As long as I've been training, dogs have been going absolutely NUTS for freeze dried liver. However, if you train a lot, or if you go through treats quickly (like me!), then you know freeze dried liver is a pretty hefty investment. If you buy the real stuff, the best deal is at Ryan's, but you have to buy it in bulk, and hope your $30 worth of dog treats doesn't get burglarized. (Or worse, that it spills in your car, and you don't notice until you return with the windows up on a hot day. Talk about disgusting smells...)
Anyway, since I hand out treats freely in class, and since almost every dog LOVES this stuff, I decided to make my own. I, like most people, do not have access to a freeze drier, but I can dehydrate things! If you have a dehydrator, it makes this task super easy; but if you don't, all you need is a few baking pans and an oven.
Go to your local supermarket, and look in the meat aisle. They should sell beef livers, chicken livers, and sometimes "gizzards and hearts". YUM! (puke!) I prefer the chicken livers, because they're already small and I don't have to cut the stinky stuff.
Arrange them in a single layer on a baking pan, or in a dehydrator, and bake at 175 for about 8 hours. (I leave them in overnight.) If using a dehydrator, you may have to leave them for 12-16 hours, depending on your settings. You want them to be crispy, so they won't go bad when you take them out for training.
By now you should notice that your entire house smells horrible. (Don't worry, it will go away!) If you plan on making these treats often, I suggest you pick up a cheap dehydrator at Goodwill, and start making these outside. (With your dogs secured INSIDE, of course, LOL!)
Since they are dehydrated, they should keep at room temperature, no problem. I prefer to keep them in the fridge in a ziplock bag until ready for use, just to be on the safe side.
There you go! Super cheap, super easy, and your dogs will love you forever! :)
PS You can do the same thing with salmon, (my dogs love!), but don't use a dehydrator. The meat leaks too much during the dehydrating process and will short out your machine! But salmon smells good, so it's oven-worthy!
