Zorra's Favorite Honey Training Treats!

Meet Zorra, the latest addition to SteffesWood Apiary!  She's an 8-month-old mix (fox terrier? English pointer? If you have any ideas, let us know!).  We were thrilled to adopt from a wonderful group called Give2Live Rescue based in Ambridge.  She's as sweet as honey!  When she came to live with us, she was already house trained and knew how to  "sit."  She's learning other commands now and she loves both of these honey training treats. They're so much better (and cheaper!) than store-bought treats and they make training a breeze.  Zorra learned "down" in just a few minutes.  We're still working on, "Come, Zorra!" but are hoping that, with these treats close by, she'll turn and come running on a dime!

There isn't clear advice about whether honey is safe for puppies, so it's probably wise not to give a puppy pure honey, at least for the first six months.  Since these treats are baked, that should kill any botulism spores that would cause troubles.

Zorra's Favorite Peanut Butter Oatmeal Honey Training Treats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oatmeal
2 eggs
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup peanut butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Whirl all in a food processor until blended then add water--a few tablespoons at a time--just until it holds together.  Roll out on a well-floured board and cut into desired shapes.  Bake for 15 minutes then flip and bake for another 15 minutes.  Cool thoroughly.

Zorra's Favorite Honey Carrot Training Treats

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 cup powdered skim milk

1/2 cup shredded carrots

2 generous tablespoons honey

3/4 cup broth (I used chicken broth, but any will do)

1 egg

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  In a large bowl, combine the flour, powdered milk and carrots.  In a smaller bowl (or measuring cup), stir the broth, honey and egg, mixing well.  Pour the liquid mixture over the dry ingredients and mix to combine.  Knead the dough for about a minute, making sure everything is well-combined.  Cut dough in half and roll out one half on a well-floured board to about 1/2 inch thickness.

Using a pizza cutter  (or a knife) cut into small, 1/2 inch squares.  If you want to get fancy-schmancy, you can use cookie cutters.  I'm using these for training treats, so I didn't want to make them too big.









Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, spreading out so that they don't touch and bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring after about 15 minutes of baking.  Repeat with other half of dough.  They are a little chewy (which works well for training).  If you'd like a crunchier dog biscuit, then turn off the oven after 30 minutes and leave them in for 3-5 hours.

Let them cool then test them out!

Zorra sitting nicely, waiting for a treat.

Zorra licking her lips after learning "down" and getting a treat!