January 24th was National Peanut Butter Day!
Peanut Butter was patented in 1884, but they probably didn’t see it as something that would become a staple in our lives or that of our dogs at that time!
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I don’t know about your dogs, but mine go nuts for all things peanut butter! We use it every single day with our dogs. It is everything from a bedtime snack to a quick reward or distraction. We keep a jar of the stuff with a butter knife sticking out on our kitchen counter – we don’t even bother with a lid anymore!
We love our open jar for being able to quickly interrupt a dog that is about to steal the other dog’s toy. Stepping in with a reward is so much faster and easier when their favorite reward is sitting within arm’s reach.
Our dogs have also been know to have their fastest recall to my call of “Peanut butter!!” from the back porch. Our youngest dog seemed to know “Peanut butter?” (this time with a question mark at the end) as another version of “Drop, please!”
There are a few safety concerns you want to be mindful of with peanut butter. The biggest is that you need to avoid feeding your dog anything with xylitol on the ingredients list. Xylitol is a sugar replacement and is extremely poisonous to dogs. It can quickly lead to seizures, organ damage, and death, and needs to be treated immediately by a veterinarian or emergency pet hospital.
Most standard peanut butters on the shelf of your grocery store will be dog safe, but take a look at the ingredients to make sure it is low- or no-added sugar, has no xylitol, and is low sodium.
Lastly, make sure that peanut butter or any other treats make up less than 10% of your dog’s daily diet. If your dog is sensitive to foods because of a disease or illness, check with your vet for guidance!
Easy Homemade Peanut Butter Treats
We visited our friends at Keloland Living to make easy homemade dog treats in honor of National Peanut Butter Day! This three-ingredient recipe is one you can probably make with items you already have at home!
A few tips for your treat making:
- Process your oats in a blender or food processor until they are as smooth as possible. If you don’t have oats or a blender available you can just substitute it out for regular flour.
- Bake your treats until they are as dry as possible without burning them. The drier your treats are, the longer they will last without refrigeration or freezing.
- You want to use a very ripe banana for this recipe. If your banana isn’t ripe yet, you can bake it in the oven to soften it, or you can place it in a closed-up paper bag for a few days to speed up the ripening process.
- The treat dough should be very thick, well mixed and smooth. If your dough is sticky or crumbly, add peanut butter 1 tablespoon at a time and mix again until the dough is firm & smooth.
- Since the dough is not sticky, you do not need to line or grease your baking sheet.
Easy Three Ingredient Dog Treats
1-1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, or approximately 2 cups of flour
1/2 cup smooth dog-safe peanut butter
1 large very ripe banana (or 2 medium bananas)
Instructions with a food processor: If you are using regular oats, process them in a blender or food processor until they make a smooth flour. Peel the banana and roughly slice. Add the slices and peanut butter into bowl of your food processor together with the oat flour you just made. Process them together, stopping the processor to scrape the sides before processing it again until smooth.
Instructions without a food processor: Smash the banana and peanut butter in a bowl together until completely smooth. Mix your flour into the banana and peanut butter either with a fork or wooden spoon.
Roll your dough into a 1/4″ slab to cut with cookie cutters, or roll them into little balls and smash them into a little cookie. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-30 minutes until dried out and lightly brown. Store at room temperature if they will be eaten soon, or in the fridge or freezer for longer storage.
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