Today we’re sharing our easy pumpkin and salmon dog treat recipe. Delicious stinky fish treats are doggone irresistible to our boys! Get the scoop on our yummy homemade pumpkin and salmon dog treats, plus how we make our mini circle training treats.
Fish-ilicious
Delicious Fishes
These pumpkin and salmon dog treat are packed with healthy goodness. Our original “stinky pinky” salmon dog treats were a doggy hit, but they are also fish-rich high value goodies. I decided to create an adaptation that stretches the salmon into a much bigger batch of treats that are still stinky and fish-ilicious using the healthy addition of delicious and nutritious pumpkin. Yum! Our dogs love fish treats in all forms. Even if I might not. Haha! To them, the strong smell is simply irresistible.
Pumpkin for Pups
Pumpkin is delicious and nutritious, both for people and dogs. Moderation is still important, though. Too much of anything is never a good thing, including a vitamin and fibre rich food like pumpkin. I like to chop and cook entire pumpkins for frozen storage. It’s easy and efficient to consolidate the prep and then have ready-use cooked pumpkin on hand. Alternatively, when you’re cooking for a meal, you can prep extra or save the leftovers as long as they’re unseasoned.
Making Quick and Easy Mini Training Treats
One of my new favourite tools in the dog treat kitchen is my set of small circle plunger cutters. They make quick work of cutting small treats. You can buy similar cutters from baking supply stores, in the baking and cake decoration section of large craft stores, on from an online retailer. They’re usually inexpensive and may be individual or part of a set. Shop around for size you like at a good price. Check out the plunger cutters on Amazon (affiliate link) for product examples and ideas. See our shortcuts for making baked dog treats for more ideas.
Pumpkin and Salmon Dog Treat Recipe
Easy Homemade Baked Biscuit/Cookie Style Pumpkin and Salmon Dog Treats
Treat Ingredients:
- 1 large tin of water-packed salmon (my tin was 210g)
- 1 cup of cooked pumpkin
- 1/4 cup ground flax or LSA
- Approximately 1+1/4 to 1+1/2 cups of brown rice flour, plus additional flour for rolling
These treats were made with tinned water-packed salmon. You can use most water-packed tinned fish relatively interchangeably in dog treat recipes, including tuna or sardines. Even within the same fish family, moisture content can vary and tins may be slightly different sizes. You can compensate for this with a little extra water or flour when you are mixing the dough to your desired consistency.
Making the Treats:
- Preheat your oven to 180C (or local equivalent) and gather together your baking ingredients and materials.
- Combine the cooked pumpkin and salmon (undrained – include the packing liquid) in a food processor or similar. Puree thoroughly. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
- Add ground flax and stir to combine.
- Incrementally add flour to form a nice firm workable dough. Both cooked pumpkin and tinned salmon can both vary quite a bit in consistency and in liquid content, so working incrementally is important. You may need to use less/more flour to adjust consistency depending on your specific ingredients and prep methods. Overshoot? No worries! You can add a bit of water (or a touch of olive oil) if you find the mix a bit too dry when you are ready to roll.
- Rest dough (optional but recommended).
- Roll, cut to shape, and place on a prepared baking sheet.
- Bake at 180C for approximately 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on your cooking time – the smaller the treat, the shorter the baking time.
- Allow to cool before storage and serving.
Baked Biscuit Dog Treat Making Tips and Tricks
- See our introduction to making homemade baked biscuit (cookie) dog treats for additional information on baked dog treats.
- We don’t include yield in our treat recipe posts because it is very dependent on what the maker decides for treat shape, size, and thickness when they’re baking.
- Homemade baked dog treats are best consumed within a couple of days from baking or frozen for longer storage. See our post on baked dog treat shelf life and storage for information and tips.
Recipe and Ingredient Tips and Tricks
- Variations in measurements, individual ingredients, options and substitutions, temperatures, etc. are all part of why we work incrementally when mixing.
- Resting the dough is optional, but it allows better ingredient hydration and helps to improve the texture/handling of gluten-free baking dough. I like to rest briefly, then knead a little before final rolling and ensure it is well mixed.
- Want to rev up the natural orange of these treats? Turmeric would be a good option for a natural colour boost.
- As a caution for our Dal pals, many fish including salmon and tuna, are higher purine proteins. Moderation is extra important. If you have a known issue with stones or are on a special diet, then you might want to pass on the fishes, no matter how delicious. See our post on the Dalmatian diet and purine problems for more information and handy links.
Hungry for more tasty treats? There are all sorts of homemade dog treat ideas in our blog archives. You can use the category and tag labels to find other recipes that might be of interest or use our internal search tools to find something specific. Remember, treats (bought or homemade) are for spoiling your pup in moderation. We share ideas from treats that we’ve made ourselves for our pets, but different animals have different preferences (likes/dislikes), just like people. Some pets may have special dietary requirements and/or food allergies/intolerances. If you are ever in doubt or have questions about what’s suitable for your pet, have a chat with your trusted vet.
