The Best Training Treat you could have for your dog!

When I was a young kid in the ring at dogshows, I would often get into trouble for eating the bait that was meant as treats for the dogs! It was usually biltong (beef jerky) or some kind of dried sausage (like droewors or salami sticks) and (it was always human-grade treats don’t worry!). Hey I couldn’t help it, I was young and would inevitably get bored and then nibble on a treat! It was never a problem for me until one day I had dried liver in my pocket instead of biltong (jerky) and I accidentally ate that… It cured me instantaneously of the habit!

Many years have gone by since then and I find that liver treats are very often the thing that gets the very best out of some of the dogs that I show, And if you don’t have a showdog, they are also amazing for training or just as an extra tasty something for special occasions.

I thought that everyone could use the recipe because happy dogs make the world a better place! This is the exact recipe that I use for show bait and it works on almost every dog I know!

Recipe

250 – 500g Liver*
1 Egg
150 – 200g Plain Flour*
1/4 tsp garlic powder*

Notes

• You can adapt exactly how much liver you use in this recipe to your dog, if they are very easily pleased by treats, you can use even less liver than recommended above and if they are very fussy and only large amounts of liver will do, then you can go up to the higher amounts.
• Make sure that the gall bladders have been removed by your butcher as they are bitter and will affect palatability. (most human-grade liver that is sold in shops will have had this removed).
• I like to blend about half to three quarters of the amount of liver and then the remainder I add to the mix roughly chopped for a bit of added texture.
• The egg is essentially just there as a binder to bring it all together nicely it can be left out if you prefer but then it makes mixing the ingredients together a little harder.
• You can really use any kind of flour that you prefer, I typically use Plain flour/cake flour as that is what I normally have on hand, but wholemeal, bread flour or spelt flour is perfectly fine. I would however not use self raising flour.
• The garlic powder should only be a very small amount, it is only a hint of garlic as a lot of dogs are attracted the smell, this is optional and can be left out entirely if you prefer. The tiny amount that is in the treat should not cause any issues if this is only fed as an occasional treat for your dogs.

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C or 350°F
2. Line your brownie pan with baking paper to help you pull out the liver bread later
3. Add your desired amount of liver to your blender (see note above) and here is where you do need to be careful, the livers can often clog up some blender mechanisms so make sure to check often that it is not wrapping around parts of your blender that it shouldn’t be. I find this is something I need to check a lot if I am using my stick blender. Please also be extra careful if you are having to unclog your blender and make sure that it is set to OFF before you stick your fingers in there!
4. Once you are happy with your consistency, add your egg and the processed liver to a bowl (here is where you would add more roughly chopped liver if you wanted to) and add your flour.
5. The mixture is a moderate runny consistency
6. Pour your mixture into you brownie pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes – ovens do vary and if you have changed any of the ratios of ingredients it can sometimes take a little longer
7. Once baked, allow to cool inside the pan, then cut it into small pieces or strips

I like to cut into strips that are approximately 2cm x 4cm and separate out into multiple sealed containers for freezing. This ensures that I have a great supply of treats that are always in my freezer, ready for the next show. If you have a small breed dog, you may want to cut the pieces into much smaller sizes. Do whatever suits you and your dog best with your training style.

Storage

This treat freezes really well, and I keep mine up to four months in the freezer. When I take out small amounts for shows, I make sure to keep it in a cooler bag/ chilly bin for the day. If you are using it at home, I would just keep the portion in the fridge and not have more than two days worth of treats defrosted at a time.

Please Remember

That this is a training treat and should not be used instead of your dog’s normal food.
If your dog has any health concerns, please check in with your vet to make sure that this is appropriate as a treat.
This is high calorie, so needs to be used sparingly for dogs that are trying to lose weight.
All high-value treats will lose value to a dog if they are getting it on a daily basis. It will then become a commonplace treat and be less enticing.