how to make dog treats with canned food
How to Make Canned Food into Treats for Your Dog
When a dog is placed on a prescription diet by a veterinarian, one question that often comes up is "What about treats?" For some conditions, it's so important that the dog receives no food other than the prescribed diet that treats from the store aren't an option.
Fortunately, we have a tip that might help.
Use the Canned Form of the Diet to Make Crispy Treats for Your Dog
Most prescription diets come in a canned as well as dry form, and most of them are of "loaf" consistency. This means that they're not dripping wet but rather that they come out of the can in a loaf or can be spooned out.
Making crispy treats from canned food might be a better option than treats from the store even for dogs that aren't on a strict diet.
These types of canned foods lend themselves well toward being made into crispy treats. Here's how:
- Shake the loaf out out of the can, and slice it into 8 pieces. Now cut those 8 pieces each into 4 or 8 equal pieces.
- Place the pieces of canned food onto a cookie sheet, and bake them at 350 degrees until they are crispy (20-30 minutes; you may wish to turn them over once halfway through the cooking time).
- Wetter food can be made into treats, also, but you will need to spoon it onto the cookie sheet, and the treats will probably take closer to 40 minutes to finish baking.
Check with your veterinarian if your dog is on a strict diet for a medical reason to see whether there is a canned version of the diet from which you may make crispy treats.
You May Also Like These Articles:
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Disclaimer: This website is not intended to replace professional consultation, diagnosis, or treatment by a licensed veterinarian. If you require any veterinary related advice, contact your veterinarian promptly. Information at DogHealth.com is exclusively of a general reference nature. Do not disregard veterinary advice or delay treatment as a result of accessing information at this site. Just Answer is an external service not affiliated with DogHealth.com.
How to Make Canned Dog Food into Treats
0 FlaresFilament.io0 FlaresUpdate: I wrote this when Quijote was on a restricted diet and having a treats he could eat was a game changer! We are now introducing his regular foods back into his diet and will see how he does.
Since we adopted Quijote, hes had stomach issues on and off that vets couldnt quite pinpoint the cause of.
After a recent bout, a different vet scanned his history with fresh eyes. She had a theory about acid reflux and pancreatitis and Im a little fuzzy on the details, but, for the first time, we had a plan.
Thats the good news.
The bad news is that said plan involves at least a few months of exclusively feeding him that expensive vet-prescribed food theres a kibble (which hes not that into) and canned food (which seems to mostly be for making the kibble more palatable).
And it means all of his treats are currently off the menu. Which is kind of a big deal for him, as well as us. Because, before this, I think our treat game was on point. We had treats for training, for nightly teeth cleaning (his favorites!), for hiding pills, for stuffing into a Kong to keep him distracted when we went out for coffee or over to my parents house for dinner you get the idea.
A week or two into what he must think of as The Great Treat Famine of 2019, I asked the vet for suggestions. She said theres a way you can actually bake the canned food to give it a more solid, treat-like texture!She was a little fuzzy on the details of how to do it, but I was like dont worry. This is definitely a thing the internet has the answer to.
It had several answers, actually. A lot of them recommended techniques I couldnt make sense of until I tried them out myself. I used tips from various recipes, especially one I found onDog Treat Kitchen plus some trial-and-error.
DIY Dog Food Treats
Method 1: Freeze
Before I get into how to bake treats, Ill share a shortcut I stumbled on in the process: freezing them.
How to:
You just dollop some treat-size bits of canned food onto parchment paper or into ice cube trays and put it in the freezer.
Thats it.
Notes:
- Quijote has his own designated ice cube tray.
- Best for at-home treats, since they dont travel particularly well. (They thaw almost immediately.)
- Not good for hiding pills.
- Takes slightlymore time to chew upthan the baked treats- which is usually a plus.
- I freeze some in strips that are approximately the size and shape of the dental treats he loves. He doesnt get as excited, but what we call his fake dental treats are still a couple steps above regular food (even though I havent added anything).
If youre looking for something more portable or less cold, read on.
Method 2: Bake
To summarize: yes, you can DIY dog treats from canned dog food.
- Put bits of wet food on a cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350F/180C for 15 minutes or until theyve reached your desired consistency.
What Recipes Say + What Works
Because making treats is kind of an off-label use for dog food, its not as easy to work with as cookie dough or something meant for baking. So there are all kinds of weird tips that go along with the recipes.
1. The Slide
Recipes recommend: Slide all thefood out of the can in one solid cylinder (like its cranberry sauce at my great grandmas house on Thanksgiving).
Things I did:
- Tried unsuccessfully to slide the food out of the top of the can.
- Used achurch key can opener on the bottom of the can, in case that helped. (It didnt.)
- Made a big mess.
What worked?
- Giving up on the sliding-out business!
- Using a butter knife to dig maybe a third (or so) of the food out of the can at once and then pack it together into kind of a rectangular patty before slicing it up.
2. The Slice
Recipes recommend: Slice your cylinder (or patty) of food up with the edge of the lid.
Things I did:
- Sliced with the edge of the lid.
- Sliced with a butter knife.
- Scooped out little dollops with a spoon like it was cookie dough.
What worked?
- Technically, they all work but not equally well.
- Slicing it into little squares with a butter knife wasthe quickest, cleanest, and easiest way I tried.
- I didnt find an advantage to using the lid.
- My first attempt was the little cookie dollops. The wet food doesnt hold together or shape very well, though, and I think I ended up with as much stuck to my hands as actually on the baking sheet.
3. The BakeRecipes recommend: Baking for 30 minutes.
Things I did:
- Used the toaster oven set to bake, instead of the full oven.
- Various baking times.
- Foil and parchment paper.
- 350F/180C
What worked?
- The toaster oven has worked great for the small batches of treats I make!
- I flip them halfway through with a fork or popsicle stick.
- 30 minutes seemed like an insanely long bake time for such small treats, but it turns out thats about right approximately 15 minutes on each side forsmall (finger tip size) squares.
- Bake time will depend on how large you make your treats and how crispy you want them to end up.
- Using parchment paper for lining the baking sheet. I found the treats would stick to foil, even after being baked.
Some tips:
- Crispy treats seem to last longer outside of the fridge. Softer treats are better to hide pills in.
- The canned food Ive been experimenting with isRoyal Canin GI Low Fat other types may give you different results. (If so, please comment and tell me about it!) This is in no way an ad/endorsement/recommendation for that brand. Honestly, the jury is still out on how well its working. Its just what Quijotes vet wants him eating while we try to narrow down the cause of his tummy troubles.
At the end of the day, you just have to figure out what works best for you and your pup.
Healthy Dog Treats You Can Make at Home
Homemade Treat Recipe
Yield: approx. two dozen treats
Using canned food:
- Open the can and shake the loaf of food out of the can.
- Cut the loaf into 1/4" thick slices, and then cut the slices into bite-sized pieces.
- Bake the treats in a microwave oven on high for approximately 2 to 3 minutes.
- Store baked treats in the refrigerator and discard leftovers after 5-7 days.
- Homemade treats should not exceed 10% of your pet's total daily intake because heat alters the nutritional characteristics of the food.
- Do not freeze homemade treats.
For a conventional oven, follow the instructions above and place the bite-sized pieces on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until crispy.
Using Dry Food:
- In a blender, add 2 cups of dry food and grind into a powder.
- Pour powder into a mixing bowl and gradually add about 1 to 1 cups of water, stirring until it forms a dough consistency.
- Shape into individual "treats" or "cookies" and flatten the dough using the back of a spoon (the cookies will not flatten like standard "people cookies" do.)
- Place treats on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until crispy.
- Store baked treats in the refrigerator and discard leftovers after 5-7 days.
- Homemade treats should not exceed 10% of your pet's total daily intake because heat alters the nutritional characteristics of the food.
- Do not freeze homemade treats.
Cookie cutters make treats fun to make and serve. Only Prescription Diet a/d Canine/Feline food, Prescription Diet n/d Canine and Prescription Diet s/d Canine foods cannot be made into homemade treats using the above recipe. However, you can use the following recipe for homemade treats for these foods:
- Roll the canned food into little balls and place in the freezer to serve later as a frozen treat. Since it is not possible to bake n/d Canine into treats, this is a great alternative. Also, this is refreshing to pets during the hot summer.
How to Bake Dog Treats From Canned Dog Food
We enjoy giving our dogs treats; it makes us feel good to see them happy. Finding the right treat can be difficult, however, especially if you choose not to feed treats made outside the United States or if your dog is on a restricted diet. Make your dog homemade treats from canned dog food to reduce your concerns about these issues. Making your own treats can be easy and cost-effective and, best of all, you know that the treats you give your dog are fresh and wholesome.
Loaf-Type Dog Food
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or 325 degrees if using a dark-colored cookie sheet.
Open the can at both ends. Remove one end of the can.
Push the loaf through the can using the opposite end. Use the lip of the can as a straight-edge to cut the loaf into slices. Cut the slices into quarters if smaller treats are desired.
Coat the cookie sheet with a thin layer of non-stick spray. Place treats on the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 30 minutes or until crisp.
Stew-Type Canned Food
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or 325 degrees if using a dark-colored cookie sheet.
Grind the oatmeal into a powdery flour. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
Add canned food, including the liquid, until a soft dough is formed. Break apart all large chunks of meat or vegetable.
Coat the cookie sheet with a thin layer of non-stick spray. Drop dough by the spoonful onto the cookie sheet about two inches apart. Alternatively, you can roll the dough into balls or roll the dough flat and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes.
Bake treats for about 20 minutes for chewy cookies. Shut off oven and leave treats inside till the oven cools if crisper treats are desired.
Use prescription dog food for dogs with special diets. Some special diet food cannot be baked. Roll these foods into small balls, place onto waxed paper and freeze these foods to make treats instead.
Dog food treats can also be baked in the microwave. Place the dog food slices on a microwave-safe plate and cook them on high for about 2 1/2 minutes or until crispy on the outside but chewy on the inside. Microwave wattages do vary, so you may want to do a test cookie before cooking the entire batch.
Substitute a cup of your dogs corn-free or grain-free kibble, ground to powder, for the corn meal if your dog has a corn allergy. Substitute canned tuna, sardine or salmon for stew-type dog food for a special treat.
Homemade treats will keep for approximately one week in the refrigerator. Place treats in plastic storage bags and freeze to keep them longer.
