Homemade Dog Treats: Which Ingredients Are Safe and Which Aren't

Dog treats only take a few ingredients. What matters is that every one of them is safe for dogs and that the treats fit into the daily ration. The recipe below needs no flour: quick oats hold the dough together.

The basic recipe: oat and banana cookies

For about 40 small cookies:

• 150 g quick oats
• 100 g ripe banana, peeled
• 50 g egg (medium), without shell
• 40 g low-fat quark

1. Preheat the oven to 160 °C with top and bottom heat (conventional, not convection) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mash the banana with a fork, then stir in the egg and quark.
3. Mix in the oats and let the dough sit for 10 minutes to soak.
4. Using two teaspoons, drop 40 small mounds onto the sheet and press them flat.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cookies are firm. Then let them cool in the switched-off oven with the door slightly open, so they dry out more.

According to the German Nutrient Database (BLS), the whole batch of dough has about 695 kcal, so one cookie has about 17 kcal. The egg is fully cooked after baking. Raw egg white shouldn't go in the bowl (food guide: eggs).

Variations

• Instead of banana, 100 g of cooked Hokkaido (red kuri) squash without the skin (pumpkin).
• Add one finely grated carrot (carrots).
• One grated apple without the core instead of banana (apples).

This changes the calories per cookie slightly.

How many cookies a day?

The WSAVA recommends keeping all treats together under 10% of daily calories. Based on the daily energy needs of a normally active dog, calculated the same way the Kahuno app does, at 17 kcal per cookie that comes to at most:

That limit covers all of the day's treats together, not just the cookies.

These ingredients are safe

• Oats, banana and fully baked egg
• Low-fat quark or cottage cheese in small amounts, since not every dog tolerates lactose
• Pumpkin, carrot and apple without the core
• Peanut butter, but only without salt, sugar and xylitol

These ingredients don't belong in dog treats

• Xylitol and other sugar substitutes. According to the ASPCA, xylitol is found in gum, candy and baked goods and can cause low blood sugar and liver damage. So read the ingredient list even on “sugar-free” peanut butter.
• Chocolate and cocoa. The chocolate calculator shows how much is dangerous.
• Raisins and grapes. According to the ASPCA, they can damage the kidneys.
• Macadamia nuts and walnuts. Almonds only one at a time at most, and only sweet ones, never bitter.
• Onion, garlic and chives. According to the ASPCA, they damage red blood cells.
• Salt and sugar. Too much salt makes dogs thirsty and, according to the ASPCA, can even lead to salt poisoning.
• Buckwheat flour. A study from LMU Munich found liver disease far more often in dogs with buckwheat in their food and advises against it (more on the study).
• A lot of cinnamon. A pinch at most, ideally Ceylon cinnamon: according to the BfR, cassia cinnamon contains on average about 3 g of coumarin per kg, which can damage the liver.

And while you bake: don't let your dog snack on raw yeast dough. According to the ASPCA, it keeps rising in the digestive tract. The recipe above doesn't need yeast.

Storage

Store well-dried cookies in an airtight container. If they smell musty or show spots of mold, they belong in the trash, not in the bowl.