Favorite homemade training treats

What are your favorites?

It costs so much to purchase enough treats to keep these fools happy. I've made my own in the past, and I'm about to start the search for some new recipes but I figured I'd ask the Chazzers first.

Has anyone ever made salmon/PB or tuna/PB? If so, what was the recipe and the reaction from your dog(s)?

It's not homemade, but I use string cheese and hot dogs. Heck, yesterday I burnt a few strips of bacon while I was cooking breakfast, so later that evening I used the burnt bacon in training.... Kaylee and Tab thought they'd died and gone to heaven!

Yup, we use hotdogs (some regular and some dehydrated) and string cheese too. I think the Rotties are tiring of them/they're losing their value and I have to stay a step ahead of these maniacs.

This is going to be so unhelpful, but I'm spending a fortune too in training treats. I try to make sure I have store bought 'good' ones for class 2x a week, or learning new things, and then use kibble, cereal (like cheerios), etc for the regular stuff at home.

I tried to do the 'slice up hot dog and fry them to death in the microwave' thing but they were still greasy and icky.

Try baking them.

Haha I also came in here to suggest string cheese. And wait for treats to go on sale! I also buy the 'oops we had these in the back room by accident and are two days away from their sell by date' sale treats from petco lol. But that may just happen so often at that particular one because they're so disorganized!

I make most of my rewards, home baked liver, beef hearts, or chicken hearts and gibblets are always a hit.

I also make the salmon ones (or tuna, flakes of chicken, flakes of turkey) and a huge hit is sardines.
I started also making sweet potato (yam), shredded small yam.

Same recipe for all:

1 can of ^^^^ or small yam. (or 2 cans of sardines in water)
1 egg
1/2 -3/4 cup of flour
mix, put on parchment paper, parchment paper on top to roll (flatten) and remove before baking.

Bake at 250 for 1/2 hour, should be soft but not dried out. Cut with pizza cutter, they all freeze very well.

In addition to the string cheese and baked hotdog suggestions, I always check the discount meat at the grocery. I know the Kroger here had whole turkeys on sale for .69 a pound, not too shabby for raw feeding or treat making. I've made treats out of heart, liver and plain muscle meats from chicken and beef as well. I'd imagine after Christmas might be a good time to raid the overstock.

Though it isn't the healthiest treat option, I also try to keep a bag of BilJac (the frozen kind) in the fridge. It's stinky, the dogs love it, and at $5-$7 a for a 5# bag, I can't complain. Especially when Zuke's training treats are ~$10 a pound!

How do you guys turn raw heart and liver into good treats? Someone gave me venison heart at a seminar and Watson looooved it. I assume you just bake in the oven at 250-350 for an hour or more? Is there some other secret? I loved that the heart was rubbery so it didn't fall apart, and he could only get off little bits at a time.


I typically just use string cheese, frozen meatballs (I buy a big bag of the turkey ones at BJs), and hot dogs. Nature's Balance rolls are awesome too (though not homemade).

If your dogs are OK with corn, puree the livers, mix with a box of Jiffy Corn Bread mix, put in a pan and bake. I used to follow the baking directions on the box for "Johnny Cake", but you can also spread it thinner. I used to make these all the time for Mick. He'd practically do handstands for them.

I guess you could puree the hearts, too. I usually just cut all that up and put it in with Caleb's dinner.

I make simple treats by mixing "whatever"- peanutbutter, salmon, tuna, applesauce, bananas, etc with oatmeal, spreading it out on a cookie sheet and baking.

Just remember- homemade treats need to be stored in the fridge. I prefer freezing them in small bags and taking one bag at a time out of the freezer.

What's the texture like? I like stuff I can cut into little pieces that won't crumble, and will hold up in big pieces so he can nibble a little bit at a time. That's why the heart I tried was so awesome.

I have a dehydrator so I'll make jerky treats. There's a store here in town where I can often get cheap ground meats (beef or turkey mostly) and I will use a small amount of jerky seasonings to add a little special flavour. Then into the dehydrator for several hours. I don't even always make it a true jerky, just a moist patty morsel. The dogs love them!

Bananas. Doesn't matter if they're fresh, freeze dried, or dehydrated. But my dogs go NUTS over bananas. And they're dirt cheap, too.

None of my 5 dogs like bananas. THEY ARE WEIRD?

I threw some turkey dogs in the oven to dehydrate just now, and once those are done, I'm going to pop in the salmon/garlic/peanut butter/Parmesan treats I threw together. I may do tuna/applesauce/garlic/PB next. Who knows.

This is my idea of fun on a Friday night, y'all. Be jealous.