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Healthy Homemade Dog Treats

By - Updated

Table of Contents Recipe

This is a recipe for healthier low-calorie dog treats with peanut butter and pumpkin. Fido will fall in love. Easy to follow step-by-step photo instructions.

Pile of homemade dog treats

Table of Contents

Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

Introduction

Time to get Fido something special and healthier than most other dog treats.

Our golden Jake has had issues. The last two years have not been kind to Jake (2010-2012 DOD 2013). First, he was hit with a hereditary eye disease that leads to complete blindness in spite of two major eye surgeries. A blown ACL with major surgery for that ( special thanks to the MSU vet school) and now a partial ACL on the other knee.

So with the lack of exercise and people feeling sorry for him (us), he has gained an extra 25 pounds. I guess we are lucky he does not have diabetes.

So now we count doggie calories. His big Milkbones were 120 calories each. These are 30 calories, and he loves them.

I took an Allrecipes recipe for Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Dog Treats. I increased the pumpkin and got rid of whole eggs for egg whites just to decrease the calories.

I decrease the cooking time slightly to keep them softer for his senior teeth.

The original recipe called for 40 minutes since it is a dry dough, I'm very happy I started in the stand mixer. It earned it keeps on this recipe.

My Rating

My rating system. Great 5 out of 5

Jake's Rating: 5 Paws way up

Why is it Healthy?

Lower calories and lower fat. Both good things.

There seems to be as much BS about dog diets as human diets. If your dog is gluten intolerant, but they are not gluten allergic just because they are a dog.

I closed this post to comments. People keep posting unproven personal opinion as facts. This is "bad," but this is "good"... things should always be so black and white.

You can not believe everything you read on the internet and even in the comments here. If you have concerns about your individual pet's nutrition, then please discuss it with your vet.

For more information about how I feel about trendy health information please see Annual New Year’s Rant.

A Health Warning About Low-Calorie Peanut Butter

While this recipe is about creating lower caloric dog treats, DO NOT USE LOWER CALORIC PEANUT BUTTER. Lower calorie peanut butter that is made with xylitol. Xylitol is quite toxic for dogs, and can be deadly to them.

Storage

Just like other homemade baked products. These do not have the preservatives you will find in store bought treats.

They can be at room temperature for a few days. Refrigerated for about 5 days or frozen for 3-4 months.

Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

🖼️Step-by-Step Instructions

image of eggs, flour, punpkin and other ingredients

Preheat oven to 350 convection or 375° conventional.

mixing pumpkin and egg whites in metal bowl

Add ½ of a 14 oz can of pumpkin to 4 egg white, ¼ cup water, 3 tablespoons peanut butter, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Turn on the mixer and combine until well mixed. I used the dough hook, and it took a couple of minutes. Now slowly add 3 cups of whole wheat flour with the mixer on 2. You will need to add a little more water to get all the flour incorporated. For me, it was another ¼ cup. Again this is a very dry dough.

image of cutting the rolled up dough on a black board

Place the dough on a cutting surface, cut into four equal pieces. Roll into logs of 1-inch diameter. Cut into ½ inch pieces. I got 61 bones.

image of cut dough on parchment paper

Prep 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper and distribute the biscuits evenly. Bake for 30 minutes for semi-hard.

dog treats on cooking rack
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📖Full Recipe

Pile of homemade dog treats

Healthy Homemade Dog Treats

From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
This is a recipe for a healthier low-calorie dog treats with peanut butter and pumpkin. Fido will fall in love. Easy to follow step by step photo instructions.
Tap to leave a Rating
4.5 from 93 votes
Print Collection
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings #/Adjust if desired 60

Ingredients

US Customary - Convert to Metric
  • 7 oz can pumpkin
  • 3 Tablespoons peanut butter
  • 4 egg whites - or 2 whole eggs
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ to ½ cup water
  • 3 cups whole wheat flour

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350° convection.
  • Add ½ of a 14 oz can of pumpkin to 4 egg white, ¼ cup water, 3 tablespoons peanut butter, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Turn on the mixer and combine until well mixed.
  • Now slowly add 3 cups of whole wheat flour with the mixer on 2. You will need to add a little more water to get all the flour incorporated. For me, it was another ¼ cup. This is a very dry dough.
  • Place the dough on a cutting surface, cut into four equal pieces. Roll into logs of 1-inch diameter. Cut into ½ inch pieces. I got 61 bones.
  • Prep 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper and distribute the biscuits evenly. Bake for 30 minutes for semi-hard.

Recipe Notes

Recipe Tips:

  1. This dough is dry, and a stand mixer helps a lot. You can do it by hand.
  2. If the dough is too dry, add a bit of water, if sticky then more flour.
  3. 40 minutes is recommended but if you want softer then 30  minutes.
  4. These do not have the preservatives you will find in store-bought treats. They can be at room temperature for a few days. Refrigerated for about 5 days or frozen for 3-4 months.
  5. DO NOT USE LOWER CALORIC PEANUT BUTTER. Lower calorie peanut butter that is made with xylitol. Xylitol is quite toxic for dogs, and can be deadly to them.
  6. I had stopped comments before on this post due to dietary comments that were non-scientifically based. I will try comments again. Please do not give or imply non-scientific health/dietary advice even for dogs. Dogs are people too.

To adjust the recipe size:

You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

Nutrition

Calories : 26 kcalCarbohydrates : 5 gProtein : 1 gFat : 0.5 gSaturated Fat : 0.1 gPolyunsaturated Fat : 0.1 gMonounsaturated Fat : 0.2 gSodium : 23 mgPotassium : 42 mgFiber : 1 gSugar : 0.1 gVitamin A : 250 IUVitamin C : 0.4 mgCalcium : 2 mgIron : 0.2 mg
Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
Course :American
Cuisine :American

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Originally Published May 6, 2012. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.

Jake in flowers
Jake setting in flowers
Jake with a ball
Jake with his love, a ball.
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nancy Pendleton

    Thanks so much for sharing!! I used to make treats but then my dog got pancreatitis and the ones I made won't work... These will! I will add parsley for breath and I use oats ground in a blender instead of flour. My beagle will be so happy! I hope you have found a new animal to join your family...

  2. Joan Dredge

    I am so very sorry to read about you loss. It is devastating to lose such best friend. I'm sure he knew your love by the care you have given him over the years.
    Today I shall make these cookies for our near pudgy mini Aussies in honor of your Jake.

    • DrDan

      Thanks for the note. Jake loved these treats. The new puppies are not ready for these yet. I need to find a "puppy treat" recipe.
      DrDan

  3. Serena Freese

    Do they go bad after a certain amount of time?

    • Dan Mikesell

      Absolutely they will. Just like other baked products. They are not loaded with the chemicals of commercial dog treats that are ok for years. I would suggest refrigerate what you can't use in 3-4 days. And they should freeze well.

  4. Barbara Hellebrand

    I use a gluten-free flour....although my vet said that for years dogs have been eating wheat products.

  5. Dr Dan

    I think the rice or soy flour should either be ok but I have never used rice but I'm sure the soy should be ok.

    • Noni

      5 stars
      soy is denitely not good for dogs. However, brown rice flour, oat floor, pretty much any gluten free flour, works fine in this recipe.

  6. GeeBee

    I have also seen white flour used in some specialty dog snacks instead of wheat flour.

  7. GeeBee

    I have also seen White rice flour used in some specialty snacks. Is that a good alternative?

  8. Dr Dan

    I think you're in a highly questionable area with this comment that many would disagree with.

    The discussions I find are just statements and not referenced. In other words, personal opinion and not fact. My physician training says that if it is not referenced to a peer reviewed journal it is likely BS.

    Readers can do what they want. My dog likes them and appears have no adverse effects.

    This is the end of this discussion on this blog.

  9. Dr Dan

    This comment has been removed by the author.

  10. Christine

    Those are pretty big for low calorie. I'm glad Jake likes them!

    • patti

      Thank you for this recipe! My dog of 14 years who we saved from being put down has or had many health issues, shes blind, hardly has any teeth left as well as arthritis. I was happy to see your recipe for your dog with similar concerns. Keep creating so we can keep baking! I also add spinach for bowels since she is inactive along with water mixed with these treats since she doesnt drink much water. Watermelon is good for this. All Vet approved. Happy baking!

    • DrDan

      Glad it's working for you. There is a soft Milk Bone treat you might want to try also. We lost Jake this week to cancer so no dog treats for a while

      Dan

    • Estelle

      The dough was VERY STICKY ! What did I do wrong???

    • DrDan

      A little less water or a little more flour to get where you want it.
      DrDan