Blueberry Dog Treats

In a side-by-side offering, we simultaneously presented our dogs with the high quality store-bought treats we keep on hand and these homemade blueberry dog treats. In this fun taste test, they chose these ones first every time.

Of course, they ARE dogs, so then they also want the the treat in the other hand. But they definitely know the difference and make their preference known. They know good food when they smell it and taste it. And these treats are definitely good food.

When our Chicken and Rice for Dogs recipe took off, it was just the inspiration we needed to post more recipes for dogs. Doug really enjoys baking, so he set out to create some fun snacks for our dogs.

Our dogs love fresh blueberries. Doug started researching and developing a recipe for blueberry dog treats. He added peanut butter and old-fashioned oats, and our dogs went crazy for these treats.

Everyone at our house loves these. The dogs love to eat them, of course. We love knowing exactly what's in them - whole foods like blueberries, rolled oats, eggs, and whole wheat flour. And what's not in them - preservatives and mystery ingredients.

They wag, we smile. We're all winners.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• In the Making (and Eating)
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top tip
• Blueberry Dog Treats
• Comments

 

Ingredients

Here's a quick rundown of ingredients you'll need to make these drool-inspiring blueberry dog treats:

• fresh blueberries, of course
• old fashioned rolled oats
• peanut butter (make sure it does NOT contain xylitol, which is toxic to dogs)
• whole wheat flour
• eggs
• cinnamon
• fine sea salt
• warm water

See recipe card for quantities.

In the Making (and Eating)

So you know you're on the right path, are a couple photos of what ours look like in the process.

All the dry ingredients are mixed together. This is right before water is added to form a dough.	Here Doug has the dough all rolled out onto our floured cutting board. This step is right before he cuts the dough into little squares.
Here's our girl Cassie trying SO HARD to be patient.	And here's our friends' gorgeous GSP, Callie. Word is these treats are the only thing that can get her to come inside some evenings. (Photo credit: Samantha Mapel)

 

Hint: When our dogs got a little overzealous taking treats, we found this How to Teach Your Dog to Take Treats Gently video. This technique has been a real finger-saver!

Equipment

Parchment paper is a game-changer in the kitchen. For this recipe, we use it to line the baking sheet pans. It allows the treats to bake evenly without sticking to the pan. We prefer it over pan spray for a few reasons: eliminates unnecessary calories, no scraping to remove treats from pan, and a really easy cleanup. Plus, you can stretch your pennies and use the same sheet for a couple batches.

The bench knife, also known as a bench scraper or bench cutter. It's a star utility player that's great for cutting the treats into squares, transporting multiple treats from cutting board to pan, and making cleanup a breeze. It even has a ruler if you want to measure your cuts. You can scrape up almost all the flour before wiping the counter, so you don't get that gross wet flour layer on your dish cloth. Yuck! 😛

We used a stoneware pan on the day we took these photos, but we also use and highly recommend half sheet pans from USA Pan. They are absolutely wonderful and made in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Storage

Because we use fresh blueberries (instead of hydrated or freeze-dried) in this recipe, it is recommended to keep these dog treats in the refrigerator. The higher moisture content from fresh berries may cause them to mold if stored at room temperature.

These will keep for a couple weeks when refrigerated, although they never last that long here!