Cook for your canine friend with these vet-approved tips

If you’ve been wanting to try your hand at whipping up a few yummy homemade snacks for your pampered pooch, but aren’t sure how to get started, we’ve got the guide for you!

Here’s the lowdown on vet-approved, delicious doggo delicacies, with advice on safe and nutritious ingredients (and which ones to avoid), and how you can prepare and store your homemade treats safely.

Let’s get cooking!

Why homemade treats can benefit your dog

While there are many high quality, conveniently prepared treats available in pet stores and supermarkets, there are definite benefits to being able to make yummy homemade snacks for your canine companion too.

Some of the advantages of home cooked dog treats include:

Being able to ensure that the food is fresher and less processed

Many commercial pet snacks/diets are highly heat-processed or contain preservatives to ensure a longer shelf life and a lower risk of germ contamination (which is important for food safety). However, these processes can unfortunately destroy some of the natural nutrient value of certain foods, while some pets may also be intolerant of particular preservatives. Being able to offer freshly prepared/cooked ingredients to your dog can help strike a healthy balance between food safety and nutritional benefits.

Allows you to cater to the tastes of a fussy pet

If your dog is a bit of a food snob, it can be hard to find healthy snacks that they enjoy eating. Homemade recipes mean that you can include your dog’s favourite flavours to help ensure a “two thumbs/dewclaws up” culinary experience for them! Having reliably delicious treats on hand for your little canine Gordon Ramsay can also help facilitate the stress-free administration of any medications they are required to take.

Being able to avoid problematic ingredients

If your pet doesn’t tolerate certain ingredients (such as high fat or high salt content foods, or particular proteins), knowing exactly what is in the food you’re offering them can bring peace of mind. However, if your doggo is on a strict therapeutic diet, it’s always safest to check with your vet before offering them something new.

Cost effectiveness

With the price of many goods seeming to go up and up, being able to save a little bit of money by making your own pet treats at home could seem like an attractive option right now (although it’s still probably not going to help your pet save up their own dream dog house deposit!).

The right balance of ingredients

It’s important that at least 90% of your dog’s diet is complete and balanced – this means that it provides all the essential nutrients in the proper proportions and formulations (so nutrients can be effectively digested and absorbed) for your dog’s life stage to meet their long-term nutritional needs, as defined by reputable guidelines such as those set out by AAFCO or FEDIAF.

It’s fine for your pet to have safe homemade snacks and treats, but these should make up no more than 10% of their daily calories, as without the guidance of a board-certified veterinary nutritionist, it’s difficult to ensure that home-prepared foods will be appropriately complete and balanced.

However, just because a homemade treat isn’t a “complete” diet, it’s not to say that it can’t provide nourishing benefits to your pet (as well as the delightful enrichment they will receive from the exciting new smells and flavours!).

What to avoid in dog treats

Unfortunately, not everything that we love to eat is safe for dogs. Never include potentially toxic or otherwise dangerous foods in your homemade dog snacks.

Common dangerous foods for dogs include:

• Onion
• Garlic
• Chocolate
• Grapes, raisins and sultanas
• Coffee or coffee beans
• Xylitol-sweetened foods
• Macadamia nuts
• Fruit containing pits/stones
• Cooked bones
• Fatty foods

How to prepare and store treats safely

Feeding your pet cooked meat is safest, as appropriate cooking (with the meat reaching an internal temperature of at least 75°C) destroys harmful bacteria (such as E. coli and salmonella), bacterial toxins, and parasites that can be present in raw meat and are a particular concern in households with young children or immunocompromised people.

Freezing meat at a sub-zero temperature for at least 10 days prior to feeding it to your pet can kill certain parasites, but does not kill bacteria, yeast and moulds (only puts them into a hibernation state).

It’s always recommended to follow standard food safety guidelines when handling, storing or preparing raw meat for your pet.

After you have cooked meat-based snacks for your pet, you can store them in the fridge for up to three days, or in the freezer for a maximum of three months. However, crisp baked goods such as biscuits can last up to two weeks in an airtight container.

Tips from the vet for healthy treats

It’s important that any treats you feed to your doggo:

• Are made with safe and ideally nutritious ingredients
• Are introduced slowly in small amounts, to avoid your pet developing a tummy upset from a sudden dietary change
• Are fed in moderation, to help maintain your pet’s healthiest weight
• Fit within any dietary restrictions your pet may have for a particular health condition (e.g. a food allergy or intolerance)

Common dietary restrictions for dogs include:

• Low fat content – can be essential for doggos prone to hyperlipaemia (excessive fat in the blood) or pancreatitis
• Protein restrictions – some dogs will develop recurrent skin/ear problems or gastrointestinal unwellness symptoms due to food allergies (which are commonly triggered by certain proteins)
• Salt restrictions – pets with chronic kidney disease, heart disease or high blood pressure may require a prescription low salt diet to help maintain a healthy blood pressure

If you’re unsure whether a particular treat is appropriate for your dog, it’s always safest to seek personalised advice from your vet, particularly if your pup has any special health or dietary needs.

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21 Jul 2026