It’s almost the Fourth of July for our American furfriends and we’re sharing an easy summer dog treat recipe. These would be cute Fourth of July dog treats for our American readers, but can be easily adapted for other occasions or general treats. Pupsicles are a fun summer time treat for your canine companions, whether celebrating a special event, like Independence Day, or just for some fruity frozen goodness.
Ice Cream Weather
Soak up some sunshine for us, northern furfriends! It’s not pupsicle weather here at the moment (brrr….winter), but the blog dogs are always busy creating and taste testing out of sequence with the real calendar. And on the subject of creating and taste testing, we’ve refreshed this post. If things look a little different than your bookmark or pin, it’s because our old treat photos were updated when we moved to our new website, but the recipe is still the same. And yay for extra treats. Woofs!
Homemade Pupsicle Dog Treats
Drool for Cool
Our boys love frozen treats, especially in the summertime. Of course, every dog is different – just like people. Some dogs don’t like cold treats. If you dog doesn’t enjoy frozen goodies there are plenty of other yummy options. Other dogs love them a little too much. Highly aggressive chewers or dogs with dental issues may be better with softer options to avoid damaging their teeth.
Easy Homemade Frozen Dog Treats
Frozen and chilled dog treats are some of the easiest homemade dog treats to make. Nothing needs to bake, set, rise, or gel. The cold does all the work, making it simple to customise your own recipe. Check out our introduction to making frozen dog treats for tips, ideas, and more.
Fruity Fourth of July (or Anytime) Frozen Yogurt Dog Treats
Fruit and Yogurt Colours
These treats use blueberries and strawberries for natural colour; however, the treats will be more pink, white, and purple than red while and blue unless you use added tints to boost the fruity colours. I’ve done a little with both methods so you can see the difference, however, the dogs don’t care about looks, just taste. If you want to keep things natural, blue is tricky. Blueberries with yogurt, however, are doggone delicious in any colour. You can read more about tinting treats in our post on using natural food colourings for dog treats.
How to Make Fruity Frozen Yogurt Pupsicle Dog Treats
We’re using star-shaped moulds to make these pupsicles even more on theme as Fourth of July dog treats, but you can use any sort of food mould (affiliate link) to make pupsicles. They’re fun way to make frozen treats or gummies in whatever shape and size you’d like. Flexible ice cube trays are a good substitute, too. Ingredients can be easily scaled to suit your own mould (see tips and tricks below). You can adjust the mixtures and ingredients to suit your pet and personal preferences. Frozen treats are super easy that way. Pawfect for experiments.
Treat Ingredients:
- Strawberries (fresh or thawed from frozen)
- Blueberries (fresh of thawed from frozen)
- Plain dog-safe yogurt or keffir
- Tints (optional) for added colour
If you are using a thick-style yogurt, you may find it helpful to water the mixture down for easier mixing. You can also do this if you’d like the treats to be a little lighter and less rich.
Making the Treats:
- Prepare the fruity yogurt mixtures in individual bowls or containers:
- White – Plain yogurt
- Red – Puree or mash the strawberries, add yogurt, and mix to combine.
- Blue – Puree or mash blueberries, add yogurt and a dash of blue colouring/tint (optional for bluer stars), and mix to combine.
- Pour or spoon into a silicon mould or suitable substitute.
- Freeze thoroughly before removing from the moulds. Transfer the completed treats to a suitable container and return to the freezer for frozen storage until use.
Pupsicle Dog Treat Making Tips and Tricks
- See our comprehensive post on making and storing frozen dog treats for additional information on frozen and chilled homemade treats.
- Flexible silicone moulds or ice-cube trays work great for making fun little shaped treats. If you want a precise measure of a specific mould’s capacity, you can do a test pour from a measuring cup of water to measure the volume required. Pupsicle ingredient volumes are very easily scaled, and you can customise the type and amount of flavour add-ins to suit your pet.
- Frozen treats will melt quickly, especially in warm temperatures and can be messy while your pup is licking merrily, so these are best enjoyed from a bowl or outside.
Recipe and Ingredient Tips and Tricks
- Go natural or take care when shopping to avoid artificial sweeteners in ingredients like yogurt for your dogs. Xylitol (also identified as sweetener E967) is particularly dangerous for dogs.
- Not keen on dairy? Coconut milk, pureed dog-friendly fruit or veggies, or anything pet-safe, including simple water, can be used to create your own custom combo. Get creative! It’s fun!
Hungry for more tasty treats? There are all sorts of homemade dog treat ideas in our blog archives. You can use the category and tag labels to find other recipes that might be of interest or use the internal search to find something specific. Remember, treats (bought or homemade) are for spoiling your pup in moderation. We share ideas from treats that we’ve made ourselves for our pets, but different animals have different preferences (likes/dislikes), just like people. Some pets may have special dietary requirements and/or food allergies/intolerances. If you are ever in doubt or have questions about what’s suitable for your pet, have a chat with your trusted vet.
