Miles & Emma
  • Home
  • About
    • About Miles & Emma
    • About Welsh Terriers
  • Terrier Type
  • Train with Emma
  • Articles
    • Health
    • Diet & Treats
    • Training
    • Gear
    • Agility Welsh Terrier Journals
    • Dog Toys
    • DIY & Gift
    • Illustrations
  • Adventures
  • Subscribe
No Result
View All Result

Miles & Emma
  • Home
  • About
    • About Miles & Emma
    • About Welsh Terriers
  • Terrier Type
  • Train with Emma
  • Articles
    • Health
    • Diet & Treats
    • Training
    • Gear
    • Agility Welsh Terrier Journals
    • Dog Toys
    • DIY & Gift
    • Illustrations
  • Adventures
  • Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
Miles & Emma
No Result
View All Result

M&E’s DIY Dehydrated Dog Food

How to make the BEST DIY dehydrated dog food -- great meals/treats for travel, hiking, camping, dog sports... Or just the all-around best dog treats ever!

by Emma Kesler, CDBC, CPDT-KA
0 0
4

I am changing the way you dear readers receive emails about new posts! If you didn’t get an email about this post, make sure to subscribe! 🐶


Onward to the latest…

A few days ago, I was catching up with Rod at Natural Instincts Raw Pet Food, the family owned and operated company that makes Miles’ food. I mentioned to Rod that when Miles had surgery the veterinary clinic suggested I cook Miles’ food and I didn’t, because most raw food contains bone. Rod pointed out that some of their varieties don’t contain bone and are safe to be cooked.

Suddenly I had a light bulb moment and a new M&E recipe was born!

To portion Miles’ frozen raw food into meal-sized servings, usually I lightly thaw the patties/logs and use a cleaver to portion his meals. Here’s a video if you are curious. This time instead of cutting meal-sized portions, I sliced the logs into very thin slices! I allowed the logs to thaw just so that it felt about like slicing a raw potato.

Then I placed the slices into my dehydrator.

Dehydrator Info:

  • Gardenmaster Dehydrator – This is the best dehydrator for making your own dog treats. It is one of the few highly affordable at-home dehydrators that is powerful enough and rated for safe dehydrating of meats. This dehydrator has saved me thousands of dollars over the years in dog treats!
  • Tray screens – I recommend getting 2 extra packs (about $25 in total). They protect your trays from treats sticking and make clean up easier. They can go through the top shelf of a dishwasher.

About 3.5 pounds of meat (in this case, six logs) perfectly filled the 4 trays that came with my dehydrator. You can really see the quality of the meat here, so fresh!

I dehydrated the treats overnight for 12 hours. I used pork which I have always found to have the longest dehydrating time. If you are using beef or chicken you likely can dehydrate for less time. Just a reminder – never dehydrate raw dog food that contains bone!

The end result was perfect circular treats, easy to break into bits, not messy, not greasy, shelf-stable, and wildly delicious (according to Miles)! They are healthy part of Miles’ diet and so easy to use.

This weekend at an agility trial I put these treats to the test and alternated between them and fresh cooked pork chop strips (cooked in butter with a bit of salt). Miles did not have a preference between the two, which is a first with dry treats vs. fresh cooked meat! I am going to be using these treats for a variety of purposes, including as everyday treats, for extra calories for Miles when hiking, and at times as a meal replacement food when traveling/camping.

If you can source high quality raw dog food that does not contain bone, making these treats is so easy. If you live in British Columbia, Natural Instincts’ red meat varieties are my top choice. Can’t find local raw dog food that doesn’t contain bone?  You can also get high quality fresh ground meat, wrap it in plastic wrap, tightly roll it into a log, freeze, and follow the recipe.

The 3.5 lb bag of high quality raw dog food (pork muscle/organ meat sourced from a local, ethical farm) cost around $15 and made a POUND of dry treats!

Natural Instincts  //  The dehydrator I use  //  My original  DIY Dog Treat Recipe

ShareTweetPinSend
Previous Post

An Injury, the Recovery, and Antinol

Next Post

Hurtta Dog Coats

Emma Kesler, CDBC, CPDT-KA

Emma Kesler, CDBC, CPDT-KA

Emma Kesler, CDBC, CPDT-KA is an award-winning Certified Dog Behavior Consultant who has worked with clients around the world for over a decade. Emma dedicates her coaching roster to types of dogs that are underserved in the dog behavior and training world. Emma shares her life with her Welsh Terrier copilot Miles.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments 4

  1. JC Watkins says:
    1 year ago

    Love the look on that pup’s face

    Reply
    • Emma Kesler, CDBC, CPDT-KA says:
      1 year ago

      Hehe! The look of treat love! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Debbie North says:
    1 year ago

    Excited about the M&E chips! What is the shelf life and how do you store them?
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Emma Kesler, CDBC, CPDT-KA says:
      1 year ago

      Yay! They have the same shelf life of any dry dog treats really. I like to keep mine in “fido jars” (link here) but you can store them in ziplock bags, too. I would avoid refrigeration because the fridge can add moisture back into the treats. If they sit for ages they will just lose a bit of flavor and get a little stale — which Miles doesn’t seem to care about with my home dehydrated treats. I’ve found my classic recipe in my pockets months later and he’s been perfectly happy to take care of them!

      Reply

This is for all of the wild dogs out there, for the people who love them, and for those who want get to know them. You've come to the right place. 🐶

M&E is participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon.com.

Copyright © 2022 Miles and Emma

  • Home
  • About
    • About Miles & Emma
    • About Welsh Terriers
  • Terrier Type
  • Train with Emma
  • Articles
    • Health
    • Diet & Treats
    • Training
    • Gear
    • Agility Welsh Terrier Journals
    • Dog Toys
    • DIY & Gift
    • Illustrations
  • Adventures
  • Subscribe
No Result
View All Result

Copyright © 2022 Miles and Emma

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist