Free Thanksgiving Pet Treat Recipes to Bake at Home
Bake dog and cat treats from recipes the AKC and ASPCA publish free, plus the label check and ingredient limits vets warn about.
Yes — you can bake Thanksgiving treats for your dog or cat at home using recipes that two national animal organizations publish free on their own websites. The American Kennel Club offers pumpkin dog biscuits, and the ASPCA offers tuna crackers for cats, both using pantry ingredients and a 350°F oven. The appeal isn't only the cost.
A batch of plain baked treats gives your pet something to have while the table is full of food that could land you in an emergency clinic, and it lets you control exactly what goes in.
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Two free recipes from national animal organizations
For dogs, the American Kennel Club publishes free pumpkin dog-treat recipes on akc.org, including a banana-pumpkin biscuit. It calls for 3 cups whole wheat flour, 2 eggs, 1 cup canned pumpkin puree and 1 mashed banana, baked at 350°F, and yields roughly 24 treats — enough to spread across a holiday weekend rather than a single sitting. For cats, the ASPCA publishes a Tuna Crackers for Cats recipe made from 6 oz.
of undrained tuna in water, 1 cup cornmeal, 1 cup flour and 1/3 cup water, baked at 350°F for about 20 minutes. It gives a cat something that smells like the kitchen without handing over turkey scraps. Both recipes are free to read and need no account, subscription, or purchase.
Canned pumpkin puree is plain pumpkin, not pie filling — pie filling carries sugar and spices the recipe does not call for.
Read the nut butter label first
If you plan to swap in or add peanut butter, check the label before anything else. The FDA's consumer update Paws Off Xylitol; It's Dangerous for Dogs warns that some peanut and nut butters contain xylitol, and tells owners to read the label before using nut butter as a treat or to hide pills. The stakes are specific.
The FDA reports that xylitol poisoning in dogs causes vomiting, decreased activity, weakness, collapse and seizures. A jar bought for a human low-sugar diet, turned into two dozen biscuits, becomes two dozen doses. Xylitol can also appear under the name birch sugar.
If the ingredient list names either, pick a different jar for the pet batch.
What to leave out of the dough
Texas A&M's College of Veterinary Medicine names turkey skin, dark meat, bones, garlic and sage as harmful to pets, and warns that rich holiday food can cause digestive upset and pancreatitis — inflammation of the pancreas, which can be serious. That rules out the most tempting shortcut: tipping seasoned stuffing or drippings into a treat recipe. The ASPCA's Thanksgiving safety guidance adds two more.
Poultry bones are a major choking and gastrointestinal-injury hazard, and raw or undercooked turkey may carry salmonella, so any turkey in a homemade treat should be boneless and cooked through. Keep the ingredient list to the plain, unseasoned items the recipe names:
- Plain canned pumpkin, not spiced pie filling
- Boneless, fully cooked turkey if you add meat at all
- No garlic, onion, or sage
- No turkey skin, drippings, or gravy
- Nut butter only after checking the label for xylitol
Keep the rising dough away from the counter
The ASPCA's Thanksgiving safety tips flag raw bread dough as one of the worst hazards of the day. Yeast keeps producing gas and ethanol inside the stomach, the dough expands, and the combination can be life-threatening. That applies to the dinner rolls as much as the treats.
Set rising dough somewhere a dog cannot reach, and bake the treats fully rather than letting a pet sample the raw mix.
How many treats is too many?
BluePearl Pet Hospital advises keeping treats — including home-baked human-food treats — under 10% of a pet's daily calories. Twenty-four biscuits is a supply, not a serving. Penn Vet's Dr.
Kenneth Drobatz, Chief of Emergency Service, says dogs "don't tolerate dietary changes the way humans do," and that scraps can cause diarrhea, vomiting and, rarely, life-threatening pancreatitis. Portioned baked treats are easier to count than whatever gets handed under the table by four different relatives. Some pets should get none at all.
BluePearl notes that animals with chronic conditions such as pancreatitis need a veterinarian's approval before any holiday treat, home-baked included.
Have the emergency number before you need it
Purdue University's College of Veterinary Medicine reports that most holiday animal-ER visits come from pets eating something unhealthy or toxic, and advises having a plan in advance rather than searching for one at 9 p.m. on a Thursday. Write down your regular vet's holiday hours, the nearest emergency clinic, and the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, which operates 24/7 at (888) 426-4435.
Put it on the fridge next to the cooling rack.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use leftover turkey in a homemade pet treat?
Only if it is boneless and fully cooked. The ASPCA warns that poultry bones are a choking and GI-injury hazard and that raw or undercooked turkey may carry salmonella. Texas A&M also names turkey skin and dark meat as harmful.
Is canned pumpkin the same as pumpkin pie filling?
No. The AKC recipe calls for canned pumpkin puree, which is plain pumpkin. Pie filling adds sugar and spices the recipe does not include.
What are the warning signs of xylitol poisoning in a dog?
The FDA lists vomiting, decreased activity, weakness, collapse and seizures. Call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 immediately.