Is your dogpet a good candidate for home-cooked dog food? Does your pet have an allergy to gluten? It takes a lot of searching for recipes for foods the pet can eat. It's not an easy allergy to manage, with gluten hidden in so many ways. Gluten is a composite of two proteins called glutenin and gliadin. Many, many dogs have allergies to this protein composite because carnivorous animals aren’t made to eat a diet high in grains. Pet health can be compromised.
Go to any search engine, and enter “homemade gluten-free dog food recipes.” It’ll come up with several million websites with recipes to look at, but it’s not until after it's clicked on when it's discovered that the recipe has gluten in it. Maybe the writer doesn’t know which foods have gluten, or maybe they’ve only heard of one kind of gluten. But, it can be misleading and the wrong recipes won’t help you or your pet. In fact, harm can be done, so be careful.
Keep This; Foods Containing Gluten List
These are foods that either contain gluten or will make gluten when added to another ingredient;
- Wheat (including any kind of flour)
- Barley (most all grains)
- Oats (you can buy gluten-free oats)
- Soy products
- Food starches (cornstarch, etc.)
- Roux-based soups (made with flour)
- Bouillon cubes
- Roux-based gravy (made with any kind of flour)
- Brown rice syrup
- Sausages
- Malts
- Malt vinegar
- White pepper
- Pastas
- Pickles
- Some curry powders
- Rye
- Semolina
- Bulgur
- Wheat Grass
Gluten is also used as a stabilizing agent in ketchups and some ice creams, though giving those to dogs is not recommended anyway. It can be hard to tell if it's a wheat free recipe, too.
Rice is not a gluten-containing grain. Rice is almost always tolerated well by dogs and many high quality commercial dog foods are based with it. With so many commercial dog foods it can be hard to make a choice even if the label is clear. To control exactly what goes into a pet’s diet, homemade food is the best choice, and rice is a great ingredient to add.
How to Make Dog Treats; Simple Homemade Dog Treats Recipe
Food is very important but pets need treats even if their diet is well managed, just like people. Below are some easy recipes to make. They do not contain gluten in any way, shape or form and most dogs love them. However, when making dog treats, do not use them to replace the animal’s food or meals, these are to give sparingly because they will cause weight gain in some animals. Just like people treats.
Fish Bars
- 2/3 cup cooked fish fillet – boned and chopped
- 3/4 cup instant potato flakes (100% real potatoes)
- 3 teaspoons steamed carrots, chopped
- 3 teaspoons cooked green beans
- Water to moisten
In a bowl, combine all the ingredients, adding just enough water to moisten the mixture. Spread on a greased baking sheet and bake at 375(f) for 25 minutes, then cut into bars while it’s still hot. Move to cooling rack and completely cool before serving.
Keep refrigerated or put them in the freezer. Dogs love these when they’re frozen solid, plus it cleans their teeth like crunchy foods do.
Savory Cheese Treats
- 1 cup instant potato flakes (100% real potatoes)
- 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 5 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine cheeses and yogurt. Add instant potatoes. If needed, add a small amount of water to create a nice dough. Knead dough into a ball and roll to 1/4 inch. Cut into one inch sized pieces and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Makes 2 dozen.
These two recipes should keep a gluten-allergic pet happy, but stay tuned because there are many more recipes to share with parents of allergic pets.
A Couple of Sites for Healthy Treat Recipes
Good recipes, but remember to use gluten-free oats where it says oats, etc, and watch for those other hidden glutens.
A Weight-loss message board for people with a thread that contains some good suggestions for gluten-free treats.
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