In this economy, saving a little bit of money is a good thing. One way to save some scratch is to make your own dog training treats. Keep an eye on your grocery store flyer for sales on hot dogs. If they’re $1.00 per pack or less, pick up four or five packs. I’ll show you how to turn those hot dogs into cheap and easy dog training treats your dog will love.
This is an entire pack of hot dogs, just as they came out of the package.
Slice the hot dog in half, lengthwise.
Then flip the slippery sucker over and slice him again lengthwise (making four quarters).
Next, chop the hot dogs into pea-sized bits.
This is an entire pack of hot dogs diced (eight hot dogs).
Line a paper plate with a paper towel, then place the hot dogs on the plate in a single, even layer.
Cover the hot dogs with another paper towel and put the whole shebang in the microwave.
Cook the hot dogs on high for about 8 – 10 minutes. Depending on your microwave strength, you may have to add or subtract time. This is after about 12 minutes in my microwave. I’ll state the obvious: WATCH YOUR MICROWAVE. Microwave strength varies, so don’t leave these unattended. Check every few minutes to be sure the hot dogs don’t burn.
After cooking, let the hot dog pieces cool, then store in a zipper-locked plastic bag.
Is it even necessary to cook them? I always thought that hot dogs were already “fully cooked.” (And I know I’ve seen people giving raw hot dogs to their KIDS, so I would have thought it was even safer for dogs.)
Thanks for the excellent question. There are a couple benefits to cooking the hot dogs:
1. Cooked hot dogs aren’t slimy. I hate slimy hot dogs! Cooked hot dogs are much easier to handle.
2. You don’t have to refrigerate them.
I’m cooking them to remove the moisture.
They look yummy.
T did not have staples did he like his brother?
I miss hearing about Nemie, Lily, and Tango. How are the kids?!
Neat! I use hotdogs all the time for Kyra, they are so cheap to buy on sale or bulk at Costco-type stores … but they ARE slimy and gross. Never thought of dehydrating them in the microwave. Great idea!
We do this quite a bit too. I guess I should stop using the expensive buffalo hotdogs, though, and switch to the cheapies.
So the easy, yummy treaties are great and all…but I want to know your REAL secret! How is your microwave so clean?!
I use hot dogs all the time and would put them in the microwave, but I think my problem is I wasn’t cooking them long enough. I was afraid of burning them or something. Thanks for the tip!
Beth, my microwave secret: it’s brand new! Really, we just installed it. Maybe three things had been cooked in there.
Sorry I’m late to this discussion, but if you’re still looking at comments, how long are they good for after you dehydrate them in the microwave?
Hi Kiki, the hot dogs stay good for a long, long, time if you microwave them ’til they’re brown and dry. I was going to write “forever” but that’s probably not really accurate. But it seems that way! 🙂
wow thanks for the great tip. I supposed I should of thought of it before, but I hadn’t. Thanks again
I am thankful for this blog. You give me more than enough idea on how to be economical in my budget especially this one, hotdog. It is always every morning that my kids ask for hotdogs.
In addition to salt content, hot dogs are also high-fat. My dog at 1 year old is tending to overeating. You can boil the hot dog pieces to get the salt and fat out. Microwave them to get them crispier if desired.
I would not get the gross cheap hotdogs. So much JUNK in them! I got organic all beef dogs and I’m going to make these today with them!
All the salt in the hot dogs is terrible for your dog.
Yes, you don’t want to feed this to your dog as an alternative to dog food. But, in moderation, hot dogs are an option to help get your dog through a potentially tough or scary veterinary visit. Kinda like people: potato chips aren’t the best food from a nutrition standpoint, but a few here and there aren’t bad for most people.
These look great! My dog doesn’t like raw hot dogs and training treats are SO expensive! Thanks for sharing, hope it works for me!
I don’t have a microwave. Anybody have any idea how this would work in a standard oven…cooking temps and time?
I did this and it nearly killed my microwave. Ten minutes? It turned them charcoal black.
Try drying the Hotdogs out in a dehydrator.
I was wondering about that too
I THINK THAT WOULD WORK BETTER
Yes, excellent idea! Thanks for posting!