Dogs may consume beef jerky in moderation as long as it’s plain without extra ingredients or preservatives, however there have been reported cases of illness due to eating jerky-style treats, including Fanconi Syndrome and Thyrotoxicosis.
Create homemade dog jerky using grass fed beef and safe spices, to guarantee its nutritional content for maximum dog health benefits.
Contents
Benefits
Jerky treats are an affordable, long-term chew that provide your dog with health and wellbeing benefits. Packed full of proteins, iron and zinc for their immune systems and overall wellbeing.
Some beef jerky brands may provide extra support for joint health by including essential glucosamine and chondroitin nutrients. It is important to read labels, however, as many human-grade jerky products contain ingredients which are harmful for dogs’ wellbeing – including excessive salt content, garlic/onion powder blends, spicy flavours or artificial sweeteners such as xylitol (an artificial sweetener).
Grain-free jerky treats are also highly recommended, since grains don’t form part of your dog’s natural wild diet and may be hard for him or her to digest. Be sure to introduce new foods slowly – otherwise symptoms such as weight loss, vomiting and diarrhoea could appear.
Ingredients
Jerky-style treats contain high amounts of protein and low amounts of fat, making them great choices for weight loss or digestive conditions such as pancreatitis. However, it’s still important to provide your puppy with most of its nutritional needs through a high quality complete and balanced dog food product.
Jerked beef esophagus is naturally chewy and an excellent source of chondroitin and glucosamine to promote joint health, making it a fantastic dental chew option for light chewers, puppies, or senior dogs.
Making homemade jerky from lean muscle meat that has been cut into uniformly-sized strips requires only marinating it before dehydrating either in an oven or dehydrator, before marinating and dehydrating either manually or using a dehydrator. While commercially produced flavored jerky typically contains salty flavors that are unsuitable for your dog’s diet; natural spice rubs or simple lemon and pepper marinades offer quick and simple alternatives – your pup will love these!
Preparation
As bone chews may lead to dental issues in some dogs, jerky offers an ideal alternative. You can make it from meats such as beef, chicken, lamb, venison or rabbit!
Making homemade jerky can be easy! Just use lean cuts of meat, pat the marinated pieces dry before dehydrating at low temperatures either using an oven dehydrator or food dehydrator.
Dehydrating properly means taking great care not to overdo it or the jerky may become tough and dry out too quickly. Once dehydrated, store in an airtight container to preserve freshness. Some recipes for dog jerky advise dehydrating for longer than necessary as bacteria may grow within moist environments of dehydrated treats and cause serious blockages in their digestive tracts if left in for too long.
Storage
Young dogs require a diet high in protein that’s low in calories and fat; homemade jerky provides the ideal way to satisfy this requirement while providing a highly-palatable treat and stimulating chewing – which serves as a natural stress-relief behavior in canines. Furthermore, homemade versions often cost less than store versions and can be tailored specifically to an animal’s individual nutritional requirements, sensitivities, or preferences.
Preparing jerky requires choosing lean cuts of meat without additives, fillers or preservatives as well as practicing proper food safety handling techniques during dehydration. Once completed, the finished jerky can be stored in the fridge for several months; be sure to regularly check its status so as to prevent spoilage; ideal results include shrunken, dark-colored bendable jerky that remains airtight – as this will ensure optimal freshness!
