DIY Peanut Butter Bacon Banana Dog Treats

Make your pups something extra special with these DIY Peanut Butter Bacon Banana Dog Treats.  Super easy, made with ingredients you already have on hand and your dogs are sure to love them!

Today we are celebrating a very special birthday in our house today.  It’s our dog, Dudley’s, 5th birthday!  And yes, ’round these parts we celebrate the dog’s birthdays too.  I’ve always loved to go into the dog bakeries and buy them something extra special but a few years ago, the little dog bakery went out of business.  So,  I decided I’d just start making my own.  Now, they aren’t as fancy as the ones I use to purchase with the decorative icing and artistic styled writing, but if you ask the dogs, it makes no difference to them.    All they know is they taste different from the ones that come out of the red box.

If you were to ask me 4.5 years ago if we’d be celebrating Dudley’s birthday, I would tell you probably not and let me explain why.  When I was little, we didn’t grow up ever owning a dog but I babysat a family who had a yorkie and fell in love with him.  Let’s rewind to college and as soon as I moved into my own place senior year, I got a yorkie.  His name was Parker and he was my baby.  I’d do anything for that dog, even spend upwards of 4K to pay for back surgery when he was just 4 years old. But when I became pregnant with my first-born and Parker needed to have surgery again to fix his kidneys, it was too much for us to handle.  This would have been his 4th surgery, as the little guy’s kidneys never functioned properly, and with a new baby on the way, we couldn’t afford to keep paying for a surgery that was never guaranteed to work.

We had Parker put down in October of 2010, when my son was 4 months old.  It was one of the hardest days of my life but it was also hard to see the little guy struggle each and every day and watch him in so much pain when it was time to use the bathroom.  At the end of the day, it was the best decision for us and him and we know he’s in good hands right now playing in doggie heaven with all his little friends.  Hi Parker!

My husband, who grew up with dogs, loves dog, as do I, so the question came up about getting a new dog about 6 months after we put Parker down.  I wasn’t fully on board but would peruse the Humane Society’s website from time to time and look for a potential new dog.  One day, we came across Dudley’s picture on their website and made an appointment to go in first thing Saturday morning and check him out.

To this day, I will never forget the gleam in my husband and son’s eyes when Dudley first came into the room.  Their faces lit up and I knew in that instant, Dudley had found a new home.  He was a 6 month old Schnauzer mix whom someone had abandoned on the side of the road.  He had been well taken care of as he didn’t need any potty training or any of the other usual puppy training.  As cute and as wonderful as Dudley was, I was struggling with owning a new dog.  I was working from home, with a newborn and just didn’t have enough energy to deal with a new puppy.  At one point, I told my husband to find him a new home.  “Give him a few weeks, he’ll calm down” He said.  And he was right.  I’m so thankful for his words because I cannot imagine my life without Dudley now.  He’s my baby and shows me unconditional love even when I’m being a totally B.

So, today is his birthday and we’re celebrating with these DIY Peanut Butter Bacon Banana Dog Treats and a few new chew toys.  I made a variation of these treats last year but they had carrots in them.  I nixed the carrots this year and added bacon, well because like humans, dogs love bacon too and my Dudley is no exception..

These treats are super simple to make and most likely don’t require you to go to the store to purchase any of the ingredients.  It’s a matter of frying up a few pieces of bacon and throwing the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl to make a dough.  Roll out the dough and cut out little bone shapes if you happen to have one of those on hand.  Again, the dogs won’t know the difference but it does make them that much cuter.  Throw them in an oven to bake and when they’re finished, you’ve got yourself some homemade dog treats your dogs can’t resist.

This was also super fun to do with my daughter.  She loved helping me cut out the cookies.  She also couldn’t help but pose, complete with hand on the hip for these photos.

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DIY Peanut Butter Bacon Banana Dog Treats

Prep 10 mins

Cook 20 mins

Total 30 mins

Author Strawberry Blondie Kitchen

Yield 18

Make your pups something extra special with these DIY Peanut Butter Bacon Banana Dog Treats. Super easy, made with ingredients you already have on hand and your dogs are sure to love them!

Ingredients

• 3 slices of bacon, cooked and fat reserved
• 1 cup whole wheat white flour
• 1 cup oat flour
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 egg
• 1 banana
• 1/3 cup peanut butter, I used Natural
• 1 tablespoon reserved bacon fat
• 1/2 cup water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 12 x 17 baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.
2. Cook bacon in a frying pan and reserve bacon fat.
3. In a medium bowl combine flours, oats and dried parsley and set aside.
4. In a heat proof bowl add the mashed the banana, peanut butter and bacon fat. Stir to combine. Melt in a microwave in 30 second intervals until peanut butter is melted. Set aside until slightly cool and then add in the egg and bacon.
5. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients bowl and add the wet ingredients into the well. Gradually add in water. (You may need more or less than 1/2 cup but to get a smooth consistency, my dough required 1/2 cup water.)
6. Flour a large surface and roll out dough until 1/4' thick.
7. use cookie cutter to cut out treats and place on prepared baking sheet.
8. Bake for 18-20 minutes until cookies are golden brown. allow to cool for 5 minutes and then place on wire rack to completely cool

Notes

*Please note, all dogs are different and require different nutritional needs. Some dogs may have allergies to certain foods. Please be sure to consult your vet before introducing any new ingredients to your pups.

Courses Homemade dog Treats

Cuisine Dog Treats

I highly recommend these Silpats.  They are awesome for all sorts of baking without having anything stick and purchasing countless boxes of parchment paper.

You can also purchase this adorable dog bone cookie cutter.

Happy 5th birthday, Dudley!  We love you!