Most animal shelters will accept donations of homemade dog and cat treats. Call ahead to make sure they are welcomed at your local shelter before donating to them. You can also consider selling your treats to purchase needed items for the shelter or to make a cash donation.
Super Simple Homemade Dog Treats
If you’ve got little ones, they are sure to want to get involved. Keep it simple by making these healthy dog treats from FreeKidsCrafts.com. Only five ingredients including whole wheat flour and eggs. Eggs are a great source of very digestible protein, riboflavin, and selenium. Pets prone to digestive issues will benefit from from the extra protein without extra ingredients which could upset their stomach.
If you don’t have any cookie cutters use an upside down drinking glass to make round treats. A shot glass will be the perfect size for smaller dogs. Flour the rim first to keep it from sticking.
Healthy Pumpkin and Peanut Butter Treats
These peanut butter and pumpkin treats are yummy and healthy for dogs. Peanut butter is a good source of protein and it contains heart healthy fats, vitamin B, niacin, and vitamin E. Be sure your peanut butter doesn’t contain Xylitol as it is dangerous for pets. Pumpkin is nutrient-rich, low in calories, and packed with essential vitamins and minerals. A dash of cinnamon regulates blood sugar by helping to slow the absorption of sugar in the bloodstream after a meal high in carbohydrates.
Download our free printable recipe.
Homemade Cat Treats
Let’s not forget about the purring fur-balls! Shelter cats will love a special homemade treat also.
I’ve been told by a reliable source, my kitty, that FreeKidsCrafts.com has the most delicious cat treat recipe. We’ve only tried the tuna version but they also have a chicken and a beef version.
When you deliver your treats, stick around the animal shelter and spend some time with the animals. Take the dogs for walks, play with the cats, or help clean the kennels and feed the animals. Many shelters rely on volunteers to manage the care of the animals. Make sure you find out any rules in regards to children if you plan to take them with you.
If this is something your kids wish to explore further, Youth Squad has a free service learning program to guide children of all ages to do volunteer work including volunteering at animal shelters.
Collecting rewards for good deeds is fun too. Scout leaders or parents can give their participants an embroidered fun patch as a keepsake for their participation. MakingFriends.com has this Animal Shelter Patch at a very low price.
I’ve made dog treats to raise money for a local animal hospice. I packaged them nicely and sold them for $5 for 6 big ones or 12 small ones.
Last year my troop made treats, made toys, and bought food as donations for our local shelter! It was such a great experience for the girls and for us adults too.
What kind of toys did you make? We working on a page for pet toys.
We made chew toys from cut of fleece. We Braided and tied them.
You can use oats if you god has trouble with gluten. I also add wheat germ.
Thanks for the info! It’s good to know gluten can be a problem for dogs.
Our Brownie troop went to shelter many years ago. We collected newspaper and old towels and blankets for them. We also put the dog treats in goodie bags and the shelter gave a dog treat bag to everyone who adopted a dog. The shelter staff gave the girls a tour and had a room for the girls to meet with a volunteer to learn all about the shelter, caring for pets and volunteer opportunities.