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  1. #1
    Best Friend Retriever ronmcq's Avatar
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    Affordable Homemade Healthy Treats

    We're trying to lower the carbs, cut the grains and other bad things out of our pups diets. We're not going RAW yet but have switched to a quality meat based kibble-Orijen Adult now that Buddy is over a year old and can eat the same as the rest of our pack. Looking at the treats we were feeding we saw almost all of them based on or containing wheat, wheat gluten, vegetable glycerin and additives I can't pronounce...
    So Milk Bones, Jerky Treats and even most Chicken Jerky are off the list. Plus some of these come from China and other questionable places. The treats I would consider come at a premium price so I decided to make my own. With one allergic dog at home, everyone does good with chicken. I've found that I can get about 35 ounces of chicken jerky for $17.00 and this is what I'm doing.
    Costco sells a 6.5 pound bag of individually wrapped skinless, boneless chicken breasts at that price everyday. We do look at the local markets for their sales too. I'll take out the amount I want to use.

    -jerky-1-jpg

    I'll then cut the breasts into thin slices, mostly plain but sometimes sprinkle with a bit of garlic powder.
    -jerky-2-jpg

    And place in the dehydrator for 3-5 hours depending upon the thickness.
    -jerky-4-jpg

    Since there are no preservatives or additives, the finished product goes into a zip lock in the fridge leaving just enough in the treat jar for a couple of days.
    -jerky-5-jpg

    The pups love it and I feel good about what they're being fed.
    I'm hoping to hear from others on this board what they're doing and looking for more options.
    Thanks, Ron

  2. #2
    Senior Dog shellbell's Avatar
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    I use string cheese and turkey hot dogs for training treats. Easy and the dogs love it. And I feed Prey Model Raw.

  3. The Following User Says Thank You to shellbell For This Useful Post:

    ronmcq (02-12-2015)

  4. #3
    Senior Dog doubledip1's Avatar
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    I like the chicken jerky idea! I have a dehydrator as well but the manual said not to dehydrate meat or poultry unless I sprinkled the jerky cure on it. I will have to ask my vet the next time I am in.
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  5. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to doubledip1 For This Useful Post:

    Charlotte K. (02-13-2015), ronmcq (02-13-2015)

  6. #4
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    I buy roasts of beef or pork on sale, cook, cool, cut, freeze till needed. I found chicken fell apart into little crumbs but I don't have a real dehydrator. Some bits of leftover smoked fish were a real hit, but they sure stunk up my coat, even though they were in a baggie. LOL

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    ronmcq (02-13-2015)

  8. #5
    Best Friend Retriever ronmcq's Avatar
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    I had wondered about needing a cure on the meat/poultry seeing pros and cons on my searches. I've opted not to use the cures as it appears to be necessary for long term (months of) un-refrigerated storage to prevent Botulism. I make sure all the pieces are thoroughly dried and only keep enough out for several days with the remainder being kept in the fridge until needed. The jerky can also be frozen for longer storage. You could marinate (cure) but I didn't want to add unnecessary salts and the pups love the taste as is. Interested in what your vet says.

  9. #6
    Senior Dog Charlotte K.'s Avatar
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    For family handling and food safety, especially if you want to avoid the use of sodium nitrate as in lunch meat or jerky cure, you may wish to follow guidelines on fsis.usda.gov. That involves bringing the poultry to 165 F on a meat thermometer by steaming or roasting it, then dehydrating it.

  10. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Charlotte K. For This Useful Post:

    doubledip1 (02-13-2015), happy_blackbird (02-13-2015), ronmcq (02-14-2015)

  11. #7
    House Broken happy_blackbird's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Charlotte K. View Post
    That involves bringing the poultry to 165 F on a meat thermometer by steaming or roasting it, then dehydrating it.
    That was going to be my recommendation, too.

  12. The Following User Says Thank You to happy_blackbird For This Useful Post:

    ronmcq (02-14-2015)

 



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