Homemade Dog Treats Recipe and List of Gluten Containing Foods

Hello, and welcome to Harley's kitchen!

Harley is a black lab who's allergic to nearly everything edible - that's an exaggeration, of course, but it was how it seemed when we were trying to figure out what he's allergic to. We've had to put him on a strict diet and we've learned a lot along the way.

One thing I've learned is that not a lot of people know what gluten is nor the foods that either contain gluten or produce it when mixed with another ingredient. There's a lot of misinformation online and I think that sometimes people post information that hasn't been well researched. I think they mean well but some of the recipes I've come across were labeled 'gluten-free' and when I looked at the ingredients I found that they contained gluten.

Harley is highly sensitive to gluten so I modified the recipes to fit his needs and you can be assured that there's no gluten in them. Harley tries everything we post on here, so these recipes have been tested by him and Mungo, Emma, Shasta and Lola - all different breeds and ages, and they're my test dogs.

When finding recipes for food and treats for your allergic pet, there's one hard, fast rule: The fewer the ingredients, the better. That translates into this: the fewer ingredients means the fewer potential allergens you introduce the pet to.

Today's Homemade Dog Treats Recipe

Guaranteed to be gluten free:

• 1 pound liver - chicken, beef or any kind
• 3 cups instant mashed potatoes - the 100% real lpotatoes kind with no other ingredients

1. Liquefy the liver by putting it in a food processor or blender and then pour it into a bowl. Rinse the container out and pour the water in the bowl, too.
   
2. Pour in 2 cups of the potato flakes and stir it in until well mixed. When that's all mixed in, put the last cup in. The mixture should be doughy and should not move when you take the spoon out of it. If it does move, or kind of settle down when you take out the spoon, pour some more potato flakes on it and mix them in.
3. Put on a foil-lined baking sheet that's been oiled or sprayed so food won't stick to it. Spread it out evenly throughout the pan until it's about 1/2 inch thick. If you wet the spoon, the dough won't stick to it while trying to spread it out. Just dip it whenever it starts to stick.
4. Bake at 375(f) for 25 minutes. It should be lightly browned on the top and cooked all the way through.

Cut into squares or bars (depending on the size of your dog) and cut into small bits for cats.

It's got a lot of protein and cooked potatoes are easy on a dog's digestive system. Harley and the test dogs just love it - and so do our cats.

You can make this two treats in one! Simply put the squares into the freezer and let them freeze solid. Harley and the others enjoy this one so much they actually 'ask' for it.

I'll be back with more recipes and a list of foods that we know of that contain gluten.

Now here's that list I mentioned:

The Enemy - A List of Gluten-Containing Foods

Wheat (including any kind of flour)
Barley (most all grains)
Oats (you can buy gluten-free oats)
Soy products
Food starches (cornstarch, wheatstarch, etc.)
Roux-based soups (made with flour)
Bouillon cubes
Roux-based gravy (made with any kind of flour)
Brown rice syrup
Sausages
Malts
Malt vinegar
White pepper
Pastas
Pickles
Some curry powders
Teriyaki sauce
Rye
Semolina
Bulgur
Wheat Grass
Gluten is also used as a stabilizing agent in ketchups and some ice creams.

Do your own research. Look for hidden gluten. Good luck and happy baking!