We all love our dogs and put their happiness and wellbeing at the heart of our day. The hot weather we are experiencing here in England this summer is lovely, but for dogs it can be really challenging. Dogs don't sweat like humans, and can get over heated very quickly, sometimes leading to heat stroke, a dangerous condition for any dog.
With the help from my lovely followers on Facebook, a bit of research and some personal knowledge, I have put together 10 Frozen Treats to Delight your Dog - all quick, simple and easy to make they will help cool down your canine.
Popular makes of toys to stuff are: Kong, K9 Connectables & Zogoflex
Tips:
Cling film is useful to wrap around the holes when using runny fillings
You need to avoid Xylitol in Peanut Butter - it is toxic for dogs
Ice trays with large holes in are best for a bigger treat
Quick & Super Easy:
1 Frozen Watermelon - it is as easy as cutting it into cubes and removing the seeds - these can cause a blockage in their intestine. Simply freeze the cubes for half hour and let your dog enjoy a tasty frozen delight! Winnie and George love this one!
2 Mix some pureed baby food with mashed banana, stuff your dogs kong and freeze for an hour - like a fruity lolly!
3 Remove the flesh from a small melon, fill with water, add some blueberries and a few bits of melon, stick in the freezer. When frozen let your dog lick for a cooling treat.
4 Mix some all natural peanut butter (we like Meridian) with a few small dog treats, we mix it with our Guru cold pressed food, stuff the toy and freeze for half an hour to let it just go semi frozen - great if your dog is like George and gets bored very fast, this way he has a chance of getting it out quicker! If you have a tenacious hound who will keep going, freeze it for longer!
5 Spread a mixture of cream cheese and mashed banana over a licky mat, pop it in the freezer for half an hour and see the joy on your dogs face as they lick it off! This is Georges favourite!
If you have more time:
6 Using un-seasoned meat stock simply make some ice cubes, freeze and give as an iced treat. You can mix in some diced veg and freeze in small yoghurt pots for bigger dogs, turn them out and see if it melts before they have licked it all up!
7 Make some sweet potato mash, let it cool. Use this to mix with natural yoghurt or cream cheese, stuff your dogs favourite toy and freeze for a couple of hours - they will have fun with this one!
8 Mash up a small tin of sardines in oil, not brine, mix it with cream cheese and if you can stuff the toy without your rascal climbing up to eat it immediately, poke a dried fish treat, or a few dried sardines, in the top and freeze for a couple of hours. If you have a dog, like George who gets fed up when he can't get at the stuffing quickly enough, the frozen fish sticking out should help to keep him interested enough to perservere!
9 Mash banana, mix with natural yoghurt and some peanut butter. Put the mix into some iced lolly moulds, the ones that have a handle. Freeze for a few hours, then hold while your dog laps up the delicious frozen offering!
10 Fill an ice tray with frozen mashed sweet potato, place a strip of dried sweet potato in the centre and freeze for a couple of hours. If your dog loves this amazing vegetable as much as ours do, it will be an winner!
I hope that gives you some inspiration to make your dog a frozen treat to help with the summer heat, after all, who doesn't love an iced treat on a hot day?
Debbie x
