Making homemade ice cream for dogs is a great way to help your pup beat the heat in the summer months. Frozen dog treats can also come in handy for an after-exercise treat any time of the year. And, fortunately, learning how to make dog ice cream is really easy.
Table of Contents
Yes, you can buy already prepared ice cream mixes (like Puppy Scoops or Puppy Cake). However, preparing your own DIY dog treats, whether they are frozen or not, is likely to be better for your dog, even if time consuming for you. Some commercial dog treats are made with artificial ingredients, dyes and preservatives, which I'm not a fan of.
When you make your own homemade dog treats, you get to select the ingredients. As long as you do your research and use foods that are healthy and safe for your dog, your homemade dog ice cream will be of much higher quality than anything you can buy in a pet store or the frozen isle of local supermarket.
Here's a few of my own dog ice cream recipes you can try:
- Frozen Dog Treats with Sweet Potato
- 4 Homemade Doggy Ice Cream Recipes
- Frozen ‘Pupcakes' Dog Treats with Fruits and Vegetables
- Homemade Peanut Butter and Banana Frozen Dog Treat Recipe
How to Make Dog Ice Cream
1. Pick a Base for the Ice Cream
Making homemade ice cream for dogs isn't difficult at all. You just need to start with a good base and then add some wholesome ingredients for nutrition and flavor.
Popular bases for homemade dog ice cream include (pick one*):
- fruit juice
- plain yogurt
- canned pumpkin
- peanut butter
- low sodium beef/chicken broth
* Note: Apple and orange juice are best for dogs. The juice must be free from added sugars and artificial ingredients. 100% natural fruit juice is the only type dogs should consume. If you choose peanut butter, make sure that it is free from added sugars and xylitol. If you're using beef or chicken broth, use a mix of 25% broth and 75% water.
2. Add Fruits and/or Vegetables
Now comes the fun part of learning how to make dog ice cream. You can add any fruits or vegetables that your dog enjoys (as long as those fruits and vegetables are safe for dogs to consume).
If you don't typically feed your pet fruits and veggies, definitely do your research before adding any to your homemade ice cream. Fortunately, there are plenty of options available and most dogs enjoy fruits and veggies.
Natural foods like that can add a huge nutritional boost to your dog's diet. But, there are also some that aren't good for dogs. Moreover, while certain parts of some fruits and veggies are beneficial, others can be toxic. For example, the meat of an apple is great for dogs, but apple seeds can be toxic.
Personally, fruits and veggies I recommend using for homemade dog ice cream are these:
- blueberries
- cranberries
- apples (cored)
- carrots
- watermelon
- peas
- green beans
- brocolli
- sweet potato
- spinach
- kale
- canteloupe
Once you mix these, all you have to do is freeze the mixture.
3. Freeze the Mixture
One of the ways to freeze dog ice cream is to use silicone cupcake molds or traditional cupcake papers (if you want it to be cuter, you can use dog themed molds).
In the photo above, I've used the regular silicone molds because this way the ice cream dog treats are easier to remove once frozen. If you use cupcake papers, go for foil papers and take them out of the freezer about 5 minutes before serving.
Once the dog ice cream is frozen, you can remove it from the molds or papers, and place these frozen treats in an airtight container. You can keep these in a freezer for approximately 8 to 10 weeks.
READ NEXT: 16 Healthy Human Foods for Dogs (That You Haven’t Thought Of)
Disclosure: We may earn affiliate commissions at no cost to you from the links on this page. This did not affect our assessment of products. Read more here and find full disclosure here.
