What is the shelf life of homemade dog treats?
All the information on this page will help you answer this question. There are clearly lots of variables which can affect shelf life of homemade dog treats, including ingredients, method, environment etc.
Homemade dog treats should always be kept in an airtight container or use a vacuum-sealer for longer term freezer storage.
Heres a quick overview that simplifies it all, but remember to include the information given to adjust for individual and specific recipes.
Dry, baked, homemade dog treats have the longest shelf life… up to one week in the larder and up to two weeks in the refrigerator, and the crispier/crunchier your baked treats are, the longer theyll stay fresh.
Recipes that dont contain meat, fish or cheese can be stored in airtight container in the larder for up to a week, and in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
If the treats contain meat, fish or cheese should ALWAYS be stored in the refrigerator or freezer, no matter how crunchy they are. They should be good for around five days in the refrigerator.
Soft, baked homemade dog treats store relatively well… generally staying fresh for up to five days in the refrigerator.
Soft baked treats should always be kept in the refrigerator or freezer. Meat, fish, cheese, fruits and vegetables can all make treats softer, although extra baking time, or putting them in a dehydrator after theyre finished baking, can dry them out.
Keep these kinds of treats in an airtight for five to seven days. Check them for any signs theyve gone off before giving them to your dog.
Homemade gummy dog treats stay fresh in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. If you want to keep them longer than that youll need to freeze them.
They will stay fresh for several months in the freezer but they dont defrost very well, so feeding frozen gummy treats is the way we do it in our house!
Dehydrated dog treats have the longest shelf life of all and can stay fresh for several weeks in the larder.
This is because the dehydration process removes all the moisture from whatever it is youre working with.
However, dehydrated meat still has a shelf life of up to three weeks or so in the larder. Its not advisable to keep dehydrated treats in the refrigerator as that adds moisture.
You can put them in an airtight container and keep them in the freezer for up to three months.
Best Place to Store Homemade Dog Treats?
For the majority of homemade dog treat recipes, for the majority of the time, the best storage option is an airtight container in your refrigerator.
This way your creations will stay fresh for longer, saving you money (less waste) and eliminating any worries about treats which may have gone off.
There are lots of reasons why you might want to keep your dog treats for longer than a week or so (for example – your dog cant/shouldnt eat them all that quickly, or you want to make a big batch so you dont have to go through the process again in a week). For longer term storage the best thing to do is to pop the treats into your freezer.
Obviously make sure theyre either in an airtight container, or are wrapped tightly in foil, so that they dont get freezer burn. Stored this way most homemade dog treats are good for several months.
Using a vacuum sealer is also a great way to extend the storage life of all sorts of dog treats. Popping vacuum sealed bags filled with treats into your freezer can keep them fresh for up to a year.
Depending on the treat you can either defrost treats completely before offering them to your dog, or give them to him while frozen. Big and/or thick treats are best defrosted first, thinner ones are often enjoyed frozen as theyre super crunchy. However, frozen treats dont taste as good as thawed ones do!
You can also freeze uncooked dog treat dough and defrost it to make more treats later on. Why not make up a double-batch of dough to save yourself prep work next time? Or maybe divide a regular recipe in half if your dog is tiny, or youre only offering treats occasionally.
Always double-wrap uncooked dough before freezing it and defrost it thoroughly in the refrigerator before using.
Making frozen dog treats or dehydrated dog treats is a great way to make sure you always have some tasty goodies on hand, because they stay fresh for extended periods of time.
This is the last, and least important factor when it comes to how you store your homemade dog treats, but it can still play a role. So can seasonally changing temperatures.
Perhaps you live somewhere thats very hot, but your A/C is super-efficient and you like to keep your home temperature at around 65F (brrrr!). In this situation treats which are normally okay to store in the larder for a few days will be just fine.
But what if your A/C isnt that great, or perhaps you dont have A/C and theres a heat-wave, in these cases you need to put your treats into the refrigerator because theyll spoil faster than normal in a warm environment. If its also humid, thats even worse for them.
Of course, if you live somewhere cold (or its the middle of winter) and your heating is keeping your house at a toasty 75F at all times, then treats are still better off in the fridge!
Finally, light can also play a role in treat storage because bright sunlight is going to make those goodies spoil faster than they would otherwise. This is why keeping your treats in an airtight container in the larder or pantry (which is naturally dark most of the time) is the best option outside of the refrigerator.
Avoid Additional Moisture During Storage and Handling
It’s important to allow the finished treats to cool thoroughly prior to storage. Putting warm treats into a container will trap residual steam and/or moisture, which can accelerate spoilage. Wait for them to reach ambient temperature first. Once completely cooled, transfer the treats to a suitable container. See below regarding reducing exposure to new contaminants during cooling.
Similarly, if treats are being defrosted from frozen, as noted below, it’s beneficial to ensure they defrost dry before being transferred to sealed storage in ambient or refrigerated conditions. I usually just defrost treats in very small quantities for convenient fresh use.
Making homemade dog treats two way! They Cannot Get Enough!
These crispy and flavorful dog biscuits are easy to make with only 2 simple ingredients. Best of all, these homemade dog treats contain no peanut butter!
Have you ever looked at the ingredient list on dog treats that you buy at the store?? I don’t even know what some of those ingredients are! And that probably means that it’s not the best thing to feed your pet.
If you’ve ever looked up homemade dog treat recipes, you might notice what I did…some of them are just as complicated as people food recipes! Also, some of them have ingredients that I’m not sure dogs truly like…or are that great for dogs…such as peanut butter. I’ve also seen cinnamon and nutmeg used to add flavor, but really those aren’t needed either. And in large amounts, certain spices aren’t good for dogs.
I wanted to create an easy dog biscuit recipe that doesn’t need a bunch of ingredients. And I wanted it to be something that wasn’t unhealthy. I mean, of course a treat is meant to be a special occasion snack, but I still want to make sure that it’s not something bad for my dog!
These homemade dog biscuits are as easy as it gets — only 2 ingredients! Yep, just TWO!!