Homemade Grainless Treats?

[Maxxx]

Has anyone made any? Any good recipies or books you can suggest?

There's not a lot on the market and I want to give Max more variety.

Ideally, they will be used for training, so soft yet doesn't fall apart. I hope that's not too tall on order?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I'm currently using: weiners, string cheese and Wellness Pure Rewards

[blisscodisco]

I know you said grainless but can your dog have oatmeal? I make mine Liver Brownies using ground up oatmeal, a couple of eggs and ground up liver.(makes your blender of food processor a lovely shade of brown)
I grind up about 2 cups of oats. set aside
grind 1 package of beef livers and ad in 2-3 eggs.
Then pour liver egg mixture into bowl. Ad in enough of the ground oatmeal to make a batter consistency. You will probably have left over ground oats, save for future liver brownies.
Put in 9 x 11 size pan (or smaller if you made less) layered with greased aluminium foil, bake at 350 until brownie consistency (15 to 30 minutes depending on your mixture) and cool and cut. Can be frozen for future use but texture is more crumbley after freezing. It does take a couple of tries to get the consistency right and how long to cook. Just like brownies they are better slightly under done then over done My dogs gather around the oven and gaurd it until the brownies are done. then the puddles of drool accumulate while brownies dry.
If you dog can't do oatmeal perhaps you could make these with an alternative starch such as potatoes or...?

[tla0126]

Originally Posted by blisscodisco

I know you said grainless but can your dog have oatmeal? I make mine Liver Brownies using ground up oatmeal, a couple of eggs and ground up liver.(makes your blender of food processor a lovely shade of brown)
I grind up about 2 cups of oats. set aside
grind 1 package of beef livers and ad in 2-3 eggs.
Then pour liver egg mixture into bowl. Ad in enough of the ground oatmeal to make a batter consistency. You will probably have left over ground oats, save for future liver brownies.
Put in 9 x 11 size pan (or smaller if you made less) layered with greased aluminium foil, bake at 350 until brownie consistency (15 to 30 minutes depending on your mixture) and cool and cut. Can be frozen for future use but texture is more crumbley after freezing. It does take a couple of tries to get the consistency right and how long to cook. Just like brownies they are better slightly under done then over done My dogs gather around the oven and gaurd it until the brownies are done. then the puddles of drool accumulate while brownies dry.
If you dog can't do oatmeal perhaps you could make these with an alternative starch such as potatoes or...?

Sounds like a great idea, only one question though??? Does it stink really bad when it is baking??

[blisscodisco]

If you are a rottie the smell is the best thing in the world. If you are human it takes about a day for the "lovely" smell to go away. I wouldn't recommend cooking these right before you have non dog company come over

[Maxxx]

Bliss: I saw that recipe in the latest Dogs in Canada and never thought to use potatoes as a sub for oatmeal. I should try that! I'd like to stay away from all grains if possible. I find he gets a bit loose the day after training because I'm giving him so many treats. I've been playing around with the amount of kibble he's given and the different types of treats and I've found he does a lot better with grainless. I also don't feed him his meal closest to training. The brownies, are they "stickier" or do they fall apart pretty easily?

[brutus'mother]

I have been making training treats using strips of chicken breast, calf liver, and venison. I have a dehydrator that works great but the liver does stink up the house. When done the meat is like jerky, easily torn into small pieces but doesn't fall apart on it's own.

[Maxxx]

Originally Posted by brutus'mother

I have been making training treats using strips of chicken breast, calf liver, and venison. I have a dehydrator that works great but the liver does stink up the house. When done the meat is like jerky, easily torn into small pieces but doesn't fall apart on it's own.

We bought a dehydrator a few months ago for that very reason. We tried chicken breast and it didn't turn out that great How thin do you cut the strips?

[brutus'mother]

The meat needs to be sliced approx 1/8" thick...pretty thin. I dehydrate for about 8-10 hours at a low setting, maybe around 140-145 degrees.

[blisscodisco]

more liver and eggs and less oat flour makes them sticker and easier to use for training. I used them as confirmation show treats and they worked well. plus I could put them in my mouth and not gag. I have never tried them with just liver and egg, but you could experiment. And I think you can by potato flour? in the natural foods stores...good luck.

[brunie's mom]

You could also used leftover cooked meats. If we have chicken or roast beef or steak leftover...I cut up into tiny pieces and put into a baggie and throw it in the freezer. I know some members also use cooked meatballs, cut up into tiny pieces for training. I usually only feed half a meal before a training class...leaves them hungry and the extra treats don't fill them up so fast.

Best training session I ever had was using left over prime rib of beef.

Gina

[moondog]

I make liver brownies similar to blisscodisco's, using wheat flour instead of oatmeal......but I'll try the oatmeal! Chili LOVES them. I find that the bake time is very sensitive - baked too long, they crumble apart, baked too little, they are too sticky....but when I get them baked just right they are wonderful even after freezing.

For grain free, you could try tapioca flour.....I might try that myself just for fun. Tapioca flour is cassava root, very easy on the digestive system, and not a grain. Might be worth a try. I'm thinking they may need to bake longer using tapioca flour....not sure. I'll give it a try and report back in!

I also make chicken jerky using chicken thighs. Very easy to slice thin if you freeze them first and then let them sit out and defrost just enough to be sliceable. I lay the slices out on a cookie sheet and back at 200-250 until they are thoroughly crispied.

These make good cat treats, too. Chili and Bamboo both are like vultures when I'm making liver brownies and Chili's Christmas Crunchies. Ever see a cat do competition heeling? LOL

[blisscodisco]

AWSOME idea on tapioca flour...never even thought of that but is a great alternative and actually the binding agent in some grain free food. Might take some experimenting for the right texture but I bet I could find some rottweilers that could force themselves to eat the "mistakes" .

[Maxxx]

Originally Posted by moondog

For grain free, you could try tapioca flour.....I might try that myself just for fun. Tapioca flour is cassava root, very easy on the digestive system, and not a grain. Might be worth a try. I'm thinking they may need to bake longer using tapioca flour....not sure. I'll give it a try and report back in!

Yes please! I'm not a good cook so if you find a good mixture and bake time, please let me know!

I also make chicken jerky using chicken thighs. Very easy to slice thin if you freeze them first and then let them sit out and defrost just enough to be sliceable. I lay the slices out on a cookie sheet and back at 200-250 until they are thoroughly crispied.

That's what we were doing wrong! We found it very hard to cut the chicken into thin strips because it was fresh. I'm going to freeze some chicken this weekend. It didn't even occur to me to freeze it!

Originally Posted by brutus'mother

The meat needs to be sliced approx 1/8" thick...pretty thin. I dehydrate for about 8-10 hours at a low setting, maybe around 140-145 degrees.

Wow that is pretty thin! That's definitely why our stab at it turned out badly. LOL I'll try that this weekend. Thanks!

Originally Posted by brunie's mom

Best training session I ever had was using left over prime rib of beef.

Can I come home with you?

We don't get a lot of leftovers with hubby around. He's more of a hoover than Max is. LOL I should just buy extra as a habit. I can definitely see the prime rib being hard to resist!

[fbkeays]

Originally Posted by Maxxx

We don't get a lot of leftovers with hubby around. He's more of a hoover than Max is. LOL I should just buy extra as a habit. I can definitely see the prime rib being hard to resist!

If you really want leftovers, hide the "leftovers" before you sit down to eat. Some people see food and have to eat it no matter how much they have already eaten. So if you buy extra, make sure the extra doesn't get on a plate!

[Maxxx]

Originally Posted by fbkeays

If you really want leftovers, hide the "leftovers" before you sit down to eat. Some people see food and have to eat it no matter how much they have already eaten. So if you buy extra, make sure the extra doesn't get on a plate!

That's a good idea Just need to keep hubby out of the fridge! All kidding aside, I'm sure if I said it was for Max, he won't eat it.

I cut up the chicken into strips and will start up the dehydrator tomorrow morning. I'll report back with the results. I didn't manage to cut up the strips into perfect 1/8 inch strips, so I hope they'll turn out. Next time, I'm going to either not freeze them all the way through, or let them defrost a bit before I cut. This is where the "not a good cook" comes into play