These chicken, blueberry and oat meatballs are perfect treats for dog training! I started making my own treats for dog training purposes last year while taking agility classes with Maddux. While he is food-motivated, he gets bored with the same treats all the time.

During class they gave me frozen meatballs to use, and he loved them. Upon closer inspection, however, I noticed there were ingredients in them that I wasn’t such fan of, so I decided to make my own. This way I know exactly what is going into them.

It’s sort of flowed over into making all types of homemade treats for them. You could say it’s become a fun little hobby. Now with training Bear, who is not food motivated at all, high-value, healthy treats that he likes and keeps his attention are really important, as is having a variety of them at my disposal. Seriously, even with Maddux, we usually go through three or four different kinds of treats during a class. As a result, I have been spending a lot of time in the kitchen playing with various ideas, flavors and ingredients.

I add oat to these because I feel it is an okay carbohydrate for the them, and it extends the batter.

Chicken, Blueberry and Oat Dog Training Meatball Treats

by Michelle Maskaly, My Tail Hurts From Wagging So Much

Ingredients:

1/2 pound ground chicken

1/2 cup gluten-free oat flour

1/2 cup blueberries

 

How to make them:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Using a mini food processor, chop the blueberries into tiny pieces.

Place the blueberries, ground chicken and oat flour in a large bowl and mix well. Form into small balls and place on the cookie sheet.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until fully cooked.

Remember to let these fully cool before serving them to your dog. Store in the refrigerator or in the freezer. To defrost, just take out the amount you need the night before training class.

I never give my guys a full meatball. These get cut into quarters and then the quarters into halves.