Homemade Dog Treats for Finnish Lapphunds: 5 Simple Recipes

Timber and Tundra will do almost anything for a treat, and like a lot of Lappy owners I got tired of squinting at ingredient lists on store bought bags. So I started baking. Homemade dog treats turn out to be easier than they look, they use a handful of cheap ingredients, and you control exactly what goes in. Here are the five I make on repeat, plus the plain list of what is safe and what stays far away from your dog.

Are homemade treats good for Finnish Lapphunds?

Yes, when you keep them simple and feed them in moderation. Baking your own means no mystery fillers and ingredients you can pronounce. Portion discipline matters more for this breed than for a big dog, because the Finnish Lapphund is a smaller than medium spitz, around 44 to 49 cm at the shoulder with no official weight in the standard (FCI Standard No. 189). A biscuit that looks tiny to you is a real meal to a 17 kg dog.

One thing to fix in your head before you start. Homemade treats are extras, never meals. WSAVA is blunt about it: treats should never replace a meal, because every dog needs a complete and balanced diet underneath (WSAVA, Feeding Treats to Your Dog). The daily food is the job. The baking is the fun part. Portions and food choice are covered in our Finnish Lapphund feeding guide.

How many treats can a Finnish Lapphund have a day?

No more than 10 percent of daily calories. This is the standard veterinary guideline, and the other 90 percent comes from a complete and balanced food (AAHA, Nutrition and Weight Management Guidelines; VCA Animal Hospitals, Dog Treats). WSAVA turns the rule into numbers, and the numbers are smaller than most of us assume.

Those figures come from the WSAVA treat guidance, which also lists the calorie densities behind them. A tablespoon of peanut butter is 81 calories. An ounce (28 g) of lean cooked chicken breast is 47, and an ounce of cheddar is 120 (WSAVA, Feeding Treats to Your Dog). A single spoon of peanut butter can spend a whole day's budget.

The practical fix is size. Bake or cut everything into pea sized or dime sized pieces, especially for training, where you might hand out twenty rewards in one session. Small pieces also suit this thinking breed, which learns best in short, upbeat sessions with frequent rewards (AKC, Finnish Lapphund fun facts).

Talk to your vet first. Every dog is different. Before you add homemade treats or change anything about your Lappy's diet, check with your veterinarian, especially if your dog is a puppy, is overweight, is pregnant or has any health condition. Your vet can give you a daily calorie target and tell you what fits inside the 10 percent.

What ingredients are safe and unsafe for Finnish Lapphunds?

The safe list is mostly simple whole foods, and the dangerous list is short enough to memorise. Finnish Lapphunds have no breed specific food allergies on record, so the standard canine lists apply to your Lappy the same as any other dog. Here is the reference I keep on the fridge.

Two of these are worth saying twice. Xylitol turns up in some natural peanut butters and most sugar free products, and even a small amount can be life threatening, so read the peanut butter label before you bake (AKC, Xylitol Is Toxic To Dogs). Grapes and raisins can cause acute kidney failure, and no safe amount has been established (VCA, Grape, Raisin and Currant Poisoning in Dogs). When in doubt, leave it out. If your dog eats anything from the right hand column, call your vet or a pet poison line immediately (ASPCA, People Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pets).

5 safe, simple homemade treat recipes for Finnish Lapphunds

These five are easy, use cheap ingredients, and bake small enough for training. Cut or pipe everything small, remember the 10 percent rule, let treats cool fully before serving, and keep fresh water available.

1. Three ingredient peanut butter and oat bites

The classic starter recipe, and the one I make most. You need one ripe mashed banana, half a cup of xylitol free peanut butter, and about one and a half cups of rolled oats. Mash the banana, stir in the peanut butter, then work in the oats until you have a stiff dough. Add a few more oats if it stays sticky. Roll into small balls, or press flat and cut into pea sized squares. Bake at 175 C (350 F) for 12 to 15 minutes until firm. These freeze well, which keeps a big batch from going stale.

2. Pumpkin and oat training squares

Gentle on sensitive stomachs, since plain pumpkin is mild and full of fibre. Mix half a cup of plain canned pumpkin, one egg, and about one and a half cups of oat flour. You can make oat flour by blitzing rolled oats in a blender. Combine into a dough, roll it thin, and cut into tiny squares. Bake at 175 C (350 F) for 15 to 20 minutes. Bake a little longer for a crunchier treat that keeps better.

3. Frozen pumpkin and yogurt pupsicles

For a warm afternoon, and no oven needed. Blend half a cup of plain unsweetened yogurt with half a cup of plain canned pumpkin, spoon into a silicone mould or an ice cube tray, and freeze. A double coated dog does not love heat, so a cool treat on a hot day is a small kindness. Keep the portions tiny, because dairy upsets some dogs, and skip these if yours does not tolerate yogurt.

4. Single ingredient dehydrated sweet potato chews

About as simple as baking gets, and a chewy alternative to rawhide. Slice one sweet potato into thin rounds or strips, lay them on a lined tray, and bake low and slow at around 120 C (250 F) for two to three hours, flipping halfway, until dried and leathery. There is nothing else to it. Store them in the fridge and use them within a few days, since there are no preservatives. Supervise any chew, because a piece swallowed whole is a choking risk.

5. Tiny chicken and oat jackpot rewards

The high value option for recall and hard training moments. Finely chop or shred half a cup of plain cooked chicken. Skin off, unseasoned, and cooked without onion or garlic. Mix with one egg and about one cup of oat flour to bind, then press into a thin sheet. Bake at 175 C (350 F) for 15 to 18 minutes, and cut into tiny squares while still warm. These smell enormous to a dog, which makes them the jackpot when your Lappy nails a difficult cue. Keep them refrigerated and use within three to four days.

How do I keep training treats inside the calorie budget?

Bake thin and cut small. A sheet rolled to three or four millimetres and cut into 1 cm squares gives you a hundred rewards from one batch, and each one is a few calories rather than twenty. That is the difference between a training week and a weight problem.

Three habits make the maths work in a Lappy household. Take the treat calories out of the day's meals rather than adding them on top. Use part of the actual daily kibble ration as training currency on heavy session days, and save the baked jackpots for the hard cues. And weigh a batch once, so you know roughly what a piece costs. You only have to do that arithmetic a single time.

What about chews, bones and antlers?

Be careful here, because this is where homemade enthusiasm meets real risk. WSAVA warns that cooked and raw bones can cause significant damage if chewed or swallowed. It also says excessively hard chews such as antlers and hooves should be avoided, and that unprocessed raw treats like pig ears carry a risk of transmitting pathogens (WSAVA, Feeding Treats to Your Dog).

The same guidance asks owners to supervise every chew and to check that the size and shape suit the dog, to reduce the risk of choking. Our two get sweet potato chews and nothing harder, and I sit in the room while they work on them. A Lappy is a determined chewer with a strong jaw and a herding dog's patience.

How do I store homemade dog treats?

Store them by how wet they are. With no preservatives, homemade treats spoil faster than the store bought kind. Drier baked treats keep about a week in an airtight container. Softer or meat based treats live in the fridge. Almost everything here freezes for about three months, so freeze the extra and thaw a few at a time.

Do treats need to be grain-free for a Finnish Lapphund?

No, and going grain free without a reason is worth avoiding. Grains such as oats are a good ingredient for most dogs. The US Food and Drug Administration has investigated a possible link between some grain free diets and dilated cardiomyopathy, a serious heart condition (FDA, grain-free diets and canine DCM investigation). The Finnish Lapphund has no breed reason to skip grains. If you suspect a food sensitivity, that is a conversation for your vet, who can run a proper diet trial instead of a guess.

This is general information and not veterinary advice. Your vet knows your individual dog, so loop them in before you make changes, add supplements, or feed treats to a puppy or a dog with a health condition.

Treat time, the breed true way

Baking for your Lappy is one of the small joys of this breed, and watching Timber and Tundra lose their minds over a warm tray of chicken squares never gets old. If you want the serving side to look as good as the smell, we draw our stainless Finnish Lapphund dog bowls in every coat colour, and the Aurora Weave bowl is the one I would start with. There are mugs for the human half of baking day too. Tag me with your treat wins, because I love seeing what the Pack bakes.

Related Finnish Lapphund guides

• Finnish Lapphund feeding guide: how much, what and when
• Finnish Lapphund training guide
• Finnish Lapphund dog sports: agility, rally, herding and nosework
• The complete Finnish Lapphund care guide
• Finnish Lapphund health problems and DNA testing
• The complete Finnish Lapphund breed guide

Homemade dog treats for Finnish Lapphunds: quick answers

What are the best homemade treats for a Finnish Lapphund?

Simple, single purpose treats work best: peanut butter and oat bites, pumpkin and oat squares, frozen pumpkin and yogurt pupsicles, dehydrated sweet potato chews, and tiny chicken and oat training rewards. Cut them small to suit the breed's compact size and the 10 percent treat rule.

How many treats can my Finnish Lapphund have each day?

No more than 10 percent of daily calories, with the rest from complete and balanced food. WSAVA puts a 15 kg dog at about 64 calories a day from treats and a 20 kg dog at about 79. Keep pieces pea sized, especially during training, and ask your vet for your dog's calorie target.

What ingredients are toxic to dogs?

Never feed chocolate, xylitol or birch sugar, grapes, raisins, currants, onions, garlic, leeks, chives, macadamia nuts, alcohol, raw yeast dough, or heavily salted or seasoned food. If your dog eats any of these, contact your vet or a pet poison helpline right away.

Can Finnish Lapphunds eat peanut butter?

Yes, in small amounts, as long as it is unsalted and contains no xylitol. Always read the label, because xylitol is in some peanut butters and is dangerous to dogs. One tablespoon carries about 81 calories, which is more than a small Lappy's entire daily treat budget.

Are antlers, bones and pig ears safe chews?

WSAVA advises against them. Cooked and raw bones can cause serious damage, excessively hard chews such as antlers and hooves should be avoided, and unprocessed raw treats like pig ears carry a pathogen risk. Supervise every chew and match its size to your dog.

Do homemade treats need to be grain-free?

No. Grains such as oats are fine for most dogs, and the FDA has investigated a possible link between some grain free diets and a heart condition. The Finnish Lapphund has no breed reason to avoid grains, so speak to your vet before choosing a grain free route.

Sources

• American Animal Hospital Association, Nutrition and Weight Management Guidelines
• WSAVA, Feeding Treats to Your Dog
• VCA Animal Hospitals, Dog Treats
• VCA Animal Hospitals, Grape, Raisin and Currant Poisoning in Dogs
• ASPCA, People Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pets
• American Kennel Club, Foods Your Dog Should Never Eat
• American Kennel Club, Xylitol Is Toxic To Dogs
• US Food and Drug Administration, grain-free diets and canine DCM investigation
• FCI Standard No. 189, Finnish Lapphund (Suomenlapinkoira)
• American Kennel Club, Finnish Lapphund fun facts

Written by Jill, co-founder of Lapphund Designs. Jill lives in Castlegar, BC with her husband and their two Finnish Lapphunds, Timber and Tundra.