# Adventures in Baking



## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

...or How to Drive Your Dog Crazy in 7 Simple Steps

So I've been on the hunt for a different kind of treat for Jasper, specifically for his puppy agility class. We go through a TON of treats in that class every week. Store-bought treats, while the right consistency, were too expensive. Boiled chicken is cheap, but it's slimy in the hand and too much chicken gives Jasper very soft stools the next day, even if I follow up that same night with a helping of rice and pumpkin. So I was trying to find something cheap, chewy but not crunchy, and enticing. I decided to give liver bread a try. There was a recipe on our breeder's website, here.

I took pictures during the adventure, and thought I'd share. I love a good picspam.

1. The recipe calls for one pound of pureed liver. So into the food processor the liver went.









Less than a minute later, a lovely, slimy, mushy mess.









2. To give the mush some substance, you add in 2 cups of flour and 1/2tsp of garlic powder.









Jasper approves.









3. Stir it all together. If your dog is anything like mine, he will stare at you. The. Entire. Time.









4. Dump out into a (very) well-greased 8x8 pan. Smooth. I used a silicone spatula, and kept wetting it. This mixture is really quite sticky, but the wetness helped keep it from sticking to the spatula.









5. Bake at 350F for 25 minutes. Your dog may try to jump in the oven with the pan!









Here is the finished product.









And here is Jasper's drool.









6. Once you've taken it out of the oven, let it cool for a few minutes, but not too much. You'll want to cut it while it's warm. Here's a close-up.









7. Place pieces in baggies or other air-tight containers. Your dog may try to eat through the baggie.









The liver bread will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, or in the freezer for much longer.

Jasper went through one baggie in one class. This batch gave me 2 full baggies. Given the low cost of the liver, and the relatively negligible cost of the flour and garlic powder, I spent a fraction of what I normally spend in "treats" for that class. It's not as messy as the boiled chicken, Jasper loves it, and it does not affect his stool consistency very much. The downside, is, of course, the smell of liver in your house. I did not find it to be as potent as I was warned, and I don't particularly enjoy the smell of liver. The worst was when I was cutting it, since I was just standing over the entire pan. But it's not awful--I mean, it smells like liver.

So if anyone is looking for an easy, cheap, training treat, this is the best that I've found. There are other, more involved recipes for this same thing (carrot peels, corn meal, etc.), but Jasper seemed to like the simpler version just fine. This would be a very easy thing to make up giant quantities of, then freeze until needed.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Thanks so much for that Redrover. One, I loved the recipe and will use it hopefully this weekend, so thanks heaps. Two, Jasper is a cutie and looks just like a Jasper I know down this end of the globe. 

The Jasper I know, grabs the dirty clothes from the clothes basket in the bedroom, takes them down the hallway and into the laundry, hops up on his hind legs and puts the item into the washing machine and returns for the next one till it's emptied. Then he goes and sits in front of his mum waiting for praise. He's a cool Vizsla. 

The pics were tasty too!


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## tracker (Jun 27, 2011)

Love the pictures.....

Whenever I am getting treats ready for Lui, be it a Kong or whatever, he sits down immediately and stares at me the whole time, tilting his head back and forth. THen he will break into the occasional "im so excited dance".


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

Haha, I wish I could teach Jasper how to do my laundry! And Jasper always seems to know when I'm making something specifically for him, and not just me. He goes nuts!

I tried a new trick with the last batch I made--instead of spreading in a 9x9 pan, I covered a baking sheet with foil, greased it, then spread a thin layer of the mixture on that. Not only did it greatly decrease the amount of time I spend cleaning, it decreased the amount of time I spent cutting.

I found a pizza cutter (one of the rolling kinds--I suppose a mezzaluna would also work well) to be the slickest way to cut the stuff. I cut a bunch of small strips with the pizza cutter, then put them into a large pile. Then I use a very large knife to slice off small pieces all at once.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Loved those photos! Jasper is so cute, and so intensely interested! Adorable!


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## cooperman (Oct 26, 2010)

Going to try this I am sure Cooper and Kenzie will drool just as much. One to try is very simple extremely cheap and keeps them drooling is
1cup peanut butter
1cup plain flour
1/4cup water
2 teaspoons veg oil
mix all together till like a dough. roll into small balls and bake for 20 minutes.


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## kiminboonton (Nov 22, 2011)

Can this recipe be altered so there isn't any wheat? What replacement can be added to creat a binding agent, by tesla is allergic to wheat, but the liver is great, and i agree those treats go fast and they are really expensive for what they are.


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## Coco (Jul 27, 2011)

kiminboonton said:


> Can this recipe be altered so there isn't any wheat? What replacement can be added to creat a binding agent, by tesla is allergic to wheat, but the liver is great, and i agree those treats go fast and they are really expensive for what they are.


Here are two that I have tried. Easy. Coco loves them. Loved the photos!! Helpful hint: When baking liver,lamb ...anything that is very fragrant  - Light a couple of candles. It really helps. Happy baking/cooking!

*STRAIGHT MEAT TREAT*
1/2 to 3/4 pound raw chicken, liver or beef Garlic powder
Slice meat 1/3" X 2". Place on cookie sheet with a little space in between for even cooking.
The point here is just to get them treat size and relatively the same size for even cooking. Sprinkle with garlic powder and bake at 275 for 45 minutes. They will be like a soft jerky and dry enough to keep in a cool dry place in a baggie for a week, or in the fridge a bit longer.

*Gluten Free Dog Biscuit Recipe*
1 Lb ground meat ( lamb, beef, chicken, turkey ) Lamb and beef tend to be higher in fat. Chicken and turkey might be a better choice for an overweight dog.
- 1 large sweet potato ( cooked and mashed ) 
- 1 large egg 
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ( not garlic salt )or one large clove pressed 
- 5 tbsp. large flake rolled oats ( organic if possible ) or 4 tbsp. ground flax seed meal

 Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mixing up very well. Lightly grease a cookie sheet with olive oil. ( very slightly ) Dump ingredients on cookie sheet and spread evenly and flatly to the sides of pan. This should be about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Bake for one hour at 350 degrees. Remove pan from oven and use your cookie cutter at this time, if you want. If you don't have a cookie cutter, just score the 'cookie dough 'with a knife or pizza cutter, into squares. Put back into the oven and bake for another hour at 250 degrees. This will dry these healthy dog treats out. Keep an eye on your oven. The time could be more or less, depending on how hot your oven runs. These dog treats should be fairly dry and a little crispy, but not burned.


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

kiminboonton said:


> Can this recipe be altered so there isn't any wheat? What replacement can be added to creat a binding agent, by tesla is allergic to wheat, but the liver is great, and i agree those treats go fast and they are really expensive for what they are.


I'm guessing you could add any flour substitute (at the appropriate amounts, of course). A friend of mine uses rice flour in some of her baked goods. If you try a substitute, let us know how it turns out!


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## LoveWalter (Jan 3, 2012)

cooperman said:


> Going to try this I am sure Cooper and Kenzie will drool just as much. One to try is very simple extremely cheap and keeps them drooling is
> 1cup peanut butter
> 1cup plain flour
> 1/4cup water
> ...


Just made some of these  They are cooling right now and Walter can't wait to try them ;D


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

redrover said:


> I'm guessing you could add any flour substitute (at the appropriate amounts, of course). A friend of mine uses rice flour in some of her baked goods. If you try a substitute, let us know how it turns out!


I'm going to try making this with rice flour. If it turns out okay, I will be using this for obedience classes!


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

I'm gonna try that recipe RBD, cheers


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## kiminboonton (Nov 22, 2011)

Looks like were all going to be baking some stinky liver teats this weekend. Thanks for the adaptations to the recipe. Can't wait to try it!


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## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

*redrover*, I keep coming back to this recipe, and I'm finally going to make it this weekend! I think Sophie is over her allergy age, and Pacsirta has an iron stomach. Can't wait to see how it comes out! Thanks for sharing!


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