Baking Dog Cookies: Why Buy When DIY Cookies Are So Much Better?

Baking dog cookies is not only about loving craftsmanship, but also about healthy nutrition for your four-legged friend. Dog cookies are considered treats that you can use to please your dog or reward positive behavior during training. In this guide, you’ll learn how to make dog cookies yourself.

Ingredients For The Dog Cookies Recipe: These Are The Best

If you want to bake dog cookies, you need some dog-friendly ingredients. Every responsible dog owner knows that you can’t just mix together the same raw materials as you would for pastries for human foodies. Unfortunately, our four-legged friends do not react with pleasure to many of these common ingredients; they can get sick or even die from them.

In the frequently asked questions further down in this guide, you will find a list of typical no-go ingredients that you should never add to dog cookies. But which ones can go in the baking bowl instead? We tell you what you can put on your shopping list without hesitation.

Flour For Baking Dog Cookies

Without flour, you don’t even need to start baking. It’s no different with dog cookies. You’ll find an amazingly large selection of flour in the supermarket. Fortunately, most dogs can handle almost any type of flour. We also tell you more about the choice of flour in our frequently asked questions about baking dog cookies.

Water, Milk And Yogurt

As we all know, you can’t make a smooth dough without liquid. The ideal choice for the liquid ingredient in dog cookies is water. The golden rule applies: if the dough is too hard, simply knead in a little more water. Milk and plain yogurt are also possible alternatives, as long as your dog can tolerate them.

Dog Cookies And Eggs

Dogs love eggs, but they are risky when raw due to possible salmonella. To give your friend this treat, you have the option of baking them in your dog cookies. Eggs not only provide protein and nutrients, but they also provide stability to the finished cookies.

Canola Oil For Making Dog Cookies Yourself

Oil tastes good to dogs and is also tolerated by them. In the cookie dough, it provides smoothness. As a fat, it is also a flavor carrier. However, oils should only be dosed sparingly for dogs. A single tablespoon of olive oil, for example, has almost 100 calories. Excessive amounts of oil are therefore quickly noticeable on the scales.

However, you should keep your hands off heat-sensitive types of oil such as olive oil. They are not suitable for dog cookies because they are baked at high temperatures. A good choice is heat-resistant canola oil. It contains many valuable omega-3 fatty acids and is anti-inflammatory.

Oatmeal To Bake Your Own Dog Cookies

Oatmeal is inexpensive, rich in nutrients as well as fiber, and gives cookies more bite and flavor. You have a choice between grainy and tender flakes. The only difference in the two varieties is that the tender ones are crushed before rolling and actually come out of the package finer. However, they do not differ in taste or nutritional content.

Retailers offer gluten-free rolled oats. These oats grow in fields where no gluten-containing grain was previously allowed. In addition, machines are used in harvesting and processing that are guaranteed not to be contaminated with gluten. Normal flakes may therefore contain gluten, although oats are naturally gluten-free.

Make Your Own Dog Cookies With Vegetables

Vegetables are the most important source of many nutrients and vitamins, and this is true for dogs as well. In fact, dogs are extremely fond of many types of vegetables. A good choice for your dog cookies are potatoes and carrots. The pelt noses tolerate these varieties well, plus they are suitable for a cookie recipe.

Baking Dog Cookies With Fruit Varieties

Did you know that dogs like to eat many types of fruit and tolerate them excellently? These include very ripe bananas, pears and apples. Instead of mixing them in small pieces, we advise you to use mush or puree. A ripe banana can be mashed with a fork. Pears and apples should be boiled in water and mashed with a blender.

Dog Cookies With Liverwurst, Tuna Or Meat

Your dog would probably choose liverwurst for flavoring if he could talk. The sausage mixture bakes well and increases the protein content of the treats. Pay attention to the ingredients in the sausage, though. Tuna and meat chunks (heavily chopped and without spices or salt) are similarly popular.

Insects As An Unusual Ingredient When Making Dog Cookies Yourself

It’s good for the climate if you reach for insects instead of meat. They also provide a lot of protein, while the breeding is characterized by good balances in water consumption and CO2 emissions. There is also the advantage of not using antibiotics in production. Dogs prone to allergies often tolerate insects well.

Mealworms are a good choice because you can process them whole and don’t have to remove the legs and wings like you do with grasshoppers. You can even breed mealworms at home.

Baking Mats For Dog Cookies And More Recommended Accessories

If you have purchased high-quality ingredients, you still need accessories for making dog cookies yourself. The following items are helpful:

• Kitchen scale
• Mixing bowl
• Measuring jug
• Hand mixer
• Rolling pin
• Whisk
• Blender
• Dough scraper
• Baking paper
• Cookie cutters

For dog cookies, cookie cutters are more of a hardship solution. While they will shape the dough into a nice cookie shape, most cookie cutters are too large for a classic dog cookie. After all, you don’t want to fatten up your dog with excessive calories.

As an alternative, there are baking mats for dog cookies. Not only do they make the treats the right size and shape, but they also allow you to quickly mass produce the dog cookies. If you want to buy baking mats for dog cookies, it is best to look for a product made of silicone. This soft material is excellent for baking. It keeps its shape, does not release any harmful substances to the cookies and the cookies can be easily removed from the mold after baking.

Dog Cookies Recipe: 3 Instructions For Making Dog Cookies Yourself

You have now received numerous tips on how to bake dog cookies. With the above ingredients and accessory items, you can come up with your own dog cookies recipe. Of course, we have three more instructions here for you to follow. Then all you really need is a food dummy.

Bake Dog Cookies With Applesauce

• 150 g wheat flour
• 50 g oat flakes
• 125 g applesauce (sugar-free)
• 1 tsp canola oil
• 1 egg
• Water as needed
• Cookie cutters

Mix oatmeal and flour. Add applesauce, canola oil and egg. Mix coarsely with a fork. Then knead with a mixer. If the dough is too firm, add water. Roll out with a rolling pin, cut out dog cookies and bake.

Baking temperature: 160 degreesBaking time
: 30 to 35 minutes

Bake your own dog cookies with tuna fish

• 1 can of tuna in its own juice
• 2 small eggs
• Flour as needed
• 1 carrot
• Baking mats for dog biscuits

Drain tuna and mash in a mixing bowl. Crack eggs and stir in. Add flour and mix everything together with a whisk. The mixture should be thick and free of lumps. Pour mixture into baking mats for dog cookies and spread with dough scraper. Peel and chop carrot into small pieces. Add pieces individually to each cookie in baking mat. Size must be individual to the shapes. The carrot should be less than a quarter of the volume.

Baking temperature: 200 degreesBaking time
: 18 minutes

Baking Dog Cookies With Mealworms

• 150 g spelt or rice flour
• 50 g gluten-free, tender oat flakes
• 1 handful of mealworms
• 1 small organic apple without seeds
• Water as needed
• Cookie cutters or baking mats for dog biscuits

This is a well-tolerated dog cookie recipe. Mix spelt flour with rolled oats. Chop mealworms and mix with flour mixture. Mash apple with peel and mix well. Let dough sit for half an hour, then mix again. If the mixture is too dry, add water. Overall, cookie dough should be firm rather than runny. Roll out and cut out or put into baking mats for dog cookies.

Baking temperature: 200 degreesBaking time
: 15 minutes

Bake Dog Cookies: Frequently Asked Questions

Which Flour For Dog Cookies?

When baking dog cookies, you can use flours that are also used for human cookies. These include wheat, oat and rye flour. Flours made from rice, corn, millet or spelt are also suitable.

Is Wheat Flour Harmful To Dogs?

More and more people are eliminating wheat flour from their diet and are also paying attention to it in their dogs. The reasons are that wheat is sometimes contaminated with pesticides, makes you fat and its gluten proteins are not always compatible. In sensitive people and animals, the grain even triggers allergies. Some dogs also suffer from gluten intolerance.

Make Dog Cookies Yourself: Is Spelt Flour Good For Dogs?

Spelt flour is generally considered digestible – even for dogs. It has valuable nutrients and is hardly contaminated with pesticides or other undesirable ingredients. Anyone who wants to bake dog cookies can use spelt flour.

Which Flours Are Grain-free And Suitable For Dogs?

You want to bake grain-free dog cookies yourself? The recommended flours of rice, corn, millet and spelt are all cereals. Flours made from potatoes, chickpeas or buckwheat are grain-free. Dogs are allowed to eat these.

Why Shouldn’t Dogs Eat Grains?

It is a myth that dogs should not eat grain. Many pups tolerate it well and most grains provide nutrients as well as energy. However, there are some sensitive dogs that actually can’t tolerate grains or are even allergic to them. However, a rule for all dogs cannot be derived from this.

Baking Dog Cookies: What Is The Shelf Life Of Homemade Cookies?

A dog cookie recipe will yield enough treats for days or weeks. Now it comes down to storage, because that’s what determines shelf life. Stored well, the cookies will stay fresh for two to three months. Depending on the ingredient list, the storage time can be extended to up to a year in the freezer. To do this, it is best to freeze the dough and bake the cookies fresh.

How Do I Store Homemade Cookies For Dogs?

If the dog cookies still contain a lot of residual moisture, it is recommended to store them in the refrigerator. The shelf life is limited to a few days. However, you can also freeze them in portions. If the dog cookies are dry after baking, you can store them in tin cans or cotton bags.

How Long Do Dog Cookies Need To Dry?

Drying cookies in the oven should remove any residual moisture. Dry them in the oven at 100°C with the oven door slightly open (wedge a wooden spoon between the door for this purpose). Drying takes two to six hours. If you used baking mats for the dog cookies, you should remove them first.

Bake Your Own Dog Cookies: Are Dog Cookies Healthy?

It depends: Purchased cookies for dogs are rarely healthy. But if you make them yourself, you have full control over the quality. Pay attention to the ingredients and you will be feeding healthy treats to your pet. So it’s worth it to make your own dog cookies.

What Ingredient Does Not Belong In Dog Cookies When Baking?

Many foods have a toxic effect on dogs or make them sick. These ingredients should definitely not be in your dog cookie recipe: chocolate, cocoa powder, sugar, all other sugar substitutes, hot spices, baking powder, coffee, heat-sensitive oils, raisins or grapes, avocado, onion, garlic, eggplant, tomatoes, raw potatoes, raw legumes, industrial additives, alcohol.