Liver cake (amended Feb 7, 2010) A great moist, high reward training treat
500gms Liver [preferably Lambs]
1 cup S/R Flour
2 Eggs
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
Blend liver in food processor till runny. Add remaining ingredients. Bake at 180°C for about 45 minutes. Leave to cool completely (best if cooked in the morning and leave till afternoon to cut). Cut into 1 cm cubes. Divide into freezer bags and freeze.
Use this treat when you want extra attention from your dog, ie save it for Sunday morning training or when you are training with lots of distractions around. If you are training at home use a low value treat like normal dog biscuits eg supercoat etc. By saving the liver cake for special times you are preventing the dog from becoming sick of it. You need high value treats for dog club training.
Smorgasbord:
Save all your leftover bits of meat in a freezer bag in the freezer and bring a portion to training –
· BBQ sausage or steak
· Roast meat
· BBQ chicken (I like to use this for young pups 8 months or younger as it is much gentler on their tummy. Liver can be quite upsetting for a young tummy)
· Ham, pressed chicken, cold meat cuts (some supermarkets sell ends of cold meats)
The smorgasbord works well with a fussy eater or a dog that gets sick of the same thing all the time. By dipping into the smorgasbord when you go to treat your dog you are surprising him each time- keeping him guessing what yummy treat will be next.
A word of caution about treats-
Training with treats is not a permanent habit – once the dog knows how to do something well eg sit, start weaning off the food. Eg treat every second time; then every third time; and so on. It’s really important to keep verbally praising when weaning off food, because the dog still needs a reward for good effort. As the dog becomes more competent with a task reduce the praise to a softer “good boy/girl”.
Don’t forget to reduce the dog’s food intake (meals) when giving treats- otherwise you will end up with an overweight dog.
For example – Today Toby went to dog club and had 150gms of Smorgasbord. Toby is 3 yrs old and he normally eats 2 cups of dog biscuits per day, but today he will get 1.5 cups.
*** one human biscuit given to a dog equals about 2 whoppers- imagine all those calories!
Dog Treat Special (Christmas tree biscuits) Dogs love them, not moist though.
500 grams raw liver, sliced
3 cups water
1 cup riceflour
1/4 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon of garlic (powder or crushed)
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 egg, beaten
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.
Boil liver in 3 cups of water until it is no longer pink. Remove the liver and set aside boiled water. Place 1/4 cup of the reserved water and the liver in a food processor and puree.
In a large bowl, combine the flours, oats, garlic and sugar. Add oil, egg, liver puree and 1/4 cup of reserved liver water. Mix well.
Roll dough out on floured bench to 1/4 to 1/2 centimeter thickness. Use cookie cutter (Christmas tree or other) to press out biscuits and place them on a greased or paper lined tray.
Bake for 10 minutes, flip, and bake for 10 more minutes.
Turn the oven off and leave treats to cool in oven. let sit for 2 and a 1/2 hours (hopefully your dog will be able to resist)to make treats extra crunchy. Refridgerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Freeze for longer storage.
NOTE: These are a dried / crisp treat. Crunchy treats help clean teeth and freshen a dogs breath.
