Dehydrated dog treat recipes

by | Mar 25, 2014 | 227 comments

Dehydrators are cheap to buy and even cheaper to run and it’s very simple to learn how to dry treats for dogs!  I’ve been wanting one for ages so I decided to just jump in and get one.  I’ve been really impressed with this new toy and recommend any dog owner that enjoys baking homemade dog treats for their dog to buy one. Jerky treats are ideal for me as they are clean, dry and ideal for shoving in my pocket while out dog walking and dogs go crazy for it!  Just make sure that if you’re buying a dehydrator that it can dry meat, some only dry fruit as they don’t get warm enough.

raw pig ears

I use the Andrew James dehydrator for all the recipes.  Click the image to order yours on Amazon now.

IMPORTANT READING

While researching how to make jerky for dogs I see that there’s recipes out there on the web that place raw meat including chicken on the dehydrator while on other websites they tell you to precook the meat first to kill pathogens.  A dog becoming sick from such things as Salmonella is rare as their digestive tract is very small so bad bacteria usually gets killed before it can harm the dog.  But note that the top temperature of a dehydrator is usually around 70c (160f) which is not enough to kill such pathogens as Salmonella and E. coli.  Therefore after drying raw meat I always put it in the oven for 10 minutes at 150ºC to make sure all pathogens are killed.

Oregon state University researched how to make homemade jerky safe and they say that:

“Jerky can be considered “done” and safe to eat only when it has been heated sufficiently to destroy any pathogens present and is dry enough to be shelf-stable.  Shelf-stable means the the jerky can be stored at room temperature and will not support microbial growth.” 

Oregon state University’s method for destroying pathogens:

“Post-drying heating.  Placing dried meat strips on a cookie sheet in an oven preheated to 257ºF [126ºC] and heating the strips for 10 minutes effectively eliminates pathogens.  This method produces the most traditional jerky.”

So after drying any raw meat I place the jerky in the oven for 10 minutes just to be sure.  It doesn’t change the jerky in any way and gives me peace of mind.  Many recipes (mainly for human consumption) use salt or vinegar soak to deal with pathogens in raw meat but both can cause stomach problems in dogs and I want to keep these treats pure and simple.

HOW TO DEHYDRATE DOG TREATS

1. Always wash your hands before you start.
2. Food that has less fat lasts longer as fat can’t be dried and will spoil the food faster, so if you’re planning to store the treats for long term then trim any fat off the meat before you dry it out.
3. Drying times vary a lot.  Temperature, thickness’s of food, amount on trays and different machines all affect timing.  Your user manual will help and you’ll soon get to know when it’s done by texture, look and from general experience.  The above dehydrator is cheap and perfectly good and what I use but if you want the ‘Rolls-Royce’ of dehydrators check out Excalibur.
4. Place dehydrated jerky in the freezer (no defrost required) but you can learn more about storing jerky here.
5. Cut meat as thin or as thick as you want but the thicker it is the longer it takes to dry.
6. A very sharp knife for cutting thin slices.
7. You’ll be surprised how much food shrinks when dehydrated. Just remember that this is concentrated food and don’t give too much – it’s a treat!

DRYING RAW PIG EARS

Dried pig ears are expensive to buy but if you can get raw pig ears then they can cost around a third of the price or less.  Stick them on the dehydrator and once done you wont be able to tell them apart from the ones you buy in pet shops (except that they may be a lot larger!).  They are easy to buy raw online if you have trouble getting them locally.

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All these pig ears cost just £5!!

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Place on dehydrator and dry for 16-24 hours. I filled 4 racks! Once dried I place in oven at 257ºF (126ºC) for 10 mins.

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And they are done. Identical to what you buy in the shops. They have cost around 30p each. Great value!

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Flo just adores her homemade pig ears!

HOW TO DRY CHICKEN FEET

I first bought dried chicken feet in the pet shop 3 years ago for my new puppy Flo.  It’s her all time favourite treat.  If you ask a local butcher you may able to get raw feet for free else you can buy them raw and by the kilo on this website.  Raw chicken feet take ages to dry so there is no point just drying off a dozen or so.  To make the drying time worthwhile I’m gonna be drying off 2 kilos worth of feet which will take around 4-5 days at 70ºC.

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The first thing I’ll do is give the feet a wee rinse.

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The feet have nails and they are quite sharp so I don’t want the dogs eating these when they are dry and brittle…

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So I chop them off!

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2 kilos will give me around 60+ feet which will fill 4 racks

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I’ll be drying these for 96 – 120 hours, but the timer only goes up to 48 hours, so I’ll be resetting the dehydrator 3 times. I’ll know when they are done when there is no flex in the feet, especially the skin and the padded parts. I want them dry and hard.

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Nearly 120 hours later and they’re done! No need to place in oven afterwards.

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They look great! I’m really happy with how this went!

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Really tasty and all the dogs loved them.

DRIED PIG SKIN

Every super market sells pig skin it and it’s very cheap to buy.  Dehydrating pig skin makes a great treat for dogs especially a treat to keep the dog busy – of all the foods here this one will last the longest.  Pig skin dries a little different than pig ears and completely different than my doggy pork scratchings.  It’s much harder to break down and isn’t as brittle as the ear, it’s more like rawhide and the dogs just go crazy for it.  And like rawhide dogs should be supervised when eating this.  When prepping this recipe, cut the pig skin into the sizes you want before you dry as it’s too difficult to do it after – it’s very, very tough.

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Place the skin on the dehydrator. Remember to cut to the size you want before you dry. Dry at 70ºC for 24 hours.

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24 hours later and it’s dry and very tough. There may be a little grease on the inside so lay the dried skin on some kitchen towel to soak up any residue.

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One of Flo’s favourite treats. This will keep her busy for a good 20 minutes.

TRIPE JERKY

I’m using white tripe (dressed) cause it’s easier for me to get than green tripe (undressed) – although I do plan to try green tripe in the future.   Green tripe is very smelly which is why dogs love it, so be warned when drying it indoors!  Every dog owner at one point has bought this treat in the pet shop, now you can have some fun by making tripe jerky at home.

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Half a kilo of white tripe I bought from the butchers.

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Wash tripe and then gently pat dry.

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Cut into 1 inch strips and place on tray.

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I’ll be dehydrating for around 14 hours at 70ºC (158ºf) followed by a quick 10 minute heat in over .

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Tripe done! I’ll bung it in the freezer for when I need it.

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Ruby loves her homemade tripe jerky!

BEEF JERKY RECIPE FOR DOGS

If you buy jerky for dogs it’s usually either chicken or beef.  It’s rare to get in this pure high quality form, it’s usually very processed and nasty but here we can make a beef jerky treat worthy of our dogs.

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Freeze for an hour and then slice your lean beef 1/8th of an inch thick.

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Evenly lay out beef strips on dehydrator tray and make sure no strips are touching each other. Check user instructions for cooking meat. For my dehydrator I’m advised to use the highest temp of 70ºc (158ºf). I will dry this batch for about 7-8 hours. I’ll know it’s ready if I bend it and it cracks without breaking.

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After 7-8 hours drying and 10 minutes in the oven they are done!. Freeze and reward dog when necessary.

SALMON JERKY

Salmon super-food, but a bit oily and wont last as long.  But you know what?  That oil is super healthy 🙂

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Freeze for 1 hour to firm salmon. Like the beef slice your salmon into strips about 1/8th of an inch thick.

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Place salmon on tray while making sure they are evenly spread and not touching. Check user guide for drying instructions. These will be dried at 70ºC (158ºf) for 8-10 hours or until they are hard and dry all the way through followed by 10 minute stint in the oven.

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Salmon jerky done!

HOW TO DRY LIVER FOR DOGS

A great alternative to dried liver treats cooked in the oven.  Hardly any smell and very clean to handle.  You’ll want to cut thin strips of liver to reduce dehydrating time.

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Liver is washed, patted dry and sliced in thin strips.

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Space evenly on tray. I will dry this for around 10-12 hours followed by a 10 minute stint in the oven!

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Liver jerky done! A real doggy favourite!

SEA BASS JERKY

I found two boneless fillets of Sea Bass going very cheap in the local market.  Because of it’s low fat content Sea Bass is ideal for drying, packed with flavour with a strong fishy aroma.  Yummy and a real winner with dogs.  I couldn’t stop eating the stuff.  Yummy

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Put in freezer for an hour to firm fish then slice into strips.

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Place strips on tray and dehydrate. These took about 9 hours to dry then I put them in the oven for 10 mins.

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Sea bass fish jerky dog treats done! Delicious!

HOW TO DRY CHICKEN FOR DOGS

I’m using a couple of chicken breasts for this recipe.  I’ve trimmed off any bits of fat.

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Wash hands, wash chicken, pat dry and cut thin strips.

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Place chicken strips evenly and without touching on dehydrator tray. After around 8-10 hours they are dry and placed in the oven for 10 minutes at 150ºC (300ºf) to make sure it’s completely safe and free from any bacteria.

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Chicken jerky dog treats done! Place in freezer for when you need them. No defrost required.

RABBIT JERKY

I bought a rabbit from the butchers but because it’s just so boney I’ll boil it first, take all the meat off the bone and then dry it.

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Lovely fresh rabbit! I’ll bring it to the boil and then simmer for 2 hours.

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Once cooled I take all the meat of the bone!

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6-8 hours in the dehydrator and it’s done!

DRIED HEART SLICES

Heart is ideal for turning into jerky because it’s just pure muscle and apart from a little bit of fat on the outside it’s very lean.  Because it is so lean and dense make sure that strips are cut thinly to reduce dehydrating time.

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I bought a pack of Lamb hearts from the supermarket.

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Wash strips, trim fat, pat dry and place on tray. I’ll be dehydrating these for around 12 hours. (Time varies on thickness of strips) followed by 10 mins in the oven.

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Heart jerky dog treats done

KIDNEY CRISPS

Using Ox kidney you can make great crisps with a real crunch.  Cheap to buy and they smell like bacon – dogs love them!  In Ox kidney there is a large bit of fat in the middle, cut that out if you plan to store.

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I freeze the kidney first so I can cut very thin slices.

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Place ‘crisps’ on tray. I’ll dehydrate for 12 hours and then heat in oven for 10 mins afterwards.

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Kidney crisps done! A real winner with the dogs!

DRIED PIG SNOUT

Just for fun I bought a pig snout when ordering a delivery of fresh meat for the dogs.  Very high value, the dogs go crazy for it.  Lots of yummy meat.  I dried it for 24 hours.  Huge success but drying pig snouts aren’t practical as they are not easy to get but fun and totally delicious.

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One pig snout placed on dehydrator. I’ll let it dry for 24 hours at 70ºC. It’s just pure delicious meat!

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24 hours later and its hard and ready to give to dog.

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Ruby loves her dried pig snout!

NON MEAT IDEAS

Dehydrators are also excellent for drying fruit and vegetables so things like bananas, apples and sweet potatoes can be dried to make dog treats.  For me I prefer to use meat simply because my dog prefers it.

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Try these dried banana dog treats

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What about drying apple slices?

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Sweet potato (blanch first)

Have questions? Things not working out as expected or need some advice? Then please use the comment section below.

This is the first and original dog treat recipe using a dehydrator that was published on the internet and inspired many other websites to copy it, but they cut out all the important info. This is also the second most popular homemade dog treat recipe behind my recipe for liver cake for dogs that I have on my site.

If you live locally and need a Bishopton, Erskine or Dargavel Dog Walking and Pet Service, please enquire about your pet care needs.

How to store

As a general guide if meat protein is present in recipe then it will last around 3 to 5 days stored in a cool place.  If it has second class protein in it eg. cheese, lentils, eggs, etc, then they will store for about 10 days in a cool place. You can use cake tins lined with baking paper – greaseproof. If there is no meat or second class proteins present then it will last around 3 weeks before they go soft like human biscuits.

Buy the book!

These dog treat recipes are now available to buy in book on Amazon.   An ideal gift!

dog treat recipe book

Share this recipe with friends

raw pig ears

By Jamie Shanks

BDWS is owned and run by me, Jamie Shanks. I’ve been a professional dog walker since 2010. When I’m not walking dogs, I’m usually at home entertaining my three dogs and attending to five hens and my vegetable garden. 

227 Comments

  1. hi.. my question is do i need to refrigerate the sweet potato treats.. I have been making them for quite some time & do refrigerate them, just not sure if I am supposed to.. I also make him fresh turkey Jerry, that I refrigerate.. thanks in advance?

    Reply
  2. You have really inspired me. I am still in the experimental stage and when I dry meat, I take it out looking lovely but by the time I zap it in the oven it ends up being over cooked. Not that the dogs mind. I want to do small liver training treats so can you tell me – if I boil the liver first does that kill the bacteria and pathogens? or do I need to zap it at the end?
    Plus, is it effective to put it in the oven half way through and then return it to the air dryer?

    Reply
  3. Hi, Can you advise me how to dehydrate Tongue please.I’m unsure if you boil first( how long?) or it can be cut into strips and straight into dehydrator. Many thanks.

    Reply
  4. I did a batch of chicken necks in my dehydrator and they smelled very badly so I threw them away. Did I do something wrong? Do you have any suggestions?

    Reply
  5. I made some trachea and a few have a thin mold on them after a few days –
    Can this be prevented?
    And are they still safe for the dog?

    Thanks great blog!

    Reply
    • Is it fatty? Try drying them for longer and store in the fridge (short term) or freezer long term.

  6. Hi! I was just wondering how long can I store the dehydrated treats if I don’t put it in the freezer until it goes bad.

    Reply
    • hi there i was wondering the same as well… i read from other websites that it can only be kept for no more than 2 weeks? is this true?

    • Probably around 2 weeks, but lots of variables to life-span eg, how dry it is, how lean meat is, how they are stored. Cause we don’t use salt and vinegar it doesn’t have the same lifespan as Jerky produced for human consumption.

  7. Hi, thanks for all the recipes! I’m planning to make the chicken jerky for the dog. Just want to check if I have dehydrate it properly with the oven method at the end, will it be safe for human consumption? I doubt it’ll be very appealing considering there will be no salt etc but I have kids at home and just want to be safe because of Salmonella.

    Looking forward to hear from you. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Jamie – you are a master! Absolutely love your recipes which started me making treats for my doodle four years ago. I now have two doodles and a dehydrator, so as usual I turned to you for info and inspiration! Excellent detail and descriptions on how to make jerky. The booklet that came with mine is unsurprisingly rubbish!! Thanks Jamie…..keep them coming.

    • Thank you Sue! That’s very kind of you! 🙂

    • Hey soz just saw this. If you heat it like I recommend and make sure it is properly dry then yeah, it is fine for human consumption, but bland.

  8. Why are you cooking the meat ‘to kill bacteria’? Research raw feeding dogs and you’ll see the benefits of not cooking it!

    Reply
    • Dehydration preserves food and it’s clean too so good to put in your pocket while out and about.

  9. So my liver jerky came out more crispy then chewy…they were in my dehydrater for 11hours and then had a 10min stint in my oven @350°.

    Could you tell me how yours came out? I’m thinking either they were in the dehydrater too long or my oven temp was to high so it cooked them until they were over done

    Reply
    • lots of variables. how thick did you cut it? Try dehydrating for less time and or put in oven for less time too.

    • Hi, I used the oven instead of a dehydrated and shortly after I cut it up it all turned green? (As in within 10 mins) whilst inside air tight plastic bags. I have now popped them all in the freezer but are they safe to give to dogs still?
      I’m a dog walker too so don’t want to poison anyone’s dogs!!

    • Green??? What meat did you use? Can you email me a photo?

    • I have a question. When I buy the pig skin, it can have up to 1-2cm of fat on it. Do I need to trim this?? Thanks.

    • if you wanna store it then yeah cut off the far, else if you plan to use it straight away then it doesnt matter

  10. just wondering where you got your pigs ears from? I get mine from my local farms shop (chidswell in dewsbury), they prepare everything themselves which is great plus it’s supporting local business. all I have to do is call ahead and they’ll save me some to one side (most local butchers just throw it out as waste) which is great because I don’t actually pay anything for them, it’s worth looking around for somewhere like this because if you can get them for free there is no point in paying for them.

    have you tried making training treatrs by mising meat in a blender till it gets to a consistency similar to pate (I usually blend chicken and liver but you could use anything I guess), then I put it in a piping bag and put blobs on baking parchment lined dehydrator shelves for a couple of hours (experiment a littlewith the time, it’s usually so small it only takes a couple of hours to do a batch). these go down great at my local training class and I often have my dog and his friends begging me for a couple of treats.

    also I have the same andrew james dehydrator as in the pictures, it’s great for the money (think I paid around £40) and it’s just a nice size for doing decent size batches without wanting to completely fill your freezer in one go (mine last so long I always freeze tp make them last longer – have a batch of liver treats that im still going through after 6 months lol)

    Reply
    • I was just thinking about the possibility of a pate type treat. I’m so glad I read through the comments and saw that someone has done this. Yeah!
      I’ve made banana, peanut butter, rolled oat, corn meal, coconut oil and honey cookies as my first treat attempt. It was a huge success!
      Now I need to tackle organ meats. Love my fur-babies.

  11. Not sure you answered regarding dehydrated chicken , does it need to go in oven afterwards and can this be done a few days later

    Reply
  12. Hi there Jamie thanks for the information – brilliant. I have been dehydrating my dog treats for a couple of years now and I haven’t been doing the second step – in the oven for 10 at a higher heat. I made a batch yesterday – can I do this step now (a day later) or am I best to freeze it? I made salmon and kangaroo jerky – the house stunk for hours 🙂

    Reply
    • Kangaroo sounds fab idea, thanks. Regarding heating the next day I can’t really say. Sorry.

  13. 5

    Reply
  14. how would I make beef tongue treats in the food dehydrator? How long should they cook for? Thank you for your info.

    Reply
  15. Excellent information! Thanks! I only recently tried my dogs on dried liver treats, and they’ve gone nuts for them, but the one who really acted like she found heaven was my cat. She pushed in past three dogs who weigh in at well over one hundred pounds between them to steal these right out from under their noses. My big dehydrator is working non-stop. Thanks so much for your direction and advice!

    Reply
  16. I was looking for ways to use liver and stumbled onto your site. I have written down 2 recipes (so far) and will also write down the liver dog food recipe. Liver is not my family’s favorite but I expect our half Australian shepherd and red healer will have a different opinion of it. I look forward to making these recipes.

    Reply
  17. Hi I have a lovely little boxer pup 13 weeks old he’s raw fed and I’ve just bought my first dehydrator got heart ready to do, and some little fishes (can’t remember what they are called) can they all go in together or do I need to do them separately cheers

    Reply
  18. I can see the meats but the pig’s ears are too revolting to even look at let alone feed to my dog.I also cannot do raw for same reason. We tried freeze dried raw and my little shih tzu vomited non stop . Tried another brand and had horrible diarrhea. Besides his mom , me, cannot tolerate or touch anything raw.

    Reply
    • Oh Nancy it is disgusting at first but you get used to it. I remember when I got my first dog I couldnt bare to pick up his poo and would gag at the sight and my bro had to do it, but now as a dog walker I do it all day long fine. Pig ears are brill and you know, I’d give yourself that chance to get used to animal body parts. Chicken and beef is great, dogs love it.

    • “We tried freeze dried raw and my little shih tzu vomited non stop . ”

      Shih tzu is one of the very few dog breeds that cannot eat raw food like other dogs. It is so old breed that it is adapted to eat processed food and the raw food makes it often sick. So becareful with your shih tzu.

  19. Hello Jamie! Great Blog. I have a question, for how long can you store these jerks? I have a small dog and I want to do a bunch of them for a long period of time, but I am afraid of losing quality or contaminations. Thank you!!

    Reply
    • Hey Anna

      Well it all depends… For humans we’d add salt and spices and stuff which helps keep the food from spoiling for a longer time but for dogs we don’t want salt in it so then it depends on how much fat is on the meat – the less fat the longer it will last as fat spoils. So maybe a few weeks if stored correctly. If you want long term then an ideal way is to freeze and you wont even need to defrost as the water content is so low.

    • The dehydrated result is quite crunchy is there a way of making them softer I’m using raw and want to make quick bite training treats for my puppy.

    • if you want them softer, just dont dry them so long, so there is still some moisture inside. Being crunchy means they are bone dry

  20. Can we do this without a dehydrator and just use the oven?

    Reply
    • Yeah, at a very low heat and with the oven door ajar. You can google for more info but dehydrators are cheap and if you are gonna do it regularly then worth buying.

  21. Hi! Do you line your dehydrator before drying the meat? Lots of people recommend lining with silicone….have you had any issues not lining it?

    I have made dehydrated sweet potato chews for my pooches before. They go crazy for them, very chewy like rawhide but not as lethal!

    Reply
    • Hey Dannii. I don’t, no. Liners are used to prevent high sugar foods from sticking to dehydrator.

  22. Hi Jamie, what temp do you have your oven at for the 10 mins to kill pathogens??

    Reply
    • 257ºF (126ºC) for 10 mins

    • Great, thank you 🙂

  23. Why do you put the dehydrated food into an oven?
    Why do you need to freeze dehydrated food? Shouldn’t it last forever?

    Reply
    • Hi Laura,

      You don’t have to oven the food, I just recommend it to make sure all pathogens are destroyed, basically it covers my own back. Dehydrators…good ones heat the food enough to kill pathogens making it safe and dog’s bellies are pretty tough… but I gotta make sure it’s super safe for readers. Freezing helps the lifespan of dehydrated foods. There will always be some moisture left and also fat cant be dried and there will always be some fat in meat and the fat turns after a while. But the drier and leaner it is the longer it will last.

      Jamie

  24. I tried the liver and heart and kidneys recipes. Do they only keep for so long as mine looked like they were going mouldy. Could I freeze the next lot.

    Reply
    • Hey,

      The less fat it has the longer it will store and kidney is pretty fatty. But yeah, I’d just freeze and they’d last forever that way. Being a dog walker I only ever get days out of anything I make so never have to worry about shelf life.

  25. Forgot to ask where do i buy the Dehydrator from?
    sorry for the spelling mistake should have been
    ADDED

    Reply
  26. Like the sound of all the goodies for my ridgeback and hope to try some of the receipes had a bit of
    trouble on and off with some food issues at the moment she has gone back onto minced tripe and
    we have haded sweet potatoes,carrots.

    Reply
    • That sounds like a tasty dinner. Yeah, these dehydrated treats will go down very well with your dog.

  27. My Welsh Terrier, Chuck, absolutely loves your liver cake recipe, and having had a look through these recipes, I bought a dehydrator, which arrive today! Just been to the butchers, who offered me 2 lungs, heart and liver for £6!! I said I probably needed to start small, so have just bought the heart and about a third of the liver… just about to start slicing and drying! Have put them in the freezer first for 30 mins to help with the slicing. Wish me luck! Chuck is drooling already!

    Reply
    • Hey Tom. Soz for taking so long to reply, so busy with schools off here. That’s a great price and you lucky you have a butcher like that near you. Hope it has all turned out ok! 🙂

  28. Yesterday tried out the dried liver, chicken and sweet potato in the oven (small amount first to see how it went down), used as a high value reward at dog training. My staffy cross loved them. Now have tripe, liver, sweet potato and banana in the oven. Will def try the other receipes out. Thanks for the receipes.

    Reply
    • Hi Clare

      Aww, that’s great your dog liked them. So much better than some of the stuff that’s sold! Good luck with the dog training.

      Jamie

  29. Hi. I follow your steps for the Salmon Jerky.
    After 8 hours of dyhdration there are very greasy
    After 10 minutes in the oven. They are still greasy.
    My questions are:
    Is this good for my 2 years old Poodle?
    How to get rid of these grease?

    Reply
    • Salmon is a bit oily but it’s good oil. Wont last long as it will spoil quick buts it’s a great treat.

    • About to try salmon. How long will it last in the refrigerator?

    • Not sure. No treat I have ever made has lasted long enough to find out.

    • White fish will dry better without the oil.

  30. When dehydrating salmon, is it ok for some small bones to be in it or should you make sure they are all out? Thank you.

    Reply
    • I did it with fine bones and it was Ok. Dehydrated my salmon for about 9hrs and the bones turned crispy. the only problem is the salmon oil dripping that makes cleaning a chore…

  31. Great site, so excited to start dehydrating.
    Sick of all those dog treat additives.
    Checking consumer report for a dehydrator.
    Hope to get started on the weekend.

    Reply
  32. Hi i did pigs lungs in the dehydrator dog loves them . I didnt enjoy cutting them up though very spongy

    Reply
    • Hi Margaret!

      What a great idea! I’d love to see some pics!

      Jamie

  33. Hi Jamie, I have some ground salmon, do you have a recipe for dehydrating that? My little Shih Tsu loves beef jerky and also loves salmon so I would like to make him some dehydrated treats.
    thank you for your lovely website!

    Annie

    Reply
    • I’m not sure how ground meat would dry. Tbh, I’d be more inclined to use it in a baking treat like the sardine oatcakes.

    • You can get a gun type device that you put ground meat in to make jerky. It pushes the meat out like a calking gun into flat strips. They work well and I’m sure you can get them on Amazon.

  34. Thanks for all the info! I have some wild salmon in the dehydrator now and was looking for any information on how long it will take. It was frozen, and sliced thin, so I will keep checking. Lucky dog! The salmon wasn’t well wrapped and got freezer burn – I don’t think she will mind, but it wasn’t good for us!

    Reply
  35. Thank you so much for this. Having just bought an Excalibur, with the intent to make safe dog treats for my beloved little “copine,” I trolled a lot of sites and grew quickly frustrated with the incomplete information and vague directions. Your article was not only informative and detailed but also covered far more diverse materials (e.g., tripe, kidneys, etc.) that this American regularly encounters now that she’s living in central (agricultural) France. Kudos to you for taking the time and being so detailed. I’m sure many more who haven’t written have also appreciated this!

    Reply
    • Thanks Siobhan! That’s the problem I had too when I was looking to dehydrate food. Took a bit of time but it’s all quite simple really.

      Thanks for your comments!

      Jamie

    • Hi. I just made beef liver jerky for our 4 pets and the LOVE it. I would like to try pork liver. Any reasons why i should not use pork liver?

  36. Thank you so much for this, just what I had been looking for! Commercial treats always have such awful ingredients, much better to make your own. Have already made beef and liver jerky and my dog loves it. Heart is next. 🙂

    Reply
    • Thanks Tanya! Glad you are making them! And you are right, they much better than what you buy, I just cant trust the commercial brands. Happy using these!

    • Hi Tanya! I’ve added pig ears to the dehydrated list. Another winner!

  37. How much does the liver weigh after dehydration? 1kg fresh liver =?dry liver.
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Hi Sarah. I don’t know how much weight is lost, I’ve never weighed before and after.

    • Ok Thanks Jamie.
      Our dogs are on a raw diet and require a certain amount of liver every week however one of our dogs will not eat it fresh ( he is very fussy) but loves it dried.So we need to convert the fresh weight to dried to ensure he gets the correct amount every week. Getting a dehydrator sounds like a good idea, thank you for the recipes that you have posted.

  38. Why do you store in the freezer? Can the treats be stored without a freezer?

    Reply
    • Hi Patricia. I store in the freezer for the convenience. I put a link on the post for more info about storing. You can find that here: http://www.wikihow.com/Store-Jerky

  39. Friend gave me your site for liver cake but saw the other recipes and ordered dehydrator straight away. Arrived today, start tomorrow. Liver and heart waiting in fridge. ‘Test taster dog primed and waiting.

    Reply
    • Hi Dee!

      Thanks for your comments! Dehydrating is fun! You don’t get the smell in the house you do with baking. Liver great… heart great… Kidney works great too and anything that’s in the reduced isle.

  40. These look fab! What dehydrator did you end up buying? I’m thinking of trying these!

    Reply
    • Thanks. I bought this one: Andrew James Dehydrator

      Excalibur make the Rolls Royce of dehydrators but they cost around £200-£300!

    • Love my dehydrator 🙂 dogs love my dehydrator. The fishy treats are a massive hit, picked up some haddock reduced in the supermarket and all the doggies loved them! My liver was very brittle though and would have broken teeth. I think I will just stick to livercake for that 🙂

    • Good good! Sounds like the liver was maybe over dried a bit.

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