Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Dogs

PawTracks may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Homemade Valentine’s Day treats for dogs: Biscuits, frozen yogurt, and more festive favorites

DIY Valentine's Day treats for dogs that are easy to make

Gabrielle LaFrank
By

With Cupid’s special day just around the corner, it’s important to think ahead when it comes to sweets and treats. You might have cards and candy ready for your coworkers, or even your kid’s school — but have you thought of anything for your furry friend? That’s right — there are plenty of ways to spoil your dog this Valentine’s Day, though almost any pup will appreciate a special something to eat.

Valentine’s Day treats for dogs come in all flavors and textures, but these DIY recipes are some of our favorites. You can make these dog treats from the comfort of your own kitchen — and your four-legged sous chef can be ready to do the sampling. After a little bit of cooking, your dog will be in for a delicious surprise!

A golden retriever wearing a bandana lies on his back and gets belly rubs
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Conversation heart biscuits for your four-legged Valentine

Nothing screams “Valentine’s Day” quite like conversation heart candies, and now you can make some for your dog, too. Rover’s The Dog People has a great recipe for “conversation heart biscuits” that uses only six ingredients and takes only an hour of your time. It doesn’t get much easier than that!

Recommended Videos

For this recipe, you’ll need:

  • 2 cups of oat flour
  • 2 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons of melted coconut oil
  • 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce
  • Natural food coloring

If you thought the ingredients were simple, wait until you see the directions! According to The Dog People, you’ll start by preheating your oven to 35o degrees Fahrenheit and combining all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Once your dough forms, you can divide it and add the food colorings you like, or simply move on to rolling it out for the next step. Then, just cut out your hearts with your favorite cookie cutter, and bake for 20 minutes.

To add the “conversation” to the heart, The Dog People suggest using food-safe dye pens or canine-safe icing. This is the time to get creative!

An Australian cattle dog sits in the snow wearing a red scarf
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Strawberry and apple ‘jerky’ is a sweet, vitamin-packed treat for anyone in your home

Dried fruit isn’t just delicious — it’s also a healthy treat for anyone in your home. Any dog-safe fruit can be dried in your oven to create a fruit “leather” or “jerky,” though you may want to consider strawberries, apples, and raspberries for a Valentine’s Day theme.

According to cuisine queen Martha Stewart, oven-dried fruit should be baked at 225 degrees Fahrenheit. She recommends lining a baking pan with parchment paper and placing each piece of fruit 1/2 to 1 inch apart. Remember not to add any sugar to your fruit like she does, as extra sugar isn’t healthy for our furry friend.

The fruit dries in the oven for about 2 to 4 hours, though you’ll know it’s ready when the fruit has shriveled and the edges have dried.

A shih tzu wearing a pink bow in their hair and a read heart on their collar sits on a white surface
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Fruity frozen yogurt dog treats are just as easy to make as they are to eat

This fruity frozen yogurt recipe from Stylish Paws is another easy one that will take just a few minutes to put together. The hard part is waiting for them to freeze! All you’ll need to do is gather your ingredients, blend them in your blender, and then pour the mixture into ice cube trays or silicone molds. Why not choose a heart shape to make it festive?

The ingredients you’ll need include:

  • 1 banana
  • A handful of strawberries
  • 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt

That’s it! Of course, you can swap the fruits to include anything your dog likes, but a strawberry banana flavor is perfect for Valentine’s Day.

A shar-pei dog wearing a red party hat looks at a hand holding a heart-shaped lollipop
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Heart-shaped cookie cutters can make any biscuit — like this peanut butter treat — perfect for Valentine’s Day

If you’re short on time this February, you can use a heart-shaped mold or cookie cutter to customize just about any recipe or snack. Anything from frozen chicken broth cubes to basic dog biscuits could work!

One of our favorite classic biscuit recipes is the American Kennel Club’s peanut butter dog treat. They’re as simple to make as a batch of cookies!

You’ll need:

  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2 tablespoons of canola oil
  • 1/2 cup of peanut butter or peanut butter powder
  • 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup of tapioca flour
  • 1/2 cup of water

After preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, combine all your ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Transfer your dough mixture to any baking pan or mold, and then bake for 12 minutes — or until the edges begin to brown.

Sounds easy, right? None of these homemade treats for dogs are hard to cook up; it’s all a matter of finding what works for you and your pup. Try our frozen yogurt idea if you have spare room in your freezer, but if your pup prefers the taste of peanut butter, try the biscuits. The fruit jerky is great for whenever you have time to kill, and you can never go wrong with good-old conversation heart treats.

Which of these recipes is your favorite? More importantly — which of these will be your dog’s favorite this Valentine’s Day?

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Gabrielle LaFrank
Gabrielle LaFrank
Contributor
Gabrielle LaFrank has written for sites such as Psych2Go, Elite Daily, and, currently, PawTracks. When she's not writing, you…
Is your old dog not eating? It probably has nothing to do with hunger
Older dog not eating? Common explanations and what you should do
Overhead shot of dog paws and a bowl of kibble

Your dog is not only your best friend, but also a member of your family. Sharing your life with an old dog is a joy and a privilege, and you've most likely been through a lot together through the years. Just like the bump in health issues, we see in human senior citizens, an increased risk of health problems is also common in senior dogs.

Older dogs frequently experience changes in their eating and sleeping patterns, such as sleeping more often or a decrease in appetite. If you have an old dog eating but not drinking water, or an old dog sleeping a lot and not eating, it's time to bring your senior pooch to the vet for a checkup. Here's what you need to know about an old dog not eating, from why it happens to what you can do about it.

Read more
How much should newborn puppies eat? Follow this newborn puppy feeding chart
Here's what you need to know about feeding newborn puppies, including a puppy feeding chart to make it easy
Bottle feeding a newborn puppy

Whenever possible, newborn puppies should eat their mother's nutrient-rich milk, which helps protect them from illness while their immune systems develop. It's the perfect food for them! However, it's not always possible for a mama dog to feed her litter all by herself.

Perhaps Mom doesn't produce enough milk, the milk is infected, or the puppies have unfortunately become orphaned. In these scenarios, pet parents have to step in to help feed the babies around the clock. To ensure your pups are getting adequate nutrition, it's important to follow a puppy feeding chart or guide from a trusted veterinary resource.

Read more
Video: Dog tries to figure out ice maker (and gets a big surprise)
Hopefully your dog doesn't ever figure out the ice maker in your home or you could be in for a mess, too
Dog licks a chunk of ice off of a stick

Clever pups get themselves into the most trouble. They seem to know exactly what not to do — and then try it anyway (to the amusement and sometimes frustration of their owners). This little German shepherd in particular has his sights set on the ice maker. But it seems he might have stumbled into more than he bargained for.

The funny dog video starts off with a sweet shepherd named Maverick standing in front of the fridge while a voiceover narrates that he has been trying to figure out the ice maker for weeks. At first, he sits like a good boy, staring at the contraption and willing it to make ice for his midday snack. "But today he got a surprise," the video states, going on to explain that he knows how to push the lever (to make ice come out) but hasn't discovered how to hold on to it long enough.

Read more