Nova and Kerri have been eating a lot of treats lately- Kerri for agility and trick training and Nova because.... well not every post can be about Nova, feel free to read the rest of the blog for her story. I have been looking for a variety of high value treats that are small enough for a chihuahua. The problem with nearly all commercial treats is that besides being full of not so healthy stuff they are huge for chihuahuas. When you weigh 6 lbs every bit of food you eat counts! I pulled out the dehydrator and whipped these guys up in only a few hours. Just one warning though- even though these are healthy treats- everything should be done in moderation. I account for the treats my dogs eat by reducing the veggie portion of their dinner- and also by giving a variety of different treats. Too many of these and your dog might get a little stopped up in the poop department. They are made out of pumpkin after all.
First I took all my ingredients- 2 cans of pumpkin, a dash of tumerick and a few tablespoons of coconut oil- and I mixed them up in a bowl.
I spooned the mixture into a bag (you could use a pastry bag but I couldn't find mine so I used a sandwich bag) then piped it onto the dehydrator trays.
I dehydrated for about 2 and a half hours at 135 degrees. Then I broke them up into tiny pieces like this-
They ended up just like I hoped they would- semi soft and tiny. The dogs LOVED them- which is good because I was looking for a higher value treat. Here is Copley politely sitting for a treat and ever bolder Nova being totally impolite. It is something we are working on.
Have a great day everybody!
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Having bigger dogs we never thought it must be difficult to find small treats for small dogs. We think you have found a great solution there. They are sure loving them. Have a wonderful Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes Molly
A good size for Kerri would be a zukes mini (the little round ones) broken into 4 pieces! And once they have been open a while there are no training treats that stay easy to break apart! I've broken nails pulling treats apart!
DeleteI so need to get a dehydrator!
ReplyDeleteNola's Mom
You will never regret purchasing a dehydrator. I recommend once you get one you befriend someone with a grove of apricots.
DeleteWow--what a great idea! I can't believe they are so high value, but my dogs don't get pumpkin often and come to think of it, they do seem to enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteYah, I got my dehydrator when I lived in Santa Fe and there were scads of apricots in June ...:)
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