How to Make Liver Dog Treats

Teach your dog tricks with treats and verbal praise.

Making dog treats is one of the best ways to control the ingredients and avoid large amounts of artificial colors and flavors. Include ingredients, such as liver, wheat germ, parsley and honey, that you add to human recipes. Liver is especially nutritious for your dog because of its high protein, vitamin A and omega-3 fatty acid content. It's also a good source of iron, niacin, copper, zinc and phosphorus, so these homemade treats will include a wide variety of essential minerals.

Things You'll Need

• Medium bowl
• 3/4 cup wheat germ
• 3/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp. brewer's or nutritional yeast
• 1 (3.5 oz.) jar pureed liver baby food
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1 tbsp. parsley
• Wire rack
• Airtight storage container

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9-by-16-inch cookie sheet.

2. Combine the wheat germ, dry milk powder, parsley, honey, yeast, egg and liver baby food in a medium-sized bowl and stir. Pour water into your mixture 1 tbsp. at a time until it reaches a doughy consistency.

3. Scoop out spoonfuls of the mixture and place them on your greased cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.

4. Move the treats to a wire rack to cool. Allow your dog to taste a treat and store the rest in an airtight container and put it in the refrigerator. These liver treats will stay fresh for up to 2 months.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't give your dog more than two liver treats per day. Small dogs should have less. Large breeds can have more. Liver can cause an overdose of vitamin A, a condition known as hypervitaminosis.

• Avoid feeding your dog garlic, onions, raisins and chocolate. These foods can be toxic to your dog.

References

• Vet Info: The Benefits of Liver for Dogs
• All Recipes: Liver Lickers Dog Treats
• Dog Aware: Dog Treat Recipes
• "Puppy's First Steps: The Whole-Dog Approach to Raising a Happy, Healthy, Well-Behaved Puppy"; Nicholas H. Dodman; 2007