Tips For Healthy Dog Treats

Here at Dog Treat Recipes, we love to bake for our furry babies!  We also understand that that’s not exactly true for everyone.  Healthy dog treats don’t have to be in the form of biscuits, cookies and bones.  Here’s some dog treat ideas that don’t require preheating your oven:

Yogurt & Cottage Cheese

Does your pooch love ice cream as much as mine does?  Too bad it’s not very good for them.  Give him or her some yogurt or cottage cheese instead!  It’s a great alternative that will make your dog just as happy as cleaning his ice cream bowl.

Pumpkin

Next time you open a can of pure pumpkin, give your pup some.  A word of caution, though, your dog will be begging for more!  Pumpkin is fantastic for dogs and loaded with fiber and vitamins.  Just make sure to use pure pumpkin and not pie filling that’s loaded with a lot of fat, sugar and spices.

Egg Whites

Keep some hardboiled eggs on hand and give your dog just the egg white as a treat from time to time.  They’re high in protein and tasty.  Make sure that’s it’s just the white, though, because those yolks have a ton of fat and calories.

Rice & Pasta

If you keep it plain, these 3 are great alternatives to high-calorie treats.  Most dogs would love to have a little rice or pasta mixed up with their food.  If your dog’s on a weight control diet, putting some rice into the mix is a great way to add bulk without adding fat and calories.

Popcorn

Provided your dog isn’t allergic to corn, unsalted, plain popcorn makes for a great treat.  And no baking!  You just need a microwave.

Veggies

Get your dog to eat his veggies!  Carrot sticks and green beans make wonderful dog biscuit alternatives.  All of the crunch, but none of the fat.

So the next time you’re thinking about grabbing for that box of fat-laden dog biscuits, consider giving your dog something a bit healthier to snack on.  Humans have an ongoing battle going with their weight.  Always keep in mind that obesity is a huge problem for dogs, too.

Here’s another super easy and tasty dog food recipe.  It’s pretty healthy, too.  Just make sure that you use lean ground beef.  This recipe will keep in the fridge for a few days, too, so if you want to double or even triple the recipe, go for it!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. lean ground meat.
2 boiled eggs, diced
1/2 c. cooked plain oatmeal
1 jar baby food carrots
2 tbsp. cottage cheese

Directions:

Brown the ground beef in a skillet and then drain off the grease.  Mix all of the ingredients together and then let it cool.  This makes 1 serving for my black lab, Sam, but you can divide it into as many portions as need be.  Just make sure to refrigerate any leftovers.