The Dog likes cookies, but he is not terribly interested in the supermarket dog biscuits. However, he really liked some "gourmet treats" that we found a few weeks ago at http://www.dogdazepetshop.com/. This weekend, we picked up some more from these folks:http://www.jackssnacks.com/. They were at a Farmers Market we visited in Providence. The dog loves them. I personally have not tried them.
The question is, are they worth it? I'm not sure that the grocery store ones are. He seems pretty indifferent to them. I want the dog bakeries to stay in business, so I try to purchase from them. But... I'm a cheapskate at heart and $6.50 for a bag of treats seems pricey to me. I remember my Mom baking dog treats, so I started looking on line for recipes. Here are three sites with lots of recipes.
http://www.twodogpress.com/dogfood.html They have some interesting information on foods to avoid as you consider ingredients.
After reading tons of recipes, this is the one we went with:
Tempting Training Treats
Ingredients:
2 1/3 cups flour -- all-purpose or whole wheat
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup grated cheese -- like parmesan
1 large egg
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup powdered milk -- non-fat Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl; mix well; Roll the dough out to size of a cookie sheet; Pat the dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet, bringing it to the edges. Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut desired sizes into dough (just score through). If you're using as training treats, cut them into small pieces; Sprinkle a little extra cheese and garlic powder if desired on dough for flavor. Bake in a 350 degree oven about 15 minutes until golden brown. Turn off the oven and let cool for a few hours; They will keep hardening the longer you leave them. Break them apart; store tightly covered or in the freezer.
We have all the ingredients in the house and it has applesauce in it! 
If you know me, you know I cannot follow a recipe to save my life. We only had a cup of regular whole wheat flour, so I substituted in 1 cup of buck wheat flour and a third of a cup of oat bran. I cut the garlic powder to a third of a teaspoon and added a third of a teaspoon of chicken bouillon crystals. If we had parsley in the kitchen I would have added that, 'cause lots of recipes call for it. The picture does not have the milk powder, but it is in there. I use it when making yogurt...
It is a very thick dough, so I wound up kneading it by hand to get it all well incorporated. The kid was grossed out. She did have fun rolling it out and scoring it with the pizza cutter. It actually smells pretty good baking. It took maybe 10 min to mix it up and get into the pan. We spent more time looking at recipes. We got 107 treats that are approx 1" square and 1/4 of an inch thick. Breaking them apart was easy and fun.
Success! He likes them! We will make dog cookies again. Sorry Dog Daze.
Oh, and no. I still have not tried one.
2 1/3 cups flour -- all-purpose or whole wheat
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup grated cheese -- like parmesan
1 large egg
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup powdered milk -- non-fat
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl; mix well; Roll the dough out to size of a cookie sheet; Pat the dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet, bringing it to the edges. Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, cut desired sizes into dough (just score through). If you're using as training treats, cut them into small pieces; Sprinkle a little extra cheese and garlic powder if desired on dough for flavor. Bake in a 350 degree oven about 15 minutes until golden brown. Turn off the oven and let cool for a few hours; They will keep hardening the longer you leave them. Break them apart; store tightly covered or in the freezer.
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