Want to learn how to make dog treats your pet is guaranteed to love? Learn more about ingredients, budgeting and storage from the team at Bubble Pawz®.

At Bubble Pawz®, our clients often ask us for advice or tips on how to make dog treats at home. Making your own treats is a great way to pamper your furry friend without worrying about their health or safety. But how do you make dog treats, and what should you know before you begin?

Here are some of our top tips guaranteed to help you on your dog treat journey!

1. Select Quality Ingredients

A great thing about making your own dog treats is that you know exactly what’s going into them. Dog owners might think that as treats aren’t a big part of their pets' diets, their quality isn’t really that important. In fact, poorer-quality treats often contain toxins, chemicals and artificial ingredients which, over time, can cause serious health issues for your dog.

When making dog treats, it’s important you choose the best-quality ingredients you can afford. Organic, natural ingredients, or hormone and antibiotic-free proteins, are a great place to start. Try your local health food shop, butcher or farmer’s market for ideas. 

2. Identify Your Dog’s Favourite Tastes

Did you know dogs also have taste preferences? Some prefer meat-based treats, while others have more of a sweet tooth. The chance is you’ll already have an idea of what your dog enjoys. If not, don’t worry! Trial and error is part of the process of making dog treats, so you’ll need to be prepared for your dog not to enjoy something you make… or to love something completely unexpected!

Once you know what your dog likes, incorporate their favourite flavours into your treats. Try searching online for recipes using the ingredients you want, or see if you can substitute them in. 

3. Stick To A Budget

While you might think making dog treats is an expensive exercise, you will probably even end up saving money in the long run if you make dog treats yourself. A great way to save money on treats is buying in-season ingredients. You could even substitute a dog-friendly fruit or vegetable if your recipe calls for something out of season! Some great options include mango, sweet potato, apples, cucumbers, peaches, broccoli, and pineapple. Some fruits and vegetables can be toxic or harmful to dogs, so if you’re unsure, we encourage you to first check with your vet. 

4. Store Your Treats Well

Let’s be honest, it’s much easier to pull a bag of ready-made dog treats off the supermarket shelf than to make your own, but the benefits of homemade treats far outweigh the drawbacks! One limitation of homemade treats is that they don’t include preservatives, and so will only last a couple of weeks when stored in an airtight container in your fridge.

To ensure you always have your dog’s favourite homemade snacks on hand, we suggest you prepare two batches of treats and only cook ¼ of them. Place the uncooked treats on a lined baking sheet and freeze them. You can then store them for months in an airtight container in your freezer, and just pull them out when it’s time to cook a new batch.

Now you know how to make dog treats at home, why not get started today? At Bubble Pawz®, we also stock a fantastic range of organic and pet-safe dog grooming and pampering supplies and accessories that are guaranteed to give your dog that little taste of luxury! Explore our range now.