The Easiest 3-Ingredient DIY Dog Treat (Yummy for Humans Too!)

Looking for the easiest homemade dog treat recipe? This fall-inspired pumpkin treat is a hit with both dogs and their humans! With just three simple ingredients—oat flour, peanut butter, and pumpkin (or sweet potato/butternut squash purée)—this recipe is so easy that even kids can help. It’s the perfect DIY activity to make fun, homemade dog biscuits for your own pup or to give as a thoughtful gift for any dog lover. Add natural food dyes or creative toppings for a festive twist, making them perfect for Halloween dog treats or fall surprises for dog walkers. Bonus: these treats are just as tasty for kids and adults!

Educational Playtime with Homemade Dog Treats

Making these dog treats with your preschoolers or young kids? Not only is this a fun and easy prep learning activity, but it’s also a fantastic opportunity to boost creativity and learning. Here’s how to turn your DIY dog treat session into an engaging, educational experience!

Shapes and Letters: Early Literacy Fun

As you roll out the dough, invite your child to use cookie cutters to create various shapes, or let them try forming letters of the alphabet. This hands-on activity helps develop fine motor skills and introduces early literacy concepts in a playful way. Can they spell out their dog's name with dough? Or shape a heart for their favorite furry friend?

Sensory Exploration: Engage the Senses

Dough is perfect for sensory play! Encourage your child to squeeze, roll, and mold the dough, exploring its texture and temperature. Talk about how the dough feels—is it soft, sticky, or smooth? Ask them how it changes as they shape it, helping them to become more aware of their senses.

Imagination Station: Foster Creativity

Challenge your child’s imagination by asking them to create animals, objects, or scenes out of the dough. They could make a bone for the dog or even a tiny pumpkin to go with the theme. This kind of open-ended play nurtures creativity, storytelling, and problem-solving skills. Ask them: “What’s your dog’s favorite treat?” and watch their imagination soar!

Math Fun: Hands-on Counting and Patterns

Turn dough time into math time! Use the dough to teach basic math concepts like counting, addition, and subtraction. For example, roll the dough into small balls and ask your child to count them. Or use a fork, toothpicks, or chopsticks to poke holes in the dough and practice counting or creating patterns. You can also introduce simple math problems: “If we make 5 treats and give 2 to the dog, how many are left?”

Social Play: Building Communication and Teamwork

Invite friends or family members to join in the fun, making it a collaborative and social experience. Working together to make homemade treats fosters communication, sharing, and teamwork. You can even turn it into a gift-making activity, crafting homemade dog treats to give to friends, family, or neighbors with pets. This also opens up a great conversation about generosity and gratitude.

Color Mixing: Exploring Science Through Art

Want to make things more colorful? Add some natural food dyes to the dough! Let your child experiment with mixing colors—red and yellow to make orange, blue and yellow to make green. Ask questions like, “How does adding more blue change the green?” or “What happens when we mix a little red with blue?” This simple science lesson shows them how different ratios create different shades and hues.

Incorporate Textures: Add Fun Elements to the Dough

You can make the dog treats even more special by pressing in fun, dog-friendly ingredients! Roll dough around a bit of peanut butter to make a doggie eclair, or press cooked rice, a small piece of dried fruit, or unsweetened coconut into the dough. This not only makes the treats more fun to look at but also adds texture, enhancing both the sensory and learning experience.

Patterns and Sorting: Early Math Skills

Encourage your child to create patterns with different colored dough—green, yellow, red, green, yellow, red—or sort the dough into different categories based on size, shape, or color. These activities help introduce basic math concepts such as patterns, sequencing, and classification in a way that feels like play.

A Learning Tool for Lifelong Skills

Making homemade dog biscuits is not just an entertaining way to spend time—it’s also a valuable learning tool. Your children can explore creativity, develop fine motor skills, practice early math and literacy, and engage their senses, all while having a blast. Plus, the joy they feel when they see their dog enjoy the treats they made is priceless!

So, next time you’re looking for a creative outlet for your kids, whip up a batch of these homemade dog treats and watch their imaginations (and learning!) flourish.

Happy creating!

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Homemade Dog Treat Notes

Make with any flour: almond, chickpea, rice, etc. However wheat/white flour, soy and corn are common dog allergens.
Make kid-friendly dog treats! Add sweetener to taste to be delicious for humans and still safe for dogs: Allulose, Monk Fruit, Honey, Maple Syrup. Do not use Erythritol, Xylitol, Stevia or other artificial sweeteners as these can make dogs sick. Mix in carob chips for a dog-safe chocolate alternative!
Make Peanut Butter Alternatives: Cashew, Hazelnut, Chia seed, Pumpkin seed and Sunflower seed butter are all safe for dogs. Almond butter is generally safe in moderation but can cause digestive issues in some dogs.

Homemade Dog Treat Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups gluten-free oat flour (see note)
1/2 cups unsweetened, unsalted peanut butter (see note)
1 cup pure pumpkin purée (without pumpkin spice seasoning) or sweet potato purée.
Natural food coloring (optional)
- Turmeric, beet powder, spinach, kale, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, natural dye.
Kid-Friendly Add-Ons (optional)
- To make this delicious for dogs and their human friends, add dog-safe sweetener (allulose or monk fruit), natural sprinkles or carob chips.

Instructions:

Mix Wet Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the peanut butter and pumpkin purée.
Add Flour: Keep stirring until the mixture forms a large, non-sticky ball of dough.
- If dough sticks to hands, add more flour until dough stops sticking to hands.
Optional Color: If you'd like to add color, divide it into separate sections and add natural food dyes to each section. Knead the dough until the color is evenly distributed. Consider braiding or combining colors for a tie-dye or swirl effect.
- Beet Powder: Purple/Pink
- Turmeric: Yellow/Orange
- Spinach/Kale Powder: Green
- Strawberries/Raspberries: Pink
- Blueberries: Blue
Optional “Fancy” Creativity:
- Consider pressing dog-friendly food items into the dough to make them “fancy” or add fun textured elements. Roll a small strip of dough around a dollop of peanut butter to make a doggie eclair. Roll the treat in cooked rice, a piece of dry dog food or small piece of jerky or bacon bits into the center of a round dog biscuit. If your dog likes fruits and vegetables, add unseasoned coconut shreds or diced or dried apples, bananas, green beans or blueberries.
Roll out dough with rolling pin or cylindrical jar/bottle to 1/4 inch.
Use small jar (or cooking spray lid) to cut into circles or use dog bone cookie cutters.
Optional DIY gifts: This is a great gift for dog lovers on any occasion but consider using cookie cutters or small round jars/cans to shape holiday-themed gifts:
- Winter: Snowflake, mitten, snowman
- Spring/Summer: Flower, Sun, Butterfly
- Autumn: Maple & Oak Leaves, Apples, acorn, squirrel, pumpkin
- Christmas: Tree, angel, stocking, reindeer
- Hanukkah: Dreidel, Menorah, candle
- Thanksgiving: Turkey, corn on the cob, Pilgrim hat, Cornucopia (horn of plenty)
- Halloween: Ghost, Pumpkin, Witch’s Hat, Broom
- Easter: Egg, Bunny, Basket, baby chick
Bake at 400 F for 10 minutes (or more depending on thickness of dough).

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