Sharing your Thanksgiving meal with your dog may sound like a good idea, but it's not. Some common holiday foods are toxic to canines. If you're looking for a way to include your pet in your holiday festivities, try these Thanksgiving dog treats.
Whether you feed homemade dog food or a commercial diet, most pet owners like to treat their dogs with a few table scraps every now and then. Meat is always a popular choice, but what about all the yummy sides and delicious desserts lining the Thanksgiving table?
Traditional Thanksgiving foods that are safe for dogs to eat include:
- turkey
- pumpkin
- sweet potato
- green beans
As you can see, these are single ingredients. While green beans are a healthy snack for dogs, green bean casserole is not. It includes ingredients that could make your dog sick, like onions. Plain sweet potatoes are great for dogs, but most people cook and prepare them with marshmallows, sugar, butter, and other ingredients that are not canine-friendly.
Limit your dog's human food intake on Thanksgiving (and every other day of the year), and be sure to remind your guests that you do not want Fido having any snacks from the table. You also need to be mindful of food on low tables, in the garbage can, and left out anywhere else that your dog may be able to get his paws on it.
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Thanksgiving Dog Treats with Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Recipe
MORE RECIPES HERE: Homemade Dog Food & Treats Recipes
Ingredients
Pumpkin Pie Dog Treats
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup plain oatmeal
- 1/4 cup apples sauce
- 3-4 tbsp. water
- 1 can of pureed pumpkin (NO pumpkin pie mix)
Sweet Potato Jerky
- 1 large sweet potato
- 1 tbsp. cinnamon
Directions
Pumpkin Pie Dog Treats
Most humans love pumpkin pie. It's a sweet treat that is perfect for dessert after your Thanksgiving meal. Unfortunately, this delicious snack is also filled with sugar and unhealthy calories that your dog does not need.
These pumpkin pie Thanksgiving dog treats are a safe and healthy alternative. To begin, preheat your oven to 375°.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, oatmeal, apple sauce, and water. As you'll see in my video guide, as you mix the ingredients together they'll turn into a soft dough.
On a floured surface, roll out the dough until it's about 1/4-inch thick. I use a small bowl that is about 4 inches in diameter to cut mini pie crusts out of the dough. You can use any similar item that you can find.
Continue cutting pie crusts out of the dough, re-rolling the excess, and cutting more pie crusts until you run out of dough. This recipe should yield 6-8 crusts depending on how thin you roll the dough.
Place each pie crust into a well-greased muffin tin. Press it down into the tin and mold it around the muffin cup. Bake the empty pie crusts in the 375° oven for 8 minutes. They won't be completely hardened, just cooked enough to keep them together.
Allow the crusts adequate time to cool and then you can fill them with the pureed pumpkin. Traditionally, pumpkin pie is topped with whipped cream. Although whipped cream isn't healthy for your dog, you can top your pumpkin pie Thanksgiving dog treats with plain yogurt to give them the same look while keeping them healthy for your pup.
Store these treats in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
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Sweet Potato Jerky
Now, you can set your oven to 200°. Slice the large sweet potato. Keep the slices thin, or they will take a very long time to dry out in the oven.
Spread the slices out on a well greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle a pinch of cinnamon over the slices before putting them in the oven.
Depending on how thick the slices are, you'll need to bake these treats for about 2-4 hours. If you slice them paper thin it may not take that long to dehydrate them, but if you slice them too thick it could take even longer than that. I try to keep my slices less than 1/4-inch thick.
You'll know when they are done cooking because they will shrivel, and you'll be able to tell that they have been successfully dehydrated. Once they've cooled you can serve them immediately. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
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