Dehydrator For Dog Treats: 5 Reasons To Get One

If you’re a dog owner, then you know that your pup loves treats. But store-bought treats can be expensive, and they often contain unhealthy ingredients. A much better option is to make your own dehydrated dog treats at home. With a dehydrator, it’s easy to make healthy and delicious jerky treats for your pup. In this article, we will outline six reasons why every dog owner should get a dehydrator for making homemade dog treats!

1. Your Dog Will Love Them More

Our dogs’ sense of smell is much better than ours, so they can really appreciate the freshness of homemade dog treats. For example, my dog likes most treats, but he absolutely loves DIY homemade treats fresh out of the dehydrator. They’re the only treats he’ll uncontrollably drool for!

2. You Can Be 100% Sure Of The Ingredients

Lots of store-bought dog treats include questionable ingredients, but when you make your own dehydrated dog treats at home, you can be 100% sure of what’s going into them. You can choose the ingredients, and even customise the recipe to your pup’s individual needs.

3. Homemade Dehydrated Dog Treats Can Save You Money

Making your own dehydrated dog treats can actually save you money in the long run. You can buy human-grade meat that’s on special, and since you’re in control of the ingredients, you can make large batches of healthy treats without breaking the bank.

Plus, if you have a food dehydrator with multiple trays , you can make multiple types of treats at once. This is a great way to keep your pup happy and entertained while also saving you time in the kitchen.

4. It’s A Fun Activity For The Whole Family

Making your own dog treats is a fun way to spend time with your furry friend. Plus, if you have kids, they’ll love watching the treats dehydrate and seeing their pup’s happy reaction when they finally get to taste them.

5. Homemade Dehydrated Dog Treats Are A Great Gift

They make great gifts for other dog owners in your life! If you know someone who’s always spoiling their pup with store-bought treats, why not surprise them with a batch of healthy and homemade dehydrated dog treats? They’ll definitely appreciate the effort, and their pup will love the delicious taste.

So there you have it, 5 reasons why every dog owner should get a dehydrator for making homemade dog treats. Dehydrated dog treats are healthier, tastier, and can be more affordable than store-bought options, plus they’re a fun activity for the whole family. So what are you waiting for? Get dehydrating!

Best dehydrator for dog treats

I’m personally very happy with the BioChef Arizona Sol Food Dehydrator . It has an adjustable thermostat, 9 trays, and a digital timer. I’ve had mine for over 3 years now and I’ve never had a problem with it. We use it roughly once a month.

I will say that you should definitely be mindful of putting the drip tray onto the bottom of the dehydrator. This was 100% my mistake, but I did forget it once before making a big patch of beef jerky treats and it was really, really hard to clean the fat away from the bottom of the dehydrator due to its design.

Other than that I’m very happy with the purchase and it’s one of the few dog-related items I’ve had for many years and still use regularly 🙂

Dehydrator dog treat recipe

You can find lots of different dehydrated dog treat recipes online that you can try. Below is how I make dehydrated chicken dog treats for my dog with the BioChef Food Dehydrator.

Dehydrated chicken dog treats

1. I buy a bulk pack of chicken breast from the supermarket
2. I put the chicken breast in the freezer for a little while so it’s easier to cut
3. I cut the chicken breast into thin slices (the thinner the slices, the quicker they’ll dehydrate)
4. I put the sliced chicken breast on the 9 trays of the dehydrator
5. I turn the dehydrator on at 70 degrees for 10 hours
6. I check occasionally to see if I need to adjust the timing
7. Once the dehydrated chicken dog treats are done, I let them cool off, and then I’ll keep them in my pantry, in an open container with a paper towel on the bottom to absorb any excess moisture

Frequently asked questions about dehydrators for dog treats

Here are some frequently asked questions about making dog treats with a dehydrator at home:

Can you make dog treats in a dehydrator?

Yes, you can make a variety of different dehydrated dog treats in a food dehydrator. This includes jerky treats, fruit and vegetable treats, and more. Just make sure to always give it a thorough clean between sessions!

What is good to dehydrate for dogs?

There are a lot of different options for what you can dehydrate for dogs. Some popular options include chicken, beef, and sweet potatoes. You can get some inspiration by looking at what type of dog treats you can buy from stores. Just make sure to avoid any foods that are known to be harmful to dogs.

How long does it take to dehydrate dog treats?

It depends on the type of treat you’re making and its thickness and water content. Always check on your treats regularly to see how they’re progressing and adjust the time and temperature as needed.

Why are dehydrated treats good for dogs?

Dehydrated treats are good for dogs because you can make them from very simple and healthy ingredients. For example, you can make homemade dehydrated beef jerky treats, that are literally just made from beef, and nothing else. And because they’re dehydrated, they will last longer and are less messy to give to your dog than fresh/wet treats.

Do food dehydrators use a lot of electricity?

Food dehydrators are known to use very little power compared to other devices. For example, most electric ovens draw between 2,000 and 5,000 watts. In comparison, our food dehydrator draws just 600 watts.

We’re based in Queensland, so if you run the numbers for our 600-watt dehydrator, running for approximately 10 hours at an average cost of 20 c/kWh, our energy cost for making a massive batch of dog treats is about $1,20.

If we were to make the same amount of treats in our oven, it would cost us between $4 and $10. I can also fit about 3 times more into the dehydrator than I can fit into our oven. So if we say the average electricity cost for making dog treats in the oven is $7, and we multiply this by 3, we’re at $21 electricity cost with the oven compared to $1,2 with the dehydrator.

In other words, I had to use the dehydrator approximately 15 times to make my money back (I paid about $300 for it).

I hope this article helped answer some of your questions about dehydrators and dog treats 🙂