We start with 100% oats and grind them into oat flour using a small flour mill. One cup at a time.

It isn't exactly industrial-scale production, but making small batches means I can keep an eye on everything that goes into the treats.

Next, I make oat milk in the blender. Oats and water go in, homemade oat milk comes out.

(Yes. We make that ourselves, too. Because apparently I didn't already have enough to do.)

For our beef and chicken flavors, bones and meat are slowly simmered to make a flavorful broth.

It takes a little time, but good things generally do. And the kitchen smells pretty darn good while it's happening.

Now it's time to bring everything together. Our batter starts with freshly milled oat flour, homemade oat milk, eggs, and baking powder.

Then comes the flavor. Depending on the treat, that might be beef broth, chicken broth, finely ground peanuts, or white cheddar powder.

We also use natural ingredients for color, such as carob powder, annatto powder, or carrot powder.

No mystery ingredients. No fancy factory magic. Just ingredients I can pronounce and recognize.

The batter is shaped into different sizes and shapes depending on the kind of treat we're making.

Big dog? Cronchers.

Little dog? Tidbits.

And plenty of sizes in between, because dogs, just like people, don't all come with the same-sized mouths.

Everything is baked in small batches, right here in my kitchen.

Baking is only part of the process. Once the treats are baked, they go into the dehydrator.

This is where they develop that satisfying crunch dogs love. Dehydrating also removes additional moisture, helping give our treats the shelf stability we need.

It isn't the fastest part of the job. It is, however, one of the most satisfying.

While the treats are doing their thing, I print the labels on my trusty home printer.

Once the treats are finished and ready, they are weighed, packaged, and labeled.

Then they're ready for their next adventure: finding some lucky dog (or cat) at the farmers market.

Making the treats is only half the adventure. I also have to get the booth displays ready.

That means figuring out what goes where, packing everything up, and making sure I haven't forgotten something important.

Despite years of experience, there is still a surprisingly large amount of stuff involved in selling a bag of dog treats.

Finally, everything gets loaded up and taken to the farmers market. Then I set up the booth, put out the treats, and wait for the most important customers to arrive.

The dogs.

Their humans technically handle the money. But let's be honest, the spoiled floofers are the ones making the purchasing decisions.

And that's really what all this work is about.

Good treats for good dogs.

Made one small batch at a time by a grumpy old vet who loves dogs, with a little help, a lot of patience, and an absolutely unreasonable amount of love for the animals who get to eat them.

I tell the joke that all my treats are "Made with Beatles". I like to have old rock playing while I'm baking, and the Beatles are my favorite.