Blitzkrieg rested comfortably after his knee surgery, well, as comfortably as you can with your leg bandaged up from your hip to your foot. He’s making very good use of the little gift basket of meat flavored baby food his dog cousins gave him for Christmas. I hide Blitzkrieg’s pain medication in a spoonful of baby food and he gobbles it up as a low calorie treat. It’s important to keep his weight consistent as his leg heals. Also, he wants to keep himself svelte for da ladies. My little dog is resilient. Three days after the surgery, he was running, climbing stairs, and jumped on the sofa with his leg in cast - all against doctor's orders. It's been a stressful time for all of us. I hate hearing Blitzkrieg whimper in pain and be frustrated that he can't be the independent dog he wants to be right now.
 |
| Ow. |
Blitzkrieg has corn and wheat allergies and wouldn’t you know it, both are in the coatings of most dog chews. That’s when I turned to dried sweet potato dog chews, which have the added bonus of not being a potential choking hazard like some rawhide dog chews.
Yummy!
Make Allergy Free Dried Sweet Potato Dog Chews
You will need:
1 (or more) sweet potatoes
1 (or more) baking sheets
Knife
Oven
Make it:
- Wash the sweet potatoes. Leave the peels on the sweet potatoes.
- Slice the sweet potatoes lengthwise into approximately ¼ inch thick slices.
- Place the sweet potato slices on the cookie sheet and bake in a 250 degree oven for two hours.
- Remove the sweet potato slices from the oven and turn them over on the cookie sheet. Bake the sweet potato slices for two more hours. (Total baking time: four hours.)
- Remove the dried sweet potatoes chews from the oven and allow them to cool.
- Give to a very deserving doggie. Repeat.
You should store the dried sweet potato chews in an airtight container in the refrigerator or for a little longer in the freezer. I use an old mason jar because it fits nicely on the shelves of my freezer door and for easy access. I hate to keep an excited dog waiting while I root around in the freezer for his treat.
Did you enjoy this post? Get more like it by subscribing to the Condo Blues RSS Feed or to Condo Blues by Email.
25 comments :
Oh my goodness, I'd completely forgotten about sweet potato treats. I remember buying a bag for the dog ages ago, and them loving the treats. But I just couldn't get past paying $6 for what is really about 2 freaking potatoes.
You might be my dogs new best friend.
Alicia {ProtoDoom.com}
I am so glad that mr. BK came thru it ok. I will have to try Sweet potato chews for my Samson the Peke
I'm very glad to hear your puppy is doing well. Animals are always a surprise.
Thanks for the sweet potato recipe...this should warm up the house too!
Julie
I can't wait to try these! You know how much our pack loves the oatmeal cookies. I'm sure these will be popular, as well. Thanks for sharing! Now give the boss another chew = )
Carol
antiquetexan.blogspot.com
So glad your sweet doggie is ok. That's a lot of baking time-4 hours!-but for sweet potato chews for my doogie I'm willing to give it a shot.
Romeo will be waiting to try these.
Blitzkrieg and I thank you for all of the get well wishes. I hope your pups enjoy the chews as much as Blitzkrieg does!
Lori - The four hours isn't so long because I'm using my oven as a food dehydrator instead of baking the sweet potatoes. I had a food dehydrator but got rid of it. I'd rather use my oven - one less thing to store!
I did doggie treats today as well. I will have to try yours. My friend's dogs will love them.
Would these sweet potatoes treats turn out the same if I did them in my dehydrator?
Eileen
Eileen - The dried sweet potato chews should come out the same way if you do make them with a food dehydrator. I'm not sure of how long they need to be in the food dehydrator. I got rid of mine before we moved. I sometimes wish I had it again.
Wow, great idea and it seems pretty easy. My pup may be getting some of these soon!
I think I will give these a try! One question- Do they have o be thawed before giving them to the doggy or can they be eaten frozen?
Thanks!
ps- hope the doggy heals quickly!
Sandy - You can give them to your dog either frozen or thawed. I give them to Blitzkrieg right out of the freezer. He can't be bothered waiting for them to thaw.
Blitzkrieg started some Physical Therapy yesterday. We walked three houses down the block and back from our place.
This post is super relevent at our house this week! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for linking up to Making It With Allie! I can't wait to see what you have for next week!
AllieMakes.Blogspot.com
This is a super great idea! I was reading {this week, actually} that sweet potatoes are a great way to help your pup have a fresher smelling coat. Of our three dogs, our Wheaton Terrier is the only one with an odd odor. I can't wait to try these chewies -- you are so awesome for sharing! Be blessed!
Jill - I didn't know that about the fresher smelling coat. When Blitzkrieg's smelling a little funky I break out the eco-dog shampoo :) I like that Blitzkrieg can gobble up the sweet potato chews. When I give him other hard chews he chews on them for a day and then leaves them in the middle of the living room - untouched.
Gosh -- thank you for your nice post on my blog! I love my family -- furbabies included -- and appreciate any "craft" or recipe that I can make for the four-legged children we have. I now have organic sweet potatoes ready to bake for them and I can tell they know it's for them because they are "helping" me in the kitchen... Thanks again for sharing!!!
Thanks so much for sharing this idea! I have got to try this. I give my girls store bought sweet potato chews, and it is super expensive! That means I end up giving them fewer chews than I'd like to, and that translates into more tartar on their teeth, which is definitely a health risk.
Love reading your posts!
great tute for doggies
Feel free to stop by and link up to my Make & Share 1st edition today and come back every friday thru saturday!
~ Christy
I started to buy the sweet potatoes that were wrapped with chicken for my Chihuahua (Mr. Smudge) after he had his first knee surgery as well. He loved them so much that I decided to try to make them my self. Wrapping the chicken around them became such a mess, I decided to blanch them in sodium free chicken broth before drying them. He loves them all the same. You just mention the word potatoe and he sits and looks at the counter where I keep them.
He knows that I love him and want only the best in treats for him.
i just have a quick question :0) i am super excited to make these for our fur baby but was wondering how long they will keep...both in and out of the freezer. thanks so much!!
They last several months in the freezer but honestly they don't usually last that long in the house!
I don't know if Bruiser will like these--she doesn't chew or play with toys at all. If not, my cousin has a dog that will like them. I'm going to try making them in a dehydrater instead of the oven. It just seems even more economical, especially with the cost of propane nowadays.
wow... I may try these for my parrots.. I am always looking for good nutritional treats for them and these seem right up their alley... thanks for sharing!!
Post a Comment
I love comments and read them all! If you’re shy and don’t want your opinions made public, you can always email me at condoblues [at] gmail [dot] com.