It’s no secret that every dog loves hearing, “Want a treat?”(Don’t we all, really?)But sometimes, finding healthy treats dogs love is about as easy as finding healthy treats for us humans, so making our own is always a great idea.
Making treats for your dog allows you to control what they’re eating and leave out all that processed, synthetic stuff that so many store-bought treats will include.
Plus, when you’re making treats for dogs, you can really focus on feeding them ingredients that are actually GOOD for them, and include ingredients that will help their taste buds enjoy the deliciousness as much as their guts enjoy the good health.
So, in honor of the LOVE we have for our best furry friends, we’ve got a couple of DIY treat recipes for dogs we think you’ll both enjoy (you making them, your dog eating them. We don’t recommend eating your dog’s treats)!
Are treats bad for dogs?
Shhhh…don’t let your dog hear you ask that. It’ll likely break his heart to hear you even think about it, because he doesn’t know that you’re only asking because you love him so much. The truth is, though, that too much of a ‘good thing’ can be a bad thing, and you want to be sure you’re not giving your dog too many treats (and too many calories in the process).Experts recommend that treats or snacks should only make up about 10% of your dog’s daily calories, so when making your own DIY Valentine’s treats for dogs, you’ll want to be sure you’re using quality ingredients that aren’t full of filler. Treats are a wonderful way to bond with and show your dog love; let’s just make sure we don’t over do it!
Easy DIY Valentine treats for dogs recipes
Let’s be honest–we love giving our furry friends the best treats for dogs but we don’t always have a lot of time. So, we wanted to share some fast and easy recipes you and your furry Valentine could share and love.
Pup heart pops
The first recipe is a four-legged fan favorite (say that three times fast!)
Made with sweet potatoes, turmeric, yogurt and Bernie’s Perfect Poop (of course!), these sweet frozen treats are a hit. Bake 3-5 large sweet potatoes (about a pound’s worth) at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. They should be soft/mushy when they’re ready. Peel the skin and fork out the fleshy part into a large bowl and then mash until it’s good and mushy.
Then add in about a pint (give or take) of unflavored yogurt. You don’t want to add any sugars or unnatural flavorings. Mix that together with 2 teaspoons of turmeric (known to have anti-fungal, antiviral, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties) and 2 tablespoons of Bernie’s Perfect Poop.
Once that’s all mushed and mashed, pour into ice molds (obviously we recommend heart-shaped for this recipe, but dogs love regular old cubes too!) and freeze for 8-10 hours. We recommend you put a stick or toothpick in as they’re freezing to make them easy to pop out, but ALWAYS take the stick or toothpick out before you give your dog the treat!
Once they’re frozen, they’re done and you can give your dog a couple in his bowl (or keep the popsicle stick and let him lick from you as a pup-treat).The best thing about these treats is they’re SUPER easy to make and the ingredients are SUPER foods, literally. The sweet potato is full of natural pre- and probiotics that help your dog’s gut health thrive, and so, obviously, does Bernie’s Perfect Poop!
Plus, including Perfect Poop adds fiber in every treat, and that helps him move all his food through his system efficiently so everything he eats can be digested to get maximum nutrient absorption.
Dairy-free treat cups
Some dogs have sensitive tummies and dairy doesn’t always sit well with them, and we get that. That often excludes you from making treats that have yogurt in them, but this is a super easy one that does a lot of great gut work but without the dairy!
Simply throw 12-16 ounces of coconut milk together with a cup of natural, unsweetened peanut butter (be sure there’s no xylitol), a cup of carrot, a teaspoon of maple syrup and 3 tablespoons of Bernie’s Perfect Poop in a blender and then blend until that’s all smooth. Pour the mixture into freezable containers that you can seal and 4-6 hours later, voila! You’ve made your own frozen ‘cup’ treats (think similar to something like Frosty Paws, but minus the dairy and fewer ingredients).
These are great treats to give your furry pal to ‘work on’ and the ingredients in the Perfect Poop help aid better gut health overall!
Valentine’s biscuits
This yummy treat is baked, but your dog will LOVE them and they’re great to keep on hand when you want to give a little extra love. You’ll just need ⅔ cup chicken broth, a cup of peanut butter, an egg, a tablespoon of baking powder, two tablespoons of Bernie’s Perfect Poop and 2 ½ cups of almond flour (easier on doggos’ tummies).
Mix the chicken broth, peanut butter and the egg in a bowl and then slowly add in the baking powder, Perfect Poop and almond flour. Mix that well (add additional tablespoons of almond flour if you need to get the dough dry enough to roll out and cut). Roll the dough to about a ¼ inch thickness and sprinkle some almond flour on the dough before you cut with your favorite cutters (bones or hearts?).
Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes and then turn them over to bake for another 9-10 minutes. Let them cool before you give them to your pupper, and then store them in an airtight container for whenever you want to give them a little love.
Why Bernie’s Perfect Poop in treats?
It’s important to note–Bernie’s Perfect Poop is NOT a treat. It’s a supplement you want to give your dog with every meal to help his gut health be the best it can be.
The high-quality fiber in Perfect Poop helps your dog’s digestive system move food through at the speed that it should to ensure maximum nutrient absorption.
The pre- and probiotics help your dog’s gut flora thrive and keep him full of vim and vigor–pumping his immune system up to battle whatever comes for it. The digestive enzymes help food break down to the smallest level to aid in nutrient absorption and when those incredible ingredients are combined, it definitely seems like a treat for your dog’s digestive system.
But Perfect Poop is more than that. It’s an easy way to make sure you’re doing your best to keep your dog’s breath fresh, keeping constipation and diarrhea at bay, and keep poop less smelly and easier to pick up. And even better?
Perfect Poop can even help keep your dog’s mental health in check, helping battle depression and anxiety!
When it comes to treats for dogs, you want them to be something your dog enjoys, but you also want them to be good for him too. That’s why we recommend adding Perfect Poop to these treat recipes.
But when it comes to everyday health, you want to add Perfect Poop to every meal because it’s the easiest way to make sure his long-term health and happiness are cared for. We offer two delicious formulas dogs go wild for, and you can rest assured you’re giving him the best and highest-quality ingredients there are!
And if that’s not love, we don’t know what is!`