Healthy, Inexpensive, & Easy Homemade Dog Treats!

When you spend a lot of time trick training, it’s easy to get concerned about the amount of calories your dog is consuming.  Plus, buying a lot of high quality dog treats can get expensive.  The following recipe is my go to for healthy, inexpensive, and easy dog treats!

Why this recipe is amazing:

Healthy – The only ingredient is real meal. There are no processed foods or fillers.  Compared to other cuts of meat, organ meat is densely packed with essential nutrients.  Gizzards are tough muscles that are also packed with nutrients, particularly protein.

Inexpensive – Organ meat and gizzards can be purchased for $1/$2 per pound.  Buy it on sale and store it in the freezer until you’re ready to bake!

Easy – There is only 1 ingredient – no mixing or measuring required!  If you’ve been hesitant to make your dog (or cat) treats before, give this a try!

Ingredient(s):

Use any of the following.

• Chicken Gizzards
• Chicken Hearts
• Chicken Liver

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300° Fahrenheit.

Cover the baking sheet with tinfoil and spread the thawed meat into one layer on the baking sheet.

Bake in oven for 45 to 60 minutes, turning them over half way through. If necessary, drain the excess juices (chicken hearts have a lot of juices whereas chicken liver as almost none).

Use scissors to cut meat into treat size pieces and store in freezer (they can only be kept in the fridge for 7 days).

* Pro tip – you can pour the excess juices into an ice cube tray to save for later.  I use these chicken juice ice cubes (yum!) as a special treat or add one to the dogs’ water bowl at agility trials to encourage them to drink.

Directions w/ Photos:

1. Preheat the oven to 300° Fahrenheit.

2. Cover the baking sheet with tinfoil and spread the thawed meat into one layer on the baking sheet.  In this photo I actually used 4 packages of chicken hearts.  In the past I’ve cooked chicken hearts and chicken gizzards at the same time.  I prefer to cook the chicken liver separately because it seems to need less cooking time.

3. Bake in oven for 45 to 60 minutes, turning them over half way through.  At the half way point, drain the excess juices (if necessary).  I’ve found that the chicken hearts have a lot of juices whereas chicken liver as almost none.

I sometimes pour the excess juices into an ice cube tray to freeze and save for later.  I use the chicken juice ice cubes as a special treat or add one to the dogs’ water bowl at agility trials to encourage them to drink.

4. Once the meat has cooled, use scissors to cut meat into treat size pieces and store in freezer.  Using scissors makes cutting the treats so much easier, particular for the tougher chicken gizzards!   I like to store the treats in the freezer but they can also be kept in the fridge for 7 days.

They are a crowd favorite! #treatsplease