Home-made pumpkin dog treats

Updated: May 6

I had been wanting to make my own dog treats for quite some time and have now just gotten around to it. I love my girl, Bella. After our previous dog had passed away a few years back, the time was right to get another dog. We wanted to give a home to one that needed that laid back, loving, spoiled rotten, let her nap all she wants kind of home. And we are just the ones to do exactly that. Nothing is off the spoiling radar in this house. Part of wanting to come up with a recipe for home-made treats is due to a lot of nasty ingredients that are in conventional pet foods and treats. It seems like every other day there is a recall of some sort of toxicity or chemicals being found in our pet food. With that in mind, I wanted to create a simple recipe for a delicious, healthy snack for our senior girl. And this is what I came up with that I think you and your pup are going to love. Not only is it easy, but it is totally inexpensive, too, and my girl LOVES them!

Before I give you the recipe, I will tell you the ingredients and why I chose them. First, I used pumpkin purée. Pumpkin is high in vitamin A, C, high in iron, zinc and fiber. We know that we need iron to carry oxgen to the cells in our blood, and zinc is great for keeping your pet's immune system up and healthy. I also used rolled oats which are going to bind everything together but also give your pup overall health benefits and help with their digestive tract. Added into the treats is a little *nutritional yeast, which is beneficial in repeling fleas and ticks. Fleas and ticks are sensitive to this and won't think your pup makes a good host and will stay away. Plus, it helps with their skin and coat keeping it soft and shiny and contains B vitamins. Chia seeds for the superfood awesomeness of it and also a couple of carrots for beta carotene.

So here is the recipe to make your own dog treats that your pup will love. And the nice thing about this is YOU control the ingredients. Since there are no preservatives in these treats, I do keep them in a jar, sealed and in the fridge. They last me a few weeks and then I make another batch. This recipe actually yields quite a bit, I fill a whole larger sized jar full.

ingredients:

1/2 cup pumpkin purée
1 1/2 cup oat flour
2 tbsp nutritional yeast*
2 carrots
2 tbsp chia seeds

directions:

In a food processor, grind your old-fashioned oats to a flour, pour into separate bowl. Grind carrots and add to bowl.
Add in the pumpkin purée, Brewer's Yeast and chia seeds to bowl.
Mix all together to form a sticky and dense ball.
Take small clumps and flatten out with your hand onto your work surface. It will be sticky, so you can wet your hands and/or use a little flour on your surface.
Flatten the "dough" to roughy 1/4 inch thickness and take small cookie cutter to separate. Place your pieces onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, turning over at 10 minutes.
Let cool and put in an airtighted sealed container in the fridge.

*The original recipe called for Brewer's Yeast, but there have been some claims that it may contribute to yeast infections. But in Dr. Pitcairn's book, Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats he does not make that claim and deems it safe and healthy. You can do your own research.