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This recipe for fruit and veggies leather dehydrator dogs treats is so easy to make, totally customizable to you and your dog’s favourite flavours and it’s tasty way to sneak some added healthy foods into your dog’s diet.
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Back in the day, I used to give my dogs a lot of soft jerky treats.
You know the treats I mean, you guys. The ones with the cartoon dogs on the bag and the bright red colour where you get around a billion treats for like $2.35? The JUNKIEST of the junk food kind. In my defence, I didn’t know any better. Then, for a while after that, I though “It’s only a few bites – how bad can it be?” Eventually, I came around to the way I feel now. I want to give my dogs the best, so whether it’s a treat or their every day meals, I never want to be giving them products filled with mystery meat, artificial flavours or a bunch of preservatives.
This dehydrator dog treat recipe, submitted by Heather of OK Collars, is the perfect way to create a softer style treat without compromising on quality.
We absolutely LOVE it when you guys share your own favourite treats with us and as soon as I saw how good these turned out, I just had to ask Heather if I could share the recipe with you guys too. I’m not going to lie, I’m more than a little temped to steal a few pieces of this fruit and veggie leather for myself.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups cooked, chopped carrot
- 1 cup unsweetened Apple Sauce
- 1 tbsp. ground flax seed
- 2 cup frozen peaches, defrosted
- 1 cup frozen blueberries, defrosted
- (or you can use fresh, peeled and gently cooked)
- 1 tbsp. ground flax seed
Instructions
In a food processor, blender or with an immersion blender, purree fruit and flax seed.
Line dehydrator trays with parchment paper or fruit leather trays designed to fit your machine.
Spread puree into a thin layer on your trays and dehydrated for 5-7 hours. Leather is done when it is firm, but pliable in all areas. Use scissors to trim into bite sized pieces.
WANT TO KICK IT UP A NOTCH? Before you plug in the dehydrator, sprinkle the top of the purree with liver dust or crush freeze dried 100% meat treat. Your dog will go wild over it!
recipe credit: Heather Buzby
Have you ever made fruit and veggie leather dehydrator dog treats?
What flavours do you think your dog would love. Any other flavour combos to suggest?
Photo Credit: http://www.annmarieyoungphoto.com/
Heather Buzby is the talented lady behind OK Collars offering handmade, custom collars to pretty up your dog and show off their personality. Her dogs, Kayla Dover and ellie Mae, are spoiled rotten, totally adorable and so lucky to have a human who makes such tasty treats. Head over to Facebook to see all her adorable creations.
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I am dehydrating a raw food puree of broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower in water. It is the parts we normally cut off. I was blending them to put into my garden (since I have no place for a compost pile). First, though, I gave a heaping tablespoon to my dog. She loved it! Thus am going to try to make a veggie leather of it. I wish I’d thought to look for a recipe first. I will add ground flaxseed next time as such a good idea. Now I am wondering if I should have cooked it first? Thank you for your site!
There aren’t a lot of studies on this, as it pertains to canine nutrition, so this is one of the times I draw from human nutrition (even though it’s not a direct comparison.) There are definitely some veggies that benefit from being lightly cooked: Cooked carrots, spinach, mushrooms, asparagus, cabbage, peppers and many other vegetables also supply more antioxidants, such as carotenoids and ferulic acid, to the human body than they do when raw. That said, since you’ve pureed yours to break down the outter cellulose layer (which dogs are unable to digest) and you’re going to be dehydrating them at a low heat, I would say you have nothing to worry about here! Glad to hear your pup loves the veggie treats – mine too!
Oh! I was thinking about making myself some fruit leather (I have never done it before) and wondered “Is it a thing for dogs, too?”.
I love baking dog cookies and dehydrating produce. Looks like Buddy will be getting some fruit/veggie leather, too!
I am going to experiment with things like unsweetened applesauce, blueberries, bananas, and pumpkin in Buddy’s version.
can you make fruit and veggie leather in the oven and my oven on the goes as low as 175 degrees and how long should I leave it in there if I can! Thank you
Yes, you absolutely can. I’d try 5 – 7 hours with the door propped open.
Sounds good, thanks! How do you store the fruit and veggie leather and how long do they keep?
You should always store dehydrated treats in an airtight container in a cool, dry, dark space. They generally last 3 – 6 months, as long as they have been completely dried and stored properly.