How to NOT Kill Your Dog... for Under $3.00

Despite overwhelming evidence these are poisioning dogs, Waggin Train  'treats' are STILL on the shelves of  pet stores, supermarkets, and online sellers.

You, as a dog guardian must be proactive and please, do not assume that since a product is on the store shelves it is safe, far from it! A trip down the pet toy or treat aisle in any retailer will yield a plethora of items that are harmful! The pet industry is a 36 billion dollar a year gravy train, that until recently has gone mostly unregulated and unchecked.

The reason these Chicken Jerky treats are allowed to still remain on store shelves is,while they have narrowed it down to these being the source of illness and death in dogs, it is still unknown 'exactly' what the contaminate is. The fact that they don't know what the contaminant is, is why the FDA has not pulled these treats from stores! The source of their chicken is China, please avoid ANY FOOD product comming from China. Always check labels for country of origin. Sometimes you have to really look hard to find this information. Manufacturers are starting to take steps to cleverly hide this information on their labels.

There is Nothing right about this!

My grocery shopping trip yesterday, was enlightening as well as disturbing. Seeing these still on the shelves, I decided to spend some time stalking shoppers in this aisle. It was not long before a nice woman reaches for the Chicken Jerky to put in her cart, I approached her and kindly asked her not to buy this item. As I explained why, we got into a discussion about how dangerous these treats were, before long there was quiet a few people gathered around. I was surprised to find out all of these people did not know anything about the problems with these treats!  I also found out none of these people had a facebook account.

I promised the nice lady whose dog's name is Abigale, I would do this blog post to show her, and hopefully many more how to...Not Kill You Dog for Under $3.00

It is Easy....
Start with a boneless, skinless chicken breast. We buy them in bulk from a local 'big box store'. They are 6lbs. for $12.00, they are individually flash frozen, and a product of the USA!  I do not know how many breasts in the bag, I have never had reason to count...there is plenty!

It is easiest to cut them into strips if they are still a bit frozen, thaw them until you can just cut through them. Cut them into fairly thin, even strips.  I then put them on paper towels to dry them before I put them on the parchment paper. They still will be a bit damp, that is okay, they stick to the parchment paper better when damp.

I use a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. The parchment is not a necessity, however I have found it grips the strips as they cook and they do not shrink or distort as much. The strips do not stick to the parchment once dried, plus! you do not have to use any oils or nonstick spray on the pan. Clean up is also easy, just throw the paper away after! I would highly recommend purchasing a roll of parchment paper.

This is the yield from the breast pictured above. This is the tricky part...well not really, but, I can't tell you exactly what oven temperature is best, and the times will vary greatly. Here is my personal experience... my oven is a convection oven, which is wonderful for drying food, but not necessary. I set my temperature at 200°F , the temperature for meat or fish has to be at least 145°F for safety, as it takes hours in the oven, there is a chance of spoilage under 145°F.

Time depends on many factors. You will know when they are done, they are crispy, and look done. The thicker ones, and there will  be thicker and thinner ones despite your best efforts, will take longer. After about two hours check the tray and start removing the smaller, thinner ones that are done. The larger thicker strips can take up to 4 hours, again that is in a convection oven...your experience will vary.

A thicker piece. You can see they 'look' done, they feel done...therefore they are done. It will take just as long as it takes...no longer. To sum it up, the prep time is minimal, however long it takes to cut a breast, put parchment paper on a cookie sheet, put it all in the oven. Probably 10 minutes...at the most. Longer if you let your breast thaw!

Try not to let that happen!

Here they are all finished. You can see how much the paper contracted, yet the chicken strips remained relatively the same. I don't think you can get the same results without using parchment paper. It use to be hard to find, only specialty baking retailers sold it. Now you can buy it at grocery stores and even walmart! Reynolds makes it, you can usually find it near the aluminium foil, and saran wrap.

This one breast yielded roughly 3.5 oz. I weighed it after I gave everyone a taste...they had waited in 'dog time' FOREVER for it come out of the oven. The smell is also  quite pleasant (unlike Liver which I also do...but only outside!) 

I came up with the figure $3.00 very roughly, it is likely much much less. This was the last breast I had, next bag I will count them and let you know what the amended cost is. All of that aside, I would not care if it cost $5.00, or $6.00 ...

KNOWING  it will not kill my dog is...PRICELESS

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