With all of recent scares over dog treats from China being dangerous for pets, I have only been giving the dogs homemade dog treats. Since sweet potatoes are loaded with vitamins, I tried making some sweet potato dog chews and they turned out great. These sweet potato dog treats are a great replacement for rawhide chews which are not easily digested by dogs.
All you need are 3 medium sweet potatoes and either an oven or dehydrator. I used the dehydrator, but am sure the oven method would turn out just as good.
Wash and dry sweet potatoes. Cut each sweet potato into 1/4 inch slices length-wise. A mandolin would be great for this, but I don’t have one. A sharp knife worked fine for this.
No lemon juice is needed for these chews, dogs don’t like citrus or care if they turn brown.
Dehydrator method: Place sweet potato slices on dehydrator trays, making sure they are not touching. Dry the potatoes for at least 14 hours. I did not get up in the middle of the night to turn my machine off, and they came out just fine after 18 hours. Cool on wire rack.
Oven method: Place prepared sweet potato slices on parchment lined cookie sheets. Heat in 250 degree oven for between 3 to 4 hours, turning half way through. Cool on wire rack.
Store sweet potato dog chew treats in refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
Great idea! All natural, easy to make, tastes great with the added benefit of providing good nutrtion. It’s a win win.
Can these be frozen? I prefer to make a somewhat bulk type thing. I’m assuming it woud have to be in more of a total moisture proof method?
I honestly have never tried freezing them. My dogs gobble them up so fast!
I’ll have to test drive that one then and get back to you! He’s a tad on the heavy side so I worry about the calories. Stay tuned on the freezing.
Awesome! Please let us know how it works out.
Just want you to know that I made these treats . My dog loves them and so does my daughters dog. Thanks so much
Ruth
Yay! I’m so glad your dogs enjoyed them.
Sounds great … but do they turn the carpet orange where the pooch settles in for a chewing session?
I have a Newfoundlander – Landseer (means he’s black & white) 160 lbs. Big dog… His name is Bear. He salivates a lot as soon as he sees these treats, but there is no residue left after he eats them & no orange stain on the carpet or floor! Frankly, there is no trace of anything after he’s eaten them.
Bear has a very gentle constitution & any variation from his regular diet gives him diarrhea. Yuck! Thankfully, the sweet potato chews don’t upset his big body. With a beast of this size, you can imagine how unpleasant it is when his constitution is upset.
He loves these treats so much, he does all of his tricks without my even having to ask him before he gets his treat. We both love them!
We have been making our own dog treats for sometime now, but without sugar, margarine, egg, etc. We do a healthy recipe using Pumpkin, also good for dogs’ digestion, and we grind brown rice for the flour with some ground Flax seed. Best of all our canine companions love them,
I’ve been making my own sweet potato rawhides for about a year now. I slice them with a meat slicer and they all come out evenly cut. I dehydrate them in my dehydrator. My Kayla absolutely loves them and they are her treat of preference. I’m thinking of trying some with coconut oil brushed on them for added nutrition and flavor. Will try and post back on how that works out.
Would love to hear how that turns out!
We have been making our dog treats for a long time…buying the treats are too expensive and not good for them. We make ours without any added stuff. They love the sweet potato treats and the pumpkin ones. Plus we give them green beans. We have 2 chihuahuas and we cut them smaller.
I’ve been drying sweet potato chips for quite a few years. I have broke several mandolines over the years from slicing sweet potatoes. Instead of cutting them long way, I slice them the short way. I use the slicer for my Kitchenaide mixer, and I pack them onto the dehydrator trays-as they dry, they shrink (alot), them I shake them apart alittle bit. They are completely dry in about a day. I use them as treats and in the food bowl, to cut-down on calories abit (removing alittle kibble and replace with chips) The dogs LOVE them. My dad would always say dogs like things that sound like bird bones crunching (have you ever dropped macaroni or spaghetti noodles that wern’t cooked-crunch,crunch). I like that I know exactly what my dogs are eating. No Cr-p from China for my pets.
Your Dad is so right about that!
If these remove and prevent plaque buildup, that’s a big plus! No more doggie breath!