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This fish dog treat recipe is healthy, easy, and tasty. It’s low in fat, gluten-free, and rich in healthy oils, micronutrients, and fiber to promote good digestive health, strong, nourished skin, and a healthy coat.
I use these fish treats for all of my dogs because they love them, they’re not too calorific, and they’re good for my dogs. I can even smuggle supplements into these little biscuits.
While this base recipe is for salmon treats, it’s super versatile, you can easily make sardine dog treats instead, or switch it up with mackerel or whatever other oily fish you have.
Learn how to make the best homemade training treats – you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is, how much money you’ll save, and how much your dogs will love them!
Why Should You Make Your Own Fish Dog Treats?
There are many, many reasons to make your own dog treats. Two of the primary factors being the health of your dog and the health of your wallet!
They’re Gluten Free
Gluten free dog treats like these are a great option for allergy-prone dogs who suffer with skin irritation, digestive issues, and inflammatory problems. And for yeasty dogs, removing gluten can help you successfully eliminate the yeast as part of a wider anti-yeast regimen.
You Can Control the Ingredients
You know exactly what’s in the treats because you have the treat recipe. Plus you can sneak in supplements, herbs, and other good stuff your dog doesn’t want to eat. My guys, for example, do not like to eat their seaweed granules for micronutrients and plaque prevention. And they’re not keen on their herbal greens powder, either. But when I add them into treat recipes, they don’t even notice!
Where I hide the most herbal goodies is in my jerky for dogs recipe. Check it out – we use these instead of regular store-bought chews and the dogs get ridiculously excited.
I use this particular recipe mainly for “shroomie powder”. My old guy has a few chronic health issues, and he’s a cancer survivor. I use a powdered mushroom supplement with 8 different potent fungi because it has a laundry list of benefits for him. But he hates it! That little monster can detect his “shroomie powder” no matter how I try to hide it. But in these little dog cookies? He either doesn’t know or isn’t bothered, because he devours them! He gets his healthful supplement with no fuss and I have one thing less to worry about. Yay!
Low Fat, High Fiber
Another reason to make this particular recipe is that it’s low in fat and high in fiber, making it a great healthy dog treat that’s good for dogs with weight issues. Plus it’s beneficial for digestive health. And the oils from the fish are fab for skin and coat conditions as well as eye, brain, and joint health.
Simple, Healthful Ingredients
This dog treat recipe has healthy ingredients that you actually recognize. Unlike commercial treats, these aren’t full of heavily processed animal components and by-products and rancid over-processed oils and fats. You won’t find any “meat and animal derivatives” “meat meal” or “poultry pulp” here. Just honest, healthful, inexpensive ingredients.
I won’t go into the risks, dangers, and general nastiness of those typical commercial ingredients here, because that’s a different post, but let’s just say that when you buy these types of treats, you’re buying … sh*t … and actually, your dog would be better off if you used bits of carrot, cheese, or meat for treats instead.
You’re buying the literal crap that can’t be used in human food, that’s insanely heavily processed to hide the stink, dyed, shaped, and super-heated to hide the actual appearance, and filled with chemical flavors and to make it “palatable”.
Even if you don’t want to make your own treats, be kind to your dogs, save your money, and use carrots for treats. Or leftover chicken, or popcorn, or … anything that’s cheap, safe for dogs, and not those awful treats.
What Kind of Fish Should You Use for This Simple Dog Treat Recipe?
I use two types of fish – an oily fish and a white fish. I tend to use whatever’s in season or whatever I got a good deal on. But my go-to’s are usually salmon and pollock.
For the oily fish, you can use mackerel, sardines, trout, pilchard, or herring. Salmon or another oily fish.
Whitefish options, aside from pollock, include cod, haddock, hake, halibut, bream, snapper, sole, catfish, grouper, and flounder.
The choice of fish depends heavily on what’s available in your local area. If hake is more plentiful, easily accessible, and less expensive in your town, then go for that instead of cod. And if your locale has an abundance of mackerel, go for those instead of salmon.
But one thing I think is really important – make sure the fish you choose is sustainably and ethically sourced. Don’t go for the very cheapest fish that’s caught with unethical trawling practices that rape the ocean and kill thousands of other creatures. Where you can, opt for line-caught fish, and where that’s not possible, at least go for ethically and sustainably sourced fish.
And a very good trick – get friendly with the local fishermen (and women). If you’re not a keen angler yourself, try to buddy up with those that are. With a bit of luck, they’ll be willing to sell, or even better, barter some of their fresh catch. What can you offer them in return? Some preserves? Some meat from your livestock? A supply of super-charged elderberry syrup to keep them healthy through the winter?
Join local social groups and start networking a little to find these valuable connections, and you’ll likely find you’ll be able to source an abundance of fresh fish.
What Equipment Do You Need for These Healthy Fish Dog Treats?
You don’t need much in the way of equipment. But you will need a mixing bowl and spoon and suitable dog treat baking trays or molds. I use these tiny half-round molds as they’re great value, make perfect size training treats, and you get soooo many on one tray. You can also use pyramid pans like these ones, which are pretty neat.
Or if you want larger treats, go with these bone and paw print molds – I use these for when I want a more substantial treat. I also find it much, much easier to spread the batter into the trays with a palette knife/straight spatula like this one. And, of course, you’ll need a food processor.
I chose this Magimix because it’s all-powerful, easy to clean, and super awesome! Having gone through many different models in the last few years, I decided to invest a little more and wowzer! What a difference. I wouldn’t be without it.
Recipe Variations for Fish Dog Treats
While this recipe works perfectly as-is, it’s beautifully versatile so you can cater to the tastes and needs of your dog. You can adapt it to be seasonal and cost-effective, too.
For added flavor, instead of fish stock, I often add bone broth. My dogs adore my bone broth recipe, and it’s insanely quick and easy, not to mention healthful and nutritious.
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Egg-Free Salmon Training Treats
I do generally include a couple of eggs in this recipe to bind it together and to give the added protein and trace minerals. But they’re not strictly necessary. In fact, you can simply leave the eggs out and increase the amount of fish stock you use.
Alternatively, you can include a “chia egg”, which is just 1 tbsp chia seeds and 3 tbsps of water. Mix the chia into the water and let it sit until it’s a gloopy consistency, then just add it to the bowl in place of the eggs.
Then your dog gets the benefits of chia seeds, too. The benefits of chia seeds for dogs include:
- Immune support
- Healthy joints
- Healthy skin and coat
- Brain and eye maintenance
- High fiber for digestive health
- Stable blood sugar levels
- Slowing digestion to improve nutrient absorption
- Boosts energy levels
Grain-Free Dog Treat Recipe
Not all dogs can tolerate grains. Sure, some can have a few different grains with no issues, but for yeasty dogs and those with widespread grain sensitivities, grain-free treats are a better choice. This recipe is already gluten-free, but you can make it grain-free by simply switching out the rice or oat flour. Use any of the following:
- Buckwheat flour (in spite of its name, buckwheat is a seed, not a grain)
- Chickpea flour
- Coconut flour
- Almond flour
Adding Supplements for Healthier Training Treats
As I alluded to earlier, my dogs can be a bit of pain when it comes to taking their supplements. Not that I give them loads anyway, but one does get quercetin for his allergies, and they both get a digestive herb mix alongside the special seaweed to remove and prevent plaque buildup on their teeth.
The digestive and conditioning herbs usually get added to my tearable jerky for dogs recipe.
But the seaweed – I add a little bit of that to any treat I’m making, including this one. And you can add any supplement that isn’t ruined by cooking.
A high-quality berry powder is a nutrient powerhouse and is easily added to these treats. The same goes for beetroot, collagen, or whatever other heat-tolerant supplements you want to add.
Just please, do not add any kind of bone – even ground bone is highly dangerous when cooked and can cause a life-threatening (not to mention extremely painful) impaction.
Healthy Weight Gaining Dog Treat Recipe
If you’re trying to get weight on an old or underweight dog, it can be difficult. Too much added fat in the diet can quickly result in severe tummy upsets or even dreaded pancreatitis.
But these treats are easily adjusted to help with weight gain. When choosing flour, go with oat flour if your dog can tolerate grains, or chickpea, almond, and coconut flour if it can’t. You can even do a blend of coconut, chickpea, and oat flour. You can also reduce the fish stock by a third and add a quarter cup of healthy fat in its place. Healthy fats include green-lipped mussel oil, hemp seed oil, flaxseed oil, grass-fed ghee, and extra (pasture-raised or free-range only) eggs.
RELATED: Delicious, Easy Ginger Dog Treats Recipe
Using Different Fish for These Tasty Dog Treats
As I noted above, there’s plenty of variety when it comes to the types of fish you can use. I balance the white and oily fish content to make sure the recipe isn’t too high in fish oil (which is great in moderation but can cause a surprising number of problems if there’s too much of it in the diet), and so they are still reasonably lean.
Salmon and pollock are my go-tos because they’re the types of fish that are most readily available from sustainable sources in my area. But I’ve also used haddock and cod for the white fish and sardines and mackerel for the oily fish.
How to Store Fish Treats for Dogs
I dehydrate these salmon dog treats, which admittedly increases their cook time, but it’s effortless for me and means that I can store them for many weeks. Not that they usually last that long! I make a big batch of the mixture, make enough biscuits to last our greedy pupsters for a couple of weeks, and freeze the rest.
I freeze the dog treat batter in sandwich bags, squeezing all the air out so I can stack the bags in the freezer flat, to save valuable space!
The dehydrated treats, I keep in an airtight tub in a dry, cool spot in the house and they’ll easily last for a couple of weeks if you’ve dried them thoroughly. If you choose not to dry them, I highly recommend keeping them in the fridge, and only for up to 5 days.
FAQs
How can I make these dog treats softer?
To make the dog treats softer, you can try tweaking the ingredients by adding more white fish and pumpkin. Additionally, not dehydrating them will keep them softer, too, as they’ll have more of a soft-baked texture than a crispy dehydrated biscuit texture.
Are fish dog treats good for dogs?
Yes! Fish treats are very good for dogs if the ingredients are natural and healthful. This particular recipe is made with sustainably sourced salmon and pollock and absolutely no artificial ingredients. Everything in this recipe (and all of my dog treat recipes) is here because of its health benefits.
What is the best fish for dog treats?
Any fish fairly low in the food chain, like sardines, salmon, and mackerel is a good choice for dogs. Similarly, pollock, haddock, cod, halibut, bream, snapper, sole, catfish, grouper, and flounder.
Avoid anything high up in the food chain, like tuna, as these fish are notorious for their high mercury content, which can be extremely detrimental to your dog’s health, particularly if they eat a lot of it.
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