On a hot day, we like to treat ourselves with ice-cream but what about our four-legged friends?
There are many ways to help our dogs beat the heat in summer. These DIY chilled or frozen treats will not only assist in cooling your pooch off but they also alleviate boredom when they are stuck inside for most of the day to enjoy the air conditioning.
Ingredients:
- 900g tub of plain or vanilla yoghurt
- 1 large ripe banana (great source of potassium)
- 2-3 Tbsp natural peanut butter
- 1 Tbsp of honey
- 1 teaspoon ground flax seed (optional)
Combine all the ingredients in a blender. Once smooth, you can pour the mix into ice cube trays or bone-shaped moulds and put in your freezer. After they’re frozen, place in an air-tight container and store in your freezer to get out whenever your pooch may feel like a nice refreshing treat.
This mixture can also be frozen inside stuffable chew toys (seal the tip with a dab of peanut butter first).
You can create a variation on this recipe using pumpkin soup and blueberries (we know this sounds odd but you’re not licking it, are you?)
Use a tub of Greek Yogurt and 400ml of pumpkin soup. Mix together, put in a zip lock bag, cut the tip and then pipe into small ice cube trays with frozen blueberries in the bottom.
Use a tub of Greek Yogurt and 400ml of pumpkin soup. Mix together, put in a zip lock bag, cut the tip and then pipe into small ice cube trays with frozen blueberries in the bottom.
After roasting a whole chicken we usually end up with a large batch of stock and found this recipe to be both easy and economical.
As a bonus, it requires little to no cooking time (perfect for summer when you don't want to turn on the oven). You can use any type of meat or fish depending on your dog's tastes and what is lying around the fridge.
Ingredients:
Why not use chunky natural peanut butter instead of the carrot/parsley combination but please make sure it contains no sugars, or Xylitol which is toxic to dogs.
Recipe:
Just chop your apples, pour a couple of cups of your preferred stock and freeze for 4-6 hours. This is a treat best provided outside whilst your dogs are sunning themselves.
Another cool idea is just providing frozen carrots or green beans. Your dog will wag his/her tail with appreciation.
Place the ice lick in a large stainless steel bowl outside as it will melt down pretty quickly on a hot day.
- 2 cups cooked meat/poultry/fish (you can also pull all the residual chicken-bits off the bones after straining the stock which could yield up to 2 cups' worth).
- 3/4 cup of plain low-fat yoghurt (good for digestion)
- Small handful of parsley, finely chopped (for fresh breath)
- 1 carrot, cooked and mashed
- 3 Tbsp of olive oil (this helps keep the coat shiny and soft)
Why not use chunky natural peanut butter instead of the carrot/parsley combination but please make sure it contains no sugars, or Xylitol which is toxic to dogs.
This is an inexpensive and very easy summer treat for dogs. Our pack of taste testers loved this treat, especially since it was made with homemade chicken stock.
Recipe:
Just chop your apples, pour a couple of cups of your preferred stock and freeze for 4-6 hours. This is a treat best provided outside whilst your dogs are sunning themselves.
Another cool idea is just providing frozen carrots or green beans. Your dog will wag his/her tail with appreciation.
You can take this idea one step further by making an ice lick: freezing your dog’s toys, raw bones, and chicken broth into a large cake mould.
Place the ice lick in a large stainless steel bowl outside as it will melt down pretty quickly on a hot day.
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