If you share your home with a cat as well as a dog, you know one fact: dogs LOVE cat food. While cat food has too many calories for dogs to enjoy, you can replicate those flavors in an easy dog treat that’s good for your dog: Sardine Dog Treats!
Are Sardines Good for Dogs?
Sardines are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, particularly EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). These fats can help reduce inflammation, support brain health, and promote a shiny coat and healthy skin–but your dog will just call them very tasty!
Sardines are also a good source of high-quality protein, which is essential for muscle maintenance, growth, and repair. And compared to larger fish, sardines tend to have lower levels of mercury because they are lower on the food chain.
If you’re using canned sardines, they often come with soft, edible bones that are generally safe and beneficial for dogs to eat. However, if you’re using fresh sardines, ensure all the bones are removed or fed whole if they are small and soft.
If your dog has never had sardines before, introduce them slowly to monitor for any potential allergies or digestive issues.
Which Sardines Should I Buy?
Canned sardines from your grocery store are easy to use in this recipe; you can choose sardines in olive oil or sardines in water. (Be sure you don’t get a spicy sardine combo or ones with added flavorings!)
How to Make Sardine Dog Treats
This treat is very easy to make; you’ll just need one can of sardines (in olive oil or water), brown rice flour, grated Parmesan cheese and an egg. It makes a fluffy baked treat–sort of a sardine cake for dogs!
I used Anthony’s Brown Rice Flour…it was very finely ground and had a good texture for the treats.
Add a 1/2 cup of rice flour to a bowl then add a tin of sardines (juice and all), one egg and two teaspoons of grated Parmesan cheese.
Gradually add a 1/4 cup of water, stirring and mixing everything completely so the sardines flake apart.
The dough is heavy; I dropped it by the spoonful into tiny muffin cups:
You can also drop it directly onto a lightly greased cookie sheet or parchment-lined cookie sheet!
Pop it in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
Allow the treats to cool completely before serving or refrigerating. These treats will last four days in the refrigerator (although ours didn’t last nearly that long, thanks to Tiki and Barli!)
You can also freeze the treats for longer storage.
They’re easy to break apart into training treats and moist enough to tuck a pill inside, if you need a pill pocket!
Printable Recipe
Sardine Dog Treats
Ingredients
- 1 can sardines in olive oil
- ½ cup rice flour
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add all ingredients to large bowl and, using a fork, break
up sardines. Mix ingredients thoroughly. - Drop sardine mixture by spoonful onto lightly greased or
parchment-lined cookie sheet or into small cupcake wrappers. - Bake for 45 minutes.
- Cool completely then store in refrigerator for four days or
freeze.
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