General notes that will be added to as we go.
HOW TO STORE – With home baked dog treats, generally speaking the more moist the treat is, the more perishable it is. So if your cookie is on the dry side it is going to have a longer room temperature shelf life (extend even longer by ‘hard baking’ – see below), and some can be stored without refrigeration for weeks in sealed containers or packages. Otherwise a general rule is 2-4 days at room temperature, 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator, or freeze.
HARD BAKING – An easy method is to turn the oven off when cookies are done, and leave them in the oven while it cools. Air fryers on the dehydration setting also works great. Even leaving cookies out on a rack in a dry environment for hours will suck out some of the moisture.
GLUTEN-FREE FLOURS – There’s no reason to feed a dog gluten when there are oats! Oat flour appears in most of our recipes as it’s the easiest and tastiest option, but buckwheat flour is lovely too and chickpea flour is also a great alternative (check the label to make sure it’s pure chickpea and not a chickpea + fava bean mix as dogs can’t eat fava.) Oats are extra great because you don’t even need to buy oat flour – make your own by grinding whole oats in a blender or small grinder.
SEEDS – There are so many health benefits with seeds and they are a key part of many of our recipes. But importantly, with the exception of hemp seeds, all seeds like flax and chia should be ground before adding to any recipe as whole seeds aren’t digested fully and can cause irritation in the intestines. Either purchase ground (often called ‘milled’) or grind at home in a blender, food processor or small grinder. For doing small amounts at a time we use an inexpensive small “grinder with a removable bowl” which is so easy to clean. Flax seeds can also be used as an egg replacement – mix 1 TBSP ground flaxseed + 2 TBSP water and let sit for 5 minutes.
SPICES – We use ginger (fresh or powder) and Ceylon cinnamon (also called “true” cinnamon) in some recipes as an optional ingredient because they are the safest and most heavenly scented spices for dog treats. We only use Ceylon cinnamon because it has far less of the chemical compound ‘coumarin’ contained in the more common Cassis cinnamon, which can be toxic to dogs.
TREAT TOYS & SILICONE MOLDS – Our all time favourite treat stuffing toy, West Paw TUX, has made making treats long-lasting while doubling as oral support a perfect system. It’s top level non-toxic and is amazingly durable. In our experience, using with a heavy chewer and almost daily use, each toy has lasted on average 3 years. It’s US made and we’re in Canada so it’s not practical to mail it back to Montana, but they have that recycling program. Mini silicone baking and freezing trays with cavities approx 1 3/4″ across widest part generally make treats that insert well and stay in (filling the mold cavities level). We’ve favoured Wilton molds because of the materials and durability, especially the 1 3/4″ hearts which make the absolute perfect shape for inserting in the toy.