OK, I’ll confess: baking homemade liver dog treats may not be the best way to scent your home…but your dog will love you for it.
Many weeks I like to make pretty little dog treats. Dog treats made with shredded carrots and colorful ingredients, all trimmed using cute little cookie cutters.
This is not one of those weeks.
This week’s recipe is, well, it’s downright ugly. The ingredients are hideous. The preparation is just plain gross. The smell of the treats baking is nothing you’d want to bottle as use as a room deodorizer.
But the finished product will make you very popular with your dog. And you’ll know that you’re giving your dog a treat that’s good for him (and also very inexpensive to make).
(Before we go any further, let me just warn you if you’re one of those people that can’t stand the sight of raw liver, run, do not walk, to another DogTipper page. You’ll find plenty of other yummy recipes here like Peanut Butter Treats.)
These treats make excellent training treats because they’re firm and can be trimmed into mere nuggets that you can use to reward your dog during his training session.
Step one is to assemble your ingredients, and they’re simple: raw liver, whole wheat flour, and an egg.
I rinsed the liver with cold water so it’s a little less liver-y but you don’t have to if you’re in a pinch for time.
Next (and this is the toughest step), toss the liver into the blender.
Blend until it’s the consistency of a malt (just keep telling yourself it’s a strawberry and chocolate malt. That works unless you catch a whiff of the pretend malt.)
You don’t want any pieces remaining in the mix or, when it comes time to score the treats, you’ll have a tough time cutting them apart.
In a mixing bowl, pour the liver and mix with your flour, egg and water. Stir well. The result is a pretty heavy batter:
Next, pour the batter onto a well-greased cookie sheet (one with a good lip). This mix won’t rise much at all.
Pop the cookie sheet into a 350 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Take the cookie sheet out and score the treats into 1/2-inch squares. (When we train with these treats, we break them up much smaller…but I don’t have the patience to cut them any smaller!)
Turn off your oven and return the cookie sheet with the scored treats back to the oven for about 10 minutes; this will help dry out the treats.
After 10 minutes, remove them and, using a spatula, remove all the treats…then put them all back again (no, not in order! You just want to pile them up in any fashion so the edges that haven’t had a chance to dry out will get nice and crispy.)
Return the cookie sheet to the oven (which is turned off) and leave it there until the oven has cooled or at least another half hour.
When you take the treats out of the oven, if they’re not completely cooled, let them cool on the counter before you finally bag them up and refrigerate them.
Treats can be refrigerated for 4-5 days; if you have more than you’ll use in that time, divide the treats and put some in the freezer.
The result? Our dogs say these treats are lip-licking good!
Homemade Liver Dog Treats
Ingredients
1 pound raw liver, rinsed
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 egg
1/2 cup water
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a blender, blend liver until smooth then pour into a large mixing bowl.
Add other ingredients and stir until well mixed then pour onto greased cookie sheet with 1/2-inch sides.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Allow treats to cool then cut into training treat size.
Refrigerate treats.
Would your dog love this recipe?
Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest
Cooks: Don’t miss our My Dog Says I’m a Great Cook™ cookbook with over 100 dog treat recipes from the publishers, readers and fans of DogTipper! This paperback book is available in our PawZaar gift store!
About Paris Permenter & John Bigley
Paris Permenter and John Bigley are the award-winning authors of over 30 pet and travel books including The Healthy Hound Cookbook and Texas with Dogs, both available through Simon and Schuster.
Hi Doug, Yes, I refrigerate these treats (no longer than about 4 days for meat treats). If you think the supply is larger than what you’ll need in a few days, just freeze a portion and thaw as needed! Paris
Thank you for this recipe, I do plan on making. Just asking if you think it would work with Oat Bran which is what I use as a flour replacement for some of my human recipes.
Hi Patricia! Sorry…I just ran across your comment! Yes, I think it would work with Oat Bran; the treats might be a little heavier but that’s OK since these are cut into small training treat size anyway. Let me know if you make it with Oat Bran and how it turned out! Paris
Hi, can l make these with white regular flour? Also how much is too much to give to your puppy or dog, l am just worried about to much liver.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe.
Our 13 week old pup loves these, I used a silicon pyramid tray and they come out as bite size. I used wholemeal rye flour which needed another egg added to the mix to make it a little more liquid….. i also threw the shell in too… added calcium.
Thanks for the recipe these will be a long term treat for our pup.
Tim
I made this recipe and added thawed fresh frozen peas and carrots. I used old-fashioned oats instead of flour. But I pulverized the oats first. My dog CRAVES these! He is 15 week Malti-poo
These are a hit! I used quinoa flakes instead cause that’s what I had at hand. Puppy was going crazy the whole time they were baking! I think the training will go well with these! Thanks!
I used a pulverized grain free dog food instead of flour. Both of our rescues were patiently waiting as they cooked and loved them. I cut into bite sized treats, froze the excess and refrigerated enough for 2 treats for 4 days! Thanks so much for sharing your receipe!
Doug Knudson says
Hi,
I’m wondering if these treats have to be refrigerated because of the liver content?
Thanks,
Doug
Paris Permenter & John Bigley says
Hi Doug, Yes, I refrigerate these treats (no longer than about 4 days for meat treats). If you think the supply is larger than what you’ll need in a few days, just freeze a portion and thaw as needed! Paris
Annie says
Super easy and effective recipe. Much nicer than baking liver for hours. Thank you
patricia pichler says
I made these and my dog didn’t like them, Sorry
Patricia Callahan says
Thank you for this recipe, I do plan on making. Just asking if you think it would work with Oat Bran which is what I use as a flour replacement for some of my human recipes.
Paris Permenter & John Bigley says
Hi Patricia! Sorry…I just ran across your comment! Yes, I think it would work with Oat Bran; the treats might be a little heavier but that’s OK since these are cut into small training treat size anyway. Let me know if you make it with Oat Bran and how it turned out! Paris
Lisa says
Do you think they would bother a dog with pancreatitis?
Paris Permenter & John Bigley says
I would always recommend talking with your veterinarian before giving a dog with pancreatitis any different foods or treats!
christine says
Hi, can l make these with white regular flour? Also how much is too much to give to your puppy or dog, l am just worried about to much liver.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe.
Tim says
Our 13 week old pup loves these, I used a silicon pyramid tray and they come out as bite size. I used wholemeal rye flour which needed another egg added to the mix to make it a little more liquid….. i also threw the shell in too… added calcium.
Thanks for the recipe these will be a long term treat for our pup.
Tim
Miguel says
How many treats is recommended for a 7 pound dog?
Becky says
I made this recipe and added thawed fresh frozen peas and carrots. I used old-fashioned oats instead of flour. But I pulverized the oats first. My dog CRAVES these! He is 15 week Malti-poo
Linda Crawley says
My dogs love these! Just finished another batch today and of course they’re ready for more. Thank you.
Jan says
These are a hit! I used quinoa flakes instead cause that’s what I had at hand. Puppy was going crazy the whole time they were baking! I think the training will go well with these! Thanks!
Claudia Torresc says
Used rice flour instead… Pup loves them… perfect for training… super motivated!
Susan Wales says
I used a pulverized grain free dog food instead of flour. Both of our rescues were patiently waiting as they cooked and loved them. I cut into bite sized treats, froze the excess and refrigerated enough for 2 treats for 4 days! Thanks so much for sharing your receipe!
Amber says
Do you think they will last longer un refrigerated if i then dehydrate the,?
Sherry says
I made them as a treat for all the dogs in the neighbourhood and the loved them! So easy to make (except the liver part).
Hoku says
What kind of liver did yo use?
Paris Permenter & John Bigley says
I used beef; you could also use chicken!