put some in my girls Kongs tonight.


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## marjrc

Great feedback Sam, thank you! I guess I'll have to give this recipe a go too, though I hate to use eggs. I'll figure something out.


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## Manhattan Guy

Marj, why do you hate to use eggs? What else would you use as a binding agent?


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## marjrc

Sam, I'm trying to be as vegan as I can and hate to buy animal products. I do get some because we have 3 teens to feed, as well as the dogs and cats, but I try to find "humane products". They are outrageously expensive so I use them sparingly.

I did use 1 egg for half the recipe and added a few tbsp. of soft tofu and it worked out great! Our youngest cat, Sophie was right by my side while I was mixing the batch. lol I did as you did, Sam, and flipped the biscuits over and baked a bit more. Salmon Biscotti !


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## SMARTY

Marg, you don't use animal by products? Milk, eggs, butter, etc. My DD uses no meat of any kind and will not wear animals of any kind (leather). She does use their by products.


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## marjrc

I'll not likely ever be 100% vegan in that I have leather items, I still prefer cow's milk in my coffee and I might have a pc. of cheese once/week or so, but I'm trying and no, I do not want to use the animal by-products either.

Well Sandi, your recipe is a success with Ricky and Sammy! :clap2:


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## SMARTY

Good to know they like it.


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## Manhattan Guy

Tofu - interesting. Well this recipe is just getting more and more healthy!!!! I love it.


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## davetgabby

If you want treats at your door, watch for this http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38341496/ns/today-today_pets_and_animals/


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## marjrc

:jaw: LOL


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## iluvhavs

A very timely thread for me. Sandi thanks for the recipe. I'm going to give it a try today.

We noticed Lucy, who used to be a tiny girl, has become, shall we say, "thick" LOL She now weighs in at 13.4 lbs. At the ripe old age of 2, I think she is filling out a little too much. So she's on a treat diet! These may help us both....

I gotta start reading through these threads for other lite foods.


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## Rita Nelson

Received this recipe today for MARVELOUS MUTT MEATBALLS. I subscribe to YOUR DOG put out by Tufts Veterinary School and in came in connection with the subscription. Sound good enough for humans to eat.

1/2 # ground beef or sirloin
1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 carrot, finely chopped
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg, whisked
3 Tbls. tomato paste (low sodium)
Preheat over to 350 degrees F.
Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl Scoop out by the spoonful and roll into
mini-size meatballs. Place the meatballs on a cookie sheet sprayed with nonfat cooking spray. Bake 15 - 20 min. Cool and store in the refrigerator in a covered container.


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## Missy

I'm gonna have to try your recipe Sandi too. I am trying all bison right now to see if it helps the boys allergies, so I just made a batch of bison Jerky. But I know that sometimes there is just no time for home made so I wanted to add some store bought healthy treats that have worked for us. 

The boys (and therefore me) love the CANZ REAL MEAT TREATS The Chicken/Venison treats are only 2.5 calories a square and you can easily tear them smaller for training. they are 95% meat, grain free, and low in carbs.


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## SMARTY

I found I was paying too much for treats that sometimes my girls would not eat so now they get my homemade treats, left over broiled or grilled meats cut into tiny pieces. If I found premade that picky Smarty would eat easily I would buy them.


.


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## leena365

i have only been giving my dogs cheerios and rollover mini liver treats....Not good huh? I think I should try the healthy recipe Sandi suggested only one dog is gaining alot of weight but the other one is still quite small.


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## Rita Nelson

Tucker loves Sandi's recipe for treats. I made them last night using salmon. Made 1/2 a recipe because Tucker doesn't like fish kibble (Orijen), but he gobbled up the two pieces I gave him. He also like Karen Randell's treat recipe made with chicken liver.


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## Manhattan Guy

Rita, I searched through this thread and I couldn't find a chicken liver recipe posted by Karen Randell. Where did you see it? Thanks!


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## Rita Nelson

Sam, it's under Home Made Treats. I spelled Karen's last name wrong - it's Randall. That's probably why it didn't come up in the search. I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I also have used chicken breasts to replace the chicken liver. The liver leaves an odor through out the house for a while that's why I changed to chicken breasts. Tucker loves that just as much as the liver.


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## Narwyn

Manhattan Guy said:


> Currently I'm giving 1-year old Atticus Wellness Just for Puppies treats. While most of the ingredients seem good (and he likes them) there are some ingredients that are not recommended (garlic!).


Garlic might be toxic in really massive quantities, but small amounts are not only harmless, but healthful. Really - is a company of that standing going to put a toxic ingredient in their treats?

I actually supplement Clover with Garlic for flea/tick prevention. It's probably something like 1/4 or 1/2 a teaspoon per day - only a sprinkle, really. He's been on it for four years, and at 13 he amazes vets with how healthy he is.

I would definitely not be worried about the tiny amount on those treats!


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## Manhattan Guy

thanks Narwyn and thanks for the threat Rita


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## havadandy

This has been a great read. I seem to be so lucky. I catch and release salmon more than I catch and keep. That is because we catch so many we could never eat it all. So this summer it seems I will be keeping a few more that usual because we have just purchased two 4 month old havanese and I guess salmon treats and jerky are some thing that they will love..


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## cmwoodard14

Our Pups love Sandi's dog treat recipe
I have made the Liver and the Salmon and they love them both.

They are very easy & inexpensive to make and last for quite a while.
I think the liver treats cost me about 5 bucks to make and lasted for 3 to 4 weeks.

We keep them in the freezer and put a handful in a ziplock to defrost and use each week.

Thanks so much for posting these recipes, I'm looking for more....


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## Rita Nelson

SMARTY said:


> Looking forward to other answers. I have a home made recipe that I got from a trainer not sure how healthy it is but that my girls love these treats. I break them up into tiny pieces for training.
> 
> Dog treats
> 
> 1 lb calf or beef liver or two 15 oz. cans drained Salmon
> 6 eggs
> 4 cups oatmeal
> Garlic powder, optional
> 
> Purée the liver (Salmon) in a food processor, add eggs
> (my processor/blender is small so I halved the liquid mixture)
> To half the liquid mixture, add 2 cups of oatmeal
> Blend, and then do the other half
> 
> Pour into a lightly greased and floured baking pan
> (mine is 15 ½ inches X 10 ½ inches X 1/2 inch)
> 
> Bake for 30 minutes at 350. Let cool, cut into 1 inch squares and freeze for storage.


Tucker loves these made with salmon. I divide the recipe in half because I have a small food processor also. With just one little boy, half a recipe lasts almost one month. I have made them with beef liver, but I can't stand the smell so Tucker gets salmon.


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## littlebuddy

django eats freeze dried lambs ears. gross but they are great because you can break them into any size of treat you want. i wish he would eat carrots sweet potatoes, etc etc but he refuses!


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## shauu

hmmm, momo eats lettuce, carrots, broccoli and even cilantro!

Here's the proof: 









Haha..


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