Dog’s aren’t picky, even Savvy Hounds will eat anything. If you really want to be grossed out, leave your dog alone with a litter box for more than 30 seconds. Ick!

With so many cookies and treats on the market, choosing a good one can be confusing. How do you find the perfect yummy treat for your hound? What makes a healthy treat? Are there alternatives?

Healthy Treats

Not all treats are created equal or are healthy for your dog. Avoid treats with artificial flavors, fillers, sugar, coloring or unnecessary additives. Treats should list meat as the first ingredient and should contain little or no wheat or grains, which are fillers and a common cause of allergies in dogs.

Treats as Supplements

You can also use treats as a supplement for the vitamins and essential minerals that may be missing from your dog food. Glucosamine, Flax Seed, and Omega-3s are common ingredients in healthy dog treats. Some treats also include fruits and/or vegetables as flavoring ingredients or as coloring agents and this is a much healthier choice than artificial flavors or colors.

DIY Treats

Want to make your own treats? Enjoy the recipe listed at the end of this article or you can buy one of the many Recipe books available. Don’t have time or don’t enjoy baking? If you have a Dehydrator, you can create your own chicken, fish, or beef jerky treats for your dogs without the extra salt and additives often found in jerky products.

Veggie Hounds

Vegetables are also a great choice as treats if your dogs will eat them. Some owners feed carrots, apples, bananas, etc as treats. You should avoid cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, etc) as it is harder to digest and cause the dreaded gas!

Treats can make up about 10% of your dog’s diet. If your hound is overweight, stick with 5% or choose healthy veggies as treats.

Share your recipes!

Do you have recipes that you love making for your hounds? Or how about a favorite item that you give as treats? Share them in the comments below!

Salmon Treat Recipe

• 1 8 oz. can salmon with juice
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 3 eggs, shells included
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds ground up in coffee grinder
• 1/2 cup flax seeds ground up in coffee grinder

Put these ingredients into a food processer, mix VERY WELL. Pour potato flour through the opening while the motor is running. I can’t tell you exactly how much, but I would guess about 2-3 cups. When the dough forms, like a pie curst, and rolls into a ball it is ready to take out.

Dump this mess onto potato floured counter or board. Knead more flour into this and when it is a rolled out cookie consistancy, it is ready to roll out into about 14 inch thick. I use a pizza cutter to roll our long strips and then cut crosswise to make samll squares . If you want FANCY you may use a cookie cutter. Bake on cookie sheets, sprayed Pam or line the sheet with parchemnt paper. I put in as many as will fit. Usually two whole cookie sheets suffices. I bake this in a 375º oven for 20 min. Turn and rotate the cookie sheets and bake about 10 more minutes. You can make them as soft or as hard as you want.