You are careful about what you feed your dog but when you are pressed for time, it is so easy to reach for commercial dog treats. Here are my dogs’ favourite whole food treats.

1. Carrot

Simply slice a raw carrot. My dogs will do back flips for carrot. The other advantages are that carrot doesn’t make a mess in your pocket or treat bag, can easily be seen on the ground if dropped or you’re doing “throw outs” and it won’t smell if you forgot about it at the end of the walk or training session.

2. Left overs

Leftover meat off-cuts and table scraps chopped into small chunks make tasty and novel treats. Ensure you remove any salty gravy and cooked bones and avoid too much fat if your dog doesn’t need it.

3. Dinner

There is no rule that says dogs need to be fed from their bowls. Take a handful of their dinner as treats. If you feed raw, I chop chicken necks, meat and offal into small chunks as treats. It is a little messy in your pocket, but it makes a great “jackpot” for an outstanding training session or good for working with food off your body.

4. Homemade treats

I know there are heaps of “recipes” for combining ingredients for treats but by the time I realise I have no treats, I don’t feel like “cooking”.

This is my “go to” easy recipe for homemade treats – Finely slice a lamb’s fry and put it in the oven on low until it is cooked to the level of chewiness or dryness you want. Let it cool, chop into treat size pieces, divide into bags and freeze.

A dehydrator is also a great way to make all manner of tasty treats. I use chicken giblets, lamb’s fry, chicken, beef and lamb meat (to make a jerky type treat). Again, I chop, pack and freeze.

With both options, you can just grab a bag of frozen treats and go. Because they are chopped small, they defrost quickly, ready for use.

I would love to hear about what the treats your dogs love. Leave me a comment to share your “recipe” for whole food dog treats.

Until next time, enjoy your dogs.