Dog biscuits with rolled oats, egg and chicken liver
Rolled oats, an egg and a little cooked chicken liver – that's all these rounds need. This recipe used to call for liver sausage. But supermarket liver sausage is almost always salted and seasoned, so we now use chicken liver: according to the USDA it has just under a quarter of the fat and around a tenth of the salt. The biscuits still smell of liver.
Updated on
- Per biscuit
- ≈ 21 kcal
- Makes
- approx. 45 biscuits
- Total time
- 2 hr
Ingredients
for approx. 45 biscuits
- Fine rolled oats200 g
- Chicken liver, cooked without saltweighed after cooking60 g
- Egg1 medium egg, shelled50 g
- Water120 ml
Total dough approx. 430 g · Shape: rounds, approx. 3 cm. Always weigh flour, oats and meat – by eye, biscuits quickly end up bigger and higher in calories.
Ingredients checked
How to bake liver biscuits
- Bring the chicken liver to the boil in a small pan of unsalted water and simmer for 10–15 minutes until it is no longer pink inside. Drain, leave to cool and weigh out 60 g.
- Preheat the oven to 170 °C conventional (150 °C fan) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Mash the liver finely with a fork or blend it briefly, then mix it with the rolled oats and egg in a bowl.
- Add the water a little at a time until you have a mouldable, slightly sticky dough. Leave it to soak for 5 minutes.
- With wet hands, shape small balls (about 10 g each, a heaped teaspoon), place them on the tray and flatten them.
- Bake for 25–30 minutes until the rounds are golden brown and firm.
- Switch off the oven and leave the biscuits to dry for an hour with the door slightly open (wedge a wooden spoon in it). Only put them in a tin once they have cooled completely.
Oven
170 °C conventional (150 °C fan)
Baking time
30 min + 1 hr drying in the oven
Prep
30 min
Makes approx. 45 biscuits at ~21 kcal each
A baked biscuit weighs about 6 g. Nutrient values per 100 g from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) (FDC number under each ingredient); water has no kcal.
| Ingredient | Amount | kcal/100 g | kcal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fine rolled oatsUSDA FDC 173904 | 200 g | 379 | 758 |
| Chicken liver, cooked without saltUSDA FDC 171061 | 60 g | 167 | 100 |
| EggUSDA FDC 171287 | 50 g | 143 | 72 |
| Water | 120 ml | 0 | 0 |
| Total ÷ 45 biscuits | 930 ÷ 45 = 21 | ||
How many liver biscuits your dog can have a day
Enter weight, age and exercise – the number of biscuits updates instantly.
- If your dog gets other treats or chews that day, give fewer biscuits accordingly.
- Reduce the daily ration by these 62 kcal – that's about 17 g of dry food.
How the number is worked out
Resting energy requirement 70 × 10 kg^0.75 ≈ 394 kcal × factor 1.6 ≈ 630 kcal a day. No more than 10% of that for treats = 63 kcal. 63 kcal ÷ 21 kcal per biscuit = 3 → rounded down to 3 biscuits.
The 10% rule comes from the WSAVA's guidance on treats.
Result · Adult
Up to 3 biscuits
Liver biscuits a day
Treat budget 63 kcal (10% of 630 kcal) · 1 biscuit ≈ 21 kcal
The DoggoMeal app works out main meals in grams per ingredient to suit your dog.Storage · about 2 weeks
Once they are thoroughly dried, keep them in a biscuit tin somewhere cool and dry. To build up a stock, freeze them in portions (for up to about 3 months). If a biscuit smells musty or shows any mould, throw out the whole tin.
Suits
- Dogs that tolerate grain and egg
- Training and rewards in between
Contains
- Oats (cereal)
- Egg
- Chicken (liver)
Important for this recipe
- Always cook chicken liver all the way through until it is no longer pink inside. Poultry often carries germs such as Campylobacter or salmonella, which are only killed by thorough cooking.
- Liver contains a lot of vitamin A. Don't use more than the recipe says, and give the biscuits as a treat, not as a meal.
- Don't use liver sausage instead: it is salted and seasoned, and many kinds contain onions.
- Always off-limits: sugar, salt, xylitol, chocolate, raisins, onion, garlic, macadamia nuts and nutmeg – see all the basic rules.
Frequently asked questions
How many liver biscuits can my dog have a day?
One biscuit has about 21 kcal. Treats should make up no more than 10% of daily calories. That means a neutered, normally active dog weighing 5 kg can have about 1 biscuit a day, a 10 kg dog about 3 biscuits and a 25 kg dog about 6 biscuits – with the main meal made correspondingly smaller. The biscuit calculator on this page works it out for your dog.
Why chicken liver and not liver sausage?
Supermarket liver sausage is almost always salted and seasoned, and many kinds also contain onions, which are toxic to dogs. According to the USDA nutrient database, liver sausage has 28.5 g of fat and 860 mg of sodium per 100 g, cooked chicken liver 6.5 g of fat and 76 mg of sodium. The biscuits still smell of liver.
Can I use flour instead of rolled oats?
Yes, wholemeal wheat or spelt flour works too. Flour absorbs more water: start with 80 ml and add more if needed. The biscuits then have slightly fewer kcal, because wholemeal flour is a little lower in energy than rolled oats.
Can I bake the biscuits in an air fryer?
Yes. At 150–160 °C the rounds need about 10–14 minutes, in a single layer and turned halfway through. Appliances heat differently, so check after 8 minutes the first time. Afterwards, let them cool and dry well, just as you would after the oven.
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Bake biscuits, keep track of the daily ration
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