Turkey Dog Treats

Have so much leftover turkey you can't even imagine eating it? Don't - let the dog have it instead! They'll love it!

My turkey treats are healthy home-made cookies that are especially good for (re)using up that leftover turkey.

Gather your ingredients:

1 cup turkey
2 eggs
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp flax seed oil
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup flour


Some things to note:
*turkey - these made any time of year substituting 2 cans of tuna/salmon/chicken/etc. Please note that some dogs have more sensitive tummies than others, so make sure you're dog isn't allergic to whatever meat you choose to use.
*eggs - this recipe uses the egg shells. they are a good source of calcium, in addition to the vitamins and minerals inside the egg
*garlic - garlic repels fleas and is good for the immune system. some people believe that in large doses it is not good for dogs, but in small doses it can be good.
*oatmeal - is one of the best sources of fiber/carbohydrates. If you don't have any it's ok to substitute flour, it just won't be as healthy
*flour - if you have rice flour, it's the best since it's the easiest type of flour for a dog to digest. it you don't normal flour is ok.
*flax seed oil - a great source of omega 3 oils (good for skin and coat). if you have fish oil that's also a great source of omega 3s. If you don't have either you can substitute regular vegetable oil.

You'll also want a silpat or parchment paper to put on your cookie sheet so that these don't stick.

Remove the turkey from the bone and chop it into small pieces. Make sure to discard any fatty parts, since too much fat will upset your dogs stomach. Also, don't be tempted to let them chew on the bone - cooked poultry bones are brittle and can break in your dog's stomach.

Mince the garlic.

Note that there is some debate about garlic with dogs; some people say it's a great supplement for them and some say it can be toxic in large amounts. I believe it is good in small doses, so I am keeping it in the recipe for flavoring and immune benefits. If you are uncomfortable with it, skip this step and leave it out.

Break the eggs into the blender and blend until the shells are totally pulverized.

Add the oil, turkey, and garlic.

Blend until it is thoroughly mixed and pulverized.

Mix in the flour and oatmeal. The mixture will be too thick for the blender to do this, so you'll have to use a spoon. You can move it to a bowl; I chose to hand mix it in the blender so that I wouldn't have to dirty a bowl when the blender worked perfectly fine.

The final texture is like tuna salad or very thick oatmeal.

Form small balls, much like you would with oatmeal cookies. The size of the balls really depends on what size cookie you want.

Place the balls of a tray lined with parchment paper of a silpat. Don't worry about spacing them apart, because they won't really spread out.

Bake the cookies at 350 for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, turn the oven off and leave the cookies in the hot oven for another 45 minutes to harden.

Let the cookies cool and share with your four legged friend.

This recipe makes about 35 medium sized cookies. Do not keep them at room temperature - remember that they have meat in them, so keep them in the fridge. If you have extra, freeze the them and thaw out only 2-3 days worth at a time.