Having adopted my third "recycled" dog who is being trained, I was going through a lot more doggie treats than before. I decided to take some bread that was going stale anyway and try an experiment. I piled up a few slices , then cut them into quarters. I laid them out on a cookie sheet, lightly brushed them with healthy olive oil and sprinkled them with garlic powder. I put them in a low oven for a bit, until they were hard and crunchy, like melba toast. All healthy ingredients, and they basically cost me nothing, I used the too stale for me bread, and the dogs love them. May try flax seed next time!
By Linda from Vista,CA
Editor's Note: Most veterinarians recommend against giving your dog garlic but there is a small group that advocate for it. Please talk to your own vet prior to feeding dogs garlic.
Update on dog treats: I did try the chicken stock that I had mentioned earlier and my dogs love it! I basted bread with mostly turkey stock saved from Thanksgiving (and now the Christmas turkey), sliced the bread into long 1 inch slices, and baked on about 200 for a long time...I tend to forget they're in the oven. Then I just left them in the oven overnight to harden more. I have one very old blind and deaf dog who was getting tired of all her different kinds of foods and treats and she loves these. Frankly, at this stage of her life, she can have whatever she wants, healthy or not, and this happens to be a healthy enough treat or even entire meal if she wants it. My younger dog gets it for a treat only and really loves it.
That sounds like a good idea to use chicken stock. You could use the broth from a roast chicken that you make and could be in control of the salt, etc. I always wind up with tons (not quite) of bread in my freezer and nobody wants to eat the rumpled and bent hot dog buns, etc. so I might just try doing this. Thanks for the idea!
Wonder if some chiken bullion crystals would work too? Though the sodium level may not be appreciated. However it wouldn't take much to flavor a whole batch. Just let it sit in the oil overnight to dissolve well. I have heard somewhere that the garlic is a natural flea repelent! Wonder if the deli at your local grocery store would let you have any dayold bread they couldn't sell off?
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