If you’ve ever looked at the ingredients on a packet of dog treats and wondered what half of them are, making your own is a great alternative. Easy homemade chicken dog treats are made with simple ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen, giving you complete control over what goes into every bite. They’re ideal for training, rewarding good behaviour, or simply treating your dog to something made with care.
The best part is that you don’t need any special equipment or complicated recipes. With just cooked chicken, an egg, a little flour, and an oven, you can make delicious treats that many dogs love. They’re quick to prepare, budget-friendly, and easy to customise if your dog has particular dietary needs. Here’s how to make your own.
What You Need
The base recipe needs very little, and most of it is already in your kitchen. These are not exact measurements because the mixture adjusts easily, but this is what I use as a starting point.
- One or two cooked chicken breasts, plain with no seasoning, leftovers work fine if they have not been salted or covered in anything
- One egg to bind everything together
- Enough plain flour to make a dough that holds its shape, usually around 100 to 150 grams depending on how wet the chicken is
- A food processor or blender to break the chicken down, though chopping it finely by hand works if you have the patience
- Baking paper so the treats do not stick to the tray
If you have oats, you can swap some of the flour for oats. If you have a bit of grated carrot or sweet potato lying around, that goes in too. The mixture is forgiving. It just needs to hold together and bake without falling apart.
How to Make Them
Preheat the oven to around 180°C. Blitz the cooked chicken in a food processor until it is broken down into small bits. Add the egg and pulse it through. Then add the flour a bit at a time until the mixture comes together as a dough. It should be firm enough to roll out or shape, not sticky or wet.
If it is too dry and crumbly, add a tiny splash of water. If it is too wet, add a bit more flour. There is no exact science to it. You are just looking for something that behaves like dough.
Roll it out on a floured surface to about half a centimetre thick, then cut it into small pieces. I use a knife and cut squares because it is quick. If you want to use a cutter, that works too. The size depends on your dog. For training, smaller is better. For a reward after a walk, you can go a bit bigger.
Lay them out on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for around 20 to 25 minutes. You want them firm and dry, not soft in the middle. If they are still a bit bendy when you take them out, put them back in for another five minutes. The drier they are, the longer they keep.
What Works and What Does Not
Chicken is the easiest meat to work with because it is lean and does not leave much grease. Turkey works the same way. Beef or lamb can make the treats oilier, which is fine for eating but messier to store and they do not last as long.
I tried using raw chicken once thinking it would save a step. It did not. The texture was wrong, the smell was worse, and the whole thing took longer to bake through properly. Cooked chicken is simpler and safer.
Flour can be plain, wholemeal, or even rice flour if your dog has a grain sensitivity. Oats work too, either ground up or left whole for a bit of texture. I avoid anything with raising agents like self-raising flour because it puffs the treats up and makes them crumble more easily.
You don’t need seasoning, dogs do not want salt, garlic, onion, or any of the things that make human food taste better. Plain chicken smells good enough to them, and anything extra is either pointless or risky.
How Long They Last
If you bake them until they are properly dry, they keep in an airtight container for about a week at room temperature. In the fridge, closer to two weeks. In the freezer, a couple of months.
I make a batch, keep a few days’ worth in a tin, and freeze the rest in a sandwich bag. They defrost quickly, or you can give them frozen if your dog does not mind. Some of them prefer it that way in warm weather.
The softer you bake them, the shorter they last. If they are still a bit chewy in the middle, they will go mouldy faster. Bake them longer if you want them to keep.
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Why Make Homemade Chicken Dog Treats?
Shop-bought treats are convenient, but most of them have more ingredients than they need. Preservatives, colourings, flavourings, and fillers that bulk them out without adding anything useful. Some dogs handle that fine but others can get an upset stomach or itchy skin, and then you spend your time working out what caused it.
Homemade treats at least have no mystery ingredients, you know exactly what went in because you put it there. Which is important if you have issues with your dog like food sensitivities or you are managing their weight. Understanding your dog’s life stage, which the Dog Years to Human Years Calculator can help with, makes it easier to adjust what you are feeding them and why.
They also work better for training because you can make them small, dry, and easy to carry without them crumbling in your pocket or leaving grease on everything. The smell is strong enough to keep a dog interested without being so rich that it puts them off their food later.
Adjustments That Work
If your dog needs lower fat, use chicken breast with no skin. If they need more calories, use thigh meat or add a spoonful of peanut butter to the mixture. Make sure the peanut butter has no xylitol in it, which is toxic to dogs. Most own-brand versions are fine, but check the label.
For older dogs with stiff joints, I sometimes add a bit of turmeric or a spoonful of ground flaxseed. It does not change the taste much, and it fits into the mixture without needing a separate supplement.
If your dog is on a restricted diet or has allergies, this recipe adapts easily. Swap chicken for another protein, use a different flour, leave out the egg and add a bit more water to bind it. The structure stays the same.
What to Avoid
Do not add anything with onion, garlic, chives, or leeks. All of them are harmful to dogs even in small amounts. No raisins, grapes, chocolate, or anything sweetened with xylitol. These are obvious to most people, but they turn up in unexpected places like some nut butters or dried fruit mixes.
Avoid using heavily processed meats like sausages, bacon, or deli chicken. The salt content is too high, and some of them have preservatives or flavourings that are not worth the risk. Plain cooked chicken from a roast or poached in water is always safer.
Do not overbake them to the point where they are rock hard. Some recipes suggest baking for hours at a low temperature to make them shelf-stable, but that makes them too tough for older dogs or dogs with dental problems. A firm biscuit texture is enough.
Storing and Handling
Once baked, let the treats cool completely before putting them in a container. If you seal them while they are still warm, condensation builds up inside and they go soft or mouldy faster.
I use an old biscuit tin with a lid that closes properly. Glass jars work too. Anything airtight that keeps moisture out. If you are freezing them, spread them out on a tray first so they freeze individually, then bag them up. That way you can take out a few at a time without defrosting the whole batch.
If a treat smells off, looks discoloured, or has any sign of mould, throw it out. Homemade treats do not have preservatives, so they do not last forever. That is part of the point.
Why I Keep Making Them
It takes about half an hour from start to finish, and most of that is oven time. The dogs get something they actually want to eat, I know exactly what is in it, and it costs less than buying the equivalent from a shop. It is also one of the few things I can make in bulk and not worry about it going to waste. They always get eaten.
It is not about being perfect or making something that looks impressive. It is about having treats that work, that you trust, and that do not come with a list of ingredients you have to look up. That’s all you need.
This article is for informational purposes only. For advice specific to your dog always speak to your vet.