Homemade Peanut Butter Banana Dog Treats for your Local Animal Shelter

I am a Family Volunteer Day Blogger Ambassador. This post is part of a sponsored campaign. I received compensation for my participation, but my review and opinions are my own.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, my family (and probably yours to) has been thinking about ways we can give back.

Family Volunteer Day is coming up on Saturday, November 19th and it is a great chance to get into the spirit of giving before Thanksgiving day. Held every year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, the event is now in its 26th year and is a great way to celebrate the power of families who volunteer together to support their community.

We stay very busy around my house, so finding time to give back to our community is tricky. As a mom, I want to make sure my kids are having experiences that teach them how to give back. We have been blessed abundantly and I believe it is important to pass that on.

With 6 kids though, including 2 year old twins, it can be tricky to participate in a lot of community service events that requires us to be on-site (and often have age limits).

Fortunately, there are some great ways to give back without even leaving your home. My kids and I had been looking for a project so we were thrilled when we discovered that the Family Volunteer Day website has some great DIY project ideas.

We spent some time looking through the DIY project ideas and found one we loved. There are so many dogs in shelters, especially this time of year, and shelters have limited resources.

The Family Volunteer Day website suggested making homemade dog treats and taking them to the animal shelter. My kids loved that idea!

My family adopted a dog this past summer so my kids are very sensitive to the fact that there are many dogs without homes. We visited our local shelter while looking for our dog and my kids were saddened to see so many animals in need of a home.

We found a recipe that sounded easy enough for my kids to make themselves and got to work.

Making Homemade Dog Treats

Ingredients

• 1 banana, peeled
• 1 cup oat flour
• 2/3 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup dried parsley
• 3 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1 egg, beaten

Preparation

Mash banana then add in all ingredients.

Mix well. We found this easiest if we just used our hands.

Drop in rounded spoonfuls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Flatten with the back of a spoon or the bottom of a cup.

Our dog was sure excited to see what we were making.

Bake at 300°F for 45 minutes.

Let the dog treats cool completely and then serve to your favorite 4 legged friends.

These keep best in the fridge.

 

I’d recommend calling your local animal shelter before bringing treats to make sure they can accept them.

If they can’t accept homemade treats, they are probably willing to accept homemade dog toys, or store-bought dog supplies. Ask what they are in need of and work with your kids to gather donations or earn money to buy supplies.

What does your family have planed for Family Volunteer Day? If you need some help finding projects in your area, check out the ideas and listings on the Family Volunteer Day website.