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I’ve already told the story of what happened to my Flower, and I’ve made it pretty clear my research suggested her kibble was at least partially to blame for her illness and untimely death. So now that I have little (or not so little anymore) Blossom, I’ve made a vow to take better care of her health. You can read more here about the advantages of switching dog food from traditional kibble to The Farmer’s Dog natural, human-grade, food.
But through my experiences, I’ve realized this isn’t the only thing my pup puts in her body (or that I put in her body). For training and fun purposes, my pup gets a fair few treats (in addition to the table scraps she gets from her BiFF and his kids). That’s where these amazing, homemade, natural jerky treats come in.
In doing the research regarding the effect a dog’s food has on their general health and well-being, there’s very little mentioned about the treats we buy them. I generally bought Flower high-quality jerky treats. But I bought her the best kibble I could as well, and it turns out that was probably a big problem. The Dog Cancer Survival Guide suggests making your own dog food is the best way to go.
In the past I’ve considered making doggie treats, but always cookies, never jerky. When I first got Blossom, though, I realized cookies aren’t realistic. We regularly take puppy classes, and you don’t want your dog to have to chew too much when learning. I used to buy the jerky treats that were tiny little crumbs for training. I did this because then I could use as many as necessary during puppy class without the risk of Flower getting too fat. I wanted the same advantages when training Blossom.
I researched making my own jerky treats and realized the only way to do it effectively is with a “dehydrator.” I didn’t have a dehydrator, but I’m now in possession of such a kitchen gadget. It’s gone very well.
I made my first batch of jerky and I was shocked by the ease–and lack of additives. Dogs don’t care if their jerky is teriyaki flavored. Beef IS the flavor. Nothing else is necessary.
Admittedly, I haven’t done enough research to be certain; but I suspect the jerky I bought in the past had more ingredients than just meat. I’m sure there were flavorings, sodium, and preservatives. To avoid all that “extra,” I thinly sliced a steak and put it in the dehydrator. It came out as beautiful dried jerky–sans any extra ingredients that might be bad for Blossom. We’re both in love. (As a matter of fact, Blossom full on snubbed our puppy class teacher’s treat the other day. Who knew Berners could be picky?)
The combination of The Farmer’s Dog and the wonderful homemade natural jerky dog treats, will hopefully make for a long, healthy, and happy life for Ms. Blossom. In the meantime, I will say these treats seem to be a huge hit! Below is a link to purchase the dehydrator. Your pup will love you for it!
Happy Cooking–or Dehydrating!
- Cheap cut of meat such as Chuck Roast or Round Roast
- Slice the Meat as thinly as you can.
- Place the slices on the dehydrator trays, leaving at least a little bit of space between each slice.
- Set your Dehydrator to 160 degrees (or its highest setting) and dehydrate the meat for 10 hours (or until hard and jerky-like--my understanding is different dehydrators might act differently).
- Cut the Jerky into super small pieces for training. (You don't want to overfeed your pup while training).
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