Peanut Butter Bacon Dog Biscuits
May 22, 2012 § 2 Comments
When my fiancé and I first started talking about getting a puppy, our conversations were filled with dreams of a perfectly mannered pup that was calm, cuddly and eager to come when called. But after a few years of actually owning Biscuit, I learned this was not the case – picture a whiny dog that steals hotdogs out of people’s hands, licks out of the dip bowl when friends are over to eat and will gladly bring the ball back to anyone but you when playing fetch at the dog park. He does, however, tolerate pet parades and people clothes.
We have tirelessly tried to teach Biscuit to behave respectfully and with good manners. We have taken him to obedience training, tried the clicker method, praised, scolded and developed a routine where he would practice his “skills” 20 minutes a night. None of our efforts worked or showed even a glimmer of improvement in behavior unless I had a treat or treats (in some cases he wouldn’t do anything unless I had an extra-large treat or multiple treats) in my hand.
This struggle is what inspired me to start making my own dog biscuits. The dog biscuits sold in stores are expensive and full of unknown mystery ingredients, and I don’t give Biscuit people food scraps, in hopes he will stop begging at the table (hasn’t worked yet). Homemade dog biscuits are the perfect, wholesome, high incentive treat that I can bribe Biscuit with. I am in no way a dog nutrition expert, but I do know what my dog likes to eat, what is healthy and wholesome, what doesn’t give Biscuit stomach problems, and what makes him drool uncontrollably. One of the recipes that Biscuit likes best is Peanut Butter Bacon Dog Treats. This recipe just couldn’t get any better for Biscuit. The peanut butter reminds him of his puppy years when we used to fill the middle of his Kong dog toys with peanut butter to keep him occupied for oh… 5 minutes. The bacon reminds him of all the wondrous moments when he has stolen bacon off unattended breakfast plates.
Peanut Butter Bacon Dog Treat recipe adapted from Dog Hill Kitchen
Peanut Butter Bacon Dog Treats
Makes 6 dozen little (1 inch) biscuit sized treats
Ingredients
3 slices of bacon, crumbled (grease reserved)
1 egg
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon maple syrup
3 tablespoons water
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup wheat germ
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mixture 1: Mix together the egg, peanut butter, maple syrup and water until blended. Set aside.
Fry bacon until crispy and then set aside on a paper towel
Allow the bacon grease to cool slightly in the pan (3-5 minutes)
Add Mixture 1 to the cooled bacon grease and mix until combined
Pour bacon grease mixture into a large bowl and add whole wheat flour and wheat germ. Mix until thoroughly combined. Add bacon crumbles and mix until combined.
Roll out dough onto a lightly floured surface until about ¼ inch thick. Cut out dough to desired shapes and put on lightly greased cookie sheets.
Bake for 15 minutes and then flip biscuits to opposite sides so the top of the biscuits can now brown on the bottom of the pan. Bake for 15 more minutes or until both sides of the biscuits are golden brown.
- If you are baking biscuits with two trays in the oven, make sure you rotate them half way through the baking time.
Cool biscuits and treat your pup!
Use within a week, or store in the fridge for up to 3 weeks
I have a dog who is food motivated as well, and I love baking. Thanks for this post I will have to try them out.
Thanks Elaine! I am going to try out a more vegetable based dog treat in the next couple weeks. I will be sure to write about it in a new post!