It’s September and already the smell of pumpkin spice is everywhere. Spooky Halloween costumes are popping up in stores and those gigantic bags of candy for trick or treaters line the shelves.
But Halloween doesn’t mean only the hoo-man kiddos get a fun Halloween treat, does it?
Thing is, just like with our own food, sometimes store bought treats can have all sorts of ingredients, fillers or preservatives that we don’t really want to be giving to our beloved furry friends.
Luckily, making healthier homemade treats is pretty easy to do. You may even get addicted to baking yummy treats for your pooch!
Are homemade dog treats good for dogs?
Absolutely! Homemade dog treats can have lots of benefits beyond just being budget-friendly.
With DIY dog treats, you know exactly what ingredients your dog is eating.
This is especially helpful if you have a dog on a restrictive diet or if your dog has allergies to certain foods.
Another benefit to homemade dog treats is that you can make them in any size or shape.
Make smaller treats for smaller dog or to use for training. Make larger treats for your large breed dogs without breaking the bank!
You may even want to consider how to start a dog treat business if you love making dog treats and have thinking about starting your own business.
What foods are toxic for dogs?
Just be sure to do your research and double check each ingredient a recipe you want to use calls for. You know your dog best.
If you are unsure about an ingredient, ask your vet if it is safe to use or just skip it.
Definitely stay away from ingredients that are known to be toxic for dogs like:
- Caffeine
- Grapes and raisins
- Macadamia nuts
- Xylitol
- Chocolate
- Yeast dough
- Fruit pits and seeds
- Avocados
- Mushrooms
- Unripe tomatoes
- Onions and garlic
- Nutmeg
How do you make healthy dog treats from scratch?
Luckily, most of the ingredients dog treat recipes call for are things you probably already have in your kitchen.
You’ll find that many dog treat recipes include common items like flour, oatmeal, eggs, or broth.
To add flavor, protein, vitamins and fiber, other ingredients will be mixed in like pumpkin puree, artificial sweetener free peanut butter, sweet potato, apples, carrots, and cheese.
How do you make Pyramid dog treats?
Pyramid dog treats are a very popular homemade dog treat that produce the really small pyramid shaped treats that are perfect for training.
They are made using a silicone “pyramid” baking sheet.
While these silicone baking sheets weren’t originally intended for dog treats, they’ve become a popular must-have amongst dog treat makers.
They make it super easy to make a large number of small dog treats, as some molds will produce up to 500 in just one batch.
Plus you can always use the silicone pyramid mold for what it was originally intended for too!
Which silicone molds are best for dog treats?
Once you find a favorite dog treat recipe to make, you can customize your treats by using different size and shape molds.
The best mold is going to be the one that you and your dog enjoy using the most.
For instance, if you dog loves one of the pumpkin shaped treat recipes below, you can make them with a Pyramid mold to create a useful training treat instead.
There are a bunch you can try, I will share you with you the ones I use below.
I like to purchase them from Amazon because of the easy return policy.
Sometimes the molds are larger or smaller than you expected so just look for the “free returns” notation so you can try several out to see which works best for you.
These Puppy Dog Paw and Bone Silicone Molds are made from food grade silicone, are heat resistant, non-toxic and BPA free.
Temperature safe from -40 to +446 degrees Fahrenheit makes them perfect for the oven, dishwasher, freezer, or microwave.
The molds can also be used for making chocolates, ice cubes, soaps, cakes, jelly and so much more.
Our 10 Favorite Dog Treat Recipes to Try this Halloween
Your pets want to celebrate Halloween too, so try out some of these awesome Halloween dog treats you can make for your fur baby and their friends.
Try these gluten free Pumpkin Spice Dog Treats from Vintage Kitty.
Your doggy will gobble up these Candy Corn Dog Treats from 12 Tomatoes.
These Pumpkin and Brown Rice Flour Dog Treats are perfect for Halloween.
Aimee created a homemade recipe combining soothing pumpkin and brown rice flour to make a scrumptious, healthy treat for your doggie friends.
These Howl-oween dog treats from Home is Where the Boat Is are made with fiber filled pumpkin, proven to benefit dogs’ digestive tracts.
Pumpkin is also full of vitamins A and C, which both help to support vision and immune health in dogs.
Dogs LOVE peanut butter and pumpkin. The Cottage Market promises that her homemade Mummy Bones peanut butter dog treats is a treat they will flip for!
These Bone Yard Pumpkin Dog Treats from Today’s Creative Life are an easy homemade dog biscuit recipe your dog will love!
These fun homemade Halloween dog treats from Dogvills are shaped and decorated to look like vibrant spiders. They look like they are so much fun to make!
They do have sugar in the icing, so you don’t want to go crazy with giving them to your dogs.
These Skull and Crossbones Halloween Frozen Dog Treats from Beagles and Bargains are made with blueberries.
Blueberries are known to aid in cardiovascular health, lower cholesterol and sugar levels, and may even have anti-cancer properties in dogs.
They also have kale, which is a great low calorie dog friendly veggie option that is high in beta carotene, vitamin K, and vitamin C.
These easy to make Pumpkin Halloween Dog Treats from Dalmatian DIY have only four ingredients.
Golden Daily Scoop created these cool Frozen Blueberry Skull Dog Treats you whip up in a blender and freeze for about 30 mins.
Don’t forget to check out our list of hilarious Halloween costumes for pets. Your fur babies want to go trick or treating too!
i have a dog treat bakery; and avocado isn’t bad for dogs- they just can’t have the pit and they can’t have a lot. For instance, I bake avocado brownie paws and when they are in small amounts and baked, avocado is really good for them.
This is fun for doggies. They deserve to celebrate the holiday!
Those dog Halloween costumes are so cute. I am wondering if my dog would let me dress him up for the occasion. He would love those treats though. I will get some for him.
The fur babies deserve treats on Halloween too! I think these are all very lovely and I’m sure they’ll enjoy eating these!
That’s pretty awesome! Thanks for the list of recipes! I would love to prepare these treats for Riley this Halloween! I’m sure he’s going to love them.
These dog treats all look great. My only wish is for my dog to try treats! He is all about his regular meals and would not even look at the bag of treats we get him. I will share this post with my sister. Her dog would love these.
My goodness, those are so cute! I love Halloween, and want to make treats for everyone in the whole family. Our pups will adore those fun DIY goodies.
As much as I have loved all my past furbabies, I have never made any of their treats myself. Odd really, I’m not sure why that is, mostly time I guess, I guess I will have to just spoil the heck out of my next one! :-)
This is really so cool to have so many options all in one place. I think those blueberry skulls are definitely my favorite. :)
These are seriously the cutest things ever! I swear, I cannot wait until I get a puppy so I can make some of these haha! They are all adorable, such a fun time of year even for the pets!
That is one lucky dog who gets any of these homemade treats! These are so creative and pretty!
Those skull and crossbone treats are so stinking cute! I’ve been thinking about making my dog home made treats. He’s getting older and pickier and I’ve noticed that he’s having some sensitivity to some things that didn’t used to bother him. I think the blueberry and kale treats would be ones he would woof down. :)
I’ve made homemade treats twice. The pooches loved them! I’ll have to try some of these for them.
How cute are these treats! I bet my kids would be jealous of the dogs for getting such fun snacks!
These are really awesome dog treat ideas, I Love that you shared these. I will have to try to make up some Halloween dog treats! Thanks for the idea :)
My dogs would love all of these treats. They are a sucker for a good treat.
Animals in costume crack me up! I have a cat and he hates any sort of costume. I’ll have to pass along these dog treat ideas to my brother since he often makes treats for his dog.
These are beyond adorable! What a special way to celebrate your pup!
You have so many great doggie treats here. I might have to make some of these :)