Need Dog Treat Recipe Help. Substitute Oil?

[Robin]

Hello everyone. Been a long time since I posted here!

First let me explain this recipe is for my dog. She has a sensitive stomach and I think it's the oil that is upsetting her tummy with these treats. Otherwise she loves them!

Here's the recipe.

Liver & Oat Cookies

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups quick oats
1/4 cup non-fat dry milk
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 pound beef or chicken liver
1/4 cup safflower oil
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350 f. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Puree liver in a food processor. Scoop liver out of food processor into the bowl of dry ingredients. Add oil and egg. Mix with a spoon to cooki-dough consistency. Drop batter by the teaspoonful onto well-greased baking sheet, 1 inch apart. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until cookies are firm to the touch. Turn off oven and let cookies harden inside for 1 to 2 hours or overnight.

Now my question:

Can I take out the oil or otherwise substitute it with something else??

Here's a picture of my dog Kota for your viewing pleasure.

 

[amber]

Call your vet, it's best to be on the safe side when it comes to foods for your pet.

 

[Robin]

Call your vet, it's best to be on the safe side when it comes to foods for your pet.

My vet would just tell me to buy a name brand product that used bi-products, BHT, and lots and lots of corn.. all of which is bad for dogs..

Really I just need to know if I can subsitute the oil. I know my treats are much healthier than anything the vet would try to sell me.

 

[lulu]

Could it be the milk powder upsetting her? Many dogs get iffy tummies from milk products.

also, have you tried freeze dried meat as a treat for your dog? My mother's dog has colitis and is fine with them and I use them for my cat who has a grain allergy....likewise. In fact, they are the most loved treats of any we have given!

I don't know if you get them in the States, here they are marketed under the name of "Thrive".

 

[Robin]

I've never heard of Thrive. I do know a person in Ohio that gets freeze dried liver but I have never saw it in my area.

I figured it would be the oil that upset her. But she's never had dry milk befoere so I don't know if it would contribute to it or not.

 

[jennyema]

I used to make dog snacks for my Beagle buddy who had congestive heart failure and couldn't tolerate sodium.

I didn't really use a recipe, but based mine on baby food chicken, with dry milk, flour, oats, garlic powder and stuff.

By the look of your recipe, it seems to me that the culprit could be the oil, the milk or the wheat germ. Some dogs don't tolerate roughage that well.

I'd suggest making three small batches, leaving out a suspect ingredient in each. I'd just add water to sub for the oil to make the dough wet enough. It's perfectly fine to leave the oil out.

And on third thought .... my dogs sometimes get an upset stomach from chicken liver they get from the giblet bag .... Perhaps another experiment.

 

[JMediger]

... freeze dried liver but I have never saw it in my area...

Robin, we frequently shop and order from a company called "Foster & Smith" and I know they carry freeze dried liver along with a plethora of other healthy snack alternatives. They carry freeze dried chicken strips that our dog goes nuts over. Check them out on line (not sure if you can order from their site or just request a cataloug ... they are based about an hour and a half north of here so we just shop their outlet store).

My thoughts on making your own are along the same lines as jennyema already suggested. Try really small batches and leave out a possible culprit each time. If you find it is too dry without the oil, try just a dab of purreed apple (not apple sauce - to many possible extra's and just puree slices of apple, not the core or seeds as they are toxic to dogs).

Good luck (and great sounding doggie recipe!)

 

[Half Baked]

If it turns out that the oil is the problem, ask your vet if you could substitute applesauce.

 

[Alix]

I'd vote that the milk is the issue too. Milk has bugged our dog from time to time.

 

[Michael in FtW]

Most dogs are lactose intolerant (milk usually causes vomiting, gas, and/or diarrhea in dogs) ... and if I understand it right the problem has to do with one of the group of the 4 main casein proteins that comprise the "curd" (one reason you shouldn't feed dogs cheese) but not found in the watery fraction *whey" which contains the other proteins - about 26.

You could possibly be able to substitute powdered whey (find in a health food store) or to be 100% on the safe side (without experimenting) use powdered soy milk.

If there is a dog treat on the market that doesn't cause the problems your "homemade" treats do ... look at the ingredients on the label. That should help narrow down your "problem ingredient" list. If the label only lists a "milk byproduct" - that's probably whey.

 

[lulu]

Cats are generally milk intolerant too. My healthy cat occationally gets a little milk to help keep things moving, (sorry). My vet recommended this as the cheapest way to do this in cats.

 

[JMediger]

Lulu, I've heard that too and have since given our cat a non-dairy cat milk occasionally for a treat. I like the idea of using real milk to help her when necessary.

Also, our vet recommends yogurt for our dog once a month for his gas (he is a STINKY dog when he gets stressed out ). Isn't it odd that they can't tolerate it yet it helps with this problem? I won't contemplate it too long since I'm just happy we found something that works!

 

[amber]

My vet would just tell me to buy a name brand product that used bi-products, BHT, and lots and lots of corn.. all of which is bad for dogs..

Really I just need to know if I can subsitute the oil. I know my treats are much healthier than anything the vet would try to sell me.

My vet doesnt do that, he simply suggests natural products, vegetables, rice, etc that help during stomach upset. Hope you find your answer soon. Why do you think it may be the safflower oil? Is this the first time you made this recipe? Did you use a different oil in the past that worked ok for your pooch? The only things I can think of other than the oil, is that perhaps your dog is allergic to one of the ingredients such as eggs or milk? I know many have mentioned milk, so that could be it.

 

[lulu]

I understand, although my knowledge is shakey, that yoghurt is more digestable, something to do with lactase, and it is the "living" bit of the yogurt that counts, JMediger.

I know more about cat food, because of having to cater for our cat with allergies. I am hoping to start home production soon, but I'm scared of getting the nutrient balance wrong. In US their are much petter pet foods available. In UK average meat content of cat food is 4%...cats are obligate carnavores! I have been trying to import a US canned food called "Nature's Variety" for ages, but there hae been so many problems!

Dogs need meat but are capable of dealing with more variety. I always try and keep a certain amount of roughage in the diet for anal glands....they suffer otherwise!


My saga with pet food is a long one!

 

[jpmcgrew]

There are alot of recipes that do not use milk,if the oil is the problem mayby you need to use a different oil like olive or another kind.