These frozen golden milk dog treats combine the key elements of golden milk (without the human sweeteners) into a frosty dog-friendly pupsicle treat. By layering the treats, the milky top and bottom layers buffer the turmeric middle layer for easy low-mess handling and feeding. However, you can easily adapt the recipe to combine all of the ingredients into a blend for quicker treat making if you’d prefer.
Golden Milk for Dogs
Golden milk. It seems to be everywhere these days, but golden milk is a very old natural health beverage with lots of potential health benefits. Traditional Indian recipes for golden milk typically use regular milk, but many modern recipes have been adapted to be non-dairy diet or vegan friendly with coconut milk. In addition to the milk and the turmeric, most are lightly spiced with other add-ins and sweetened.
Some of the spices used in human golden milk recipes aren’t well suited to dogs. Dogs don’t need the added sugars or sweeteners they usually include either. Turmeric can be a great health booster, but it’s also very messy. It will stain everything it touches, including your hands and your dogs. Not a great combo for messy slurping as dog-friendly drinks. Especially with white dogs like mine. This golden milk inspired dog treat recipe layers the ingredients for easier handling. The milky top and bottom help keep fingers and fur away from the turmeric. As frozen treats, they’re also simple to batch prepare and store long-term for serving in small quantities. Pawfect!
Don’t worry, eagle-eyed readers. Those cinnamon sticks you see are just photo props. I’m ready-to-use all the way! Importantly, if you’re using cinnamon for dogs, real Ceylon cinnamon is the recommended variety. Cinnamon in moderation has some good purported health benefits for dogs (and humans), but like many things it is not suitable for all people or pets as it may conflict with health conditions or medications. Always check before trying new foods. Of particular note, cinnamon is not recommended for pregnant or lactating dogs.
Making Frozen Dog Treats
Frozen 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 super simple to customise your own recipe. Check out our introduction to making frozen dog treats for tips, ideas, and more.
Our boys love frozen treats like pupsicles, 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 might love them a little too much. Highly aggressive chewers or dogs with dental issues may be better with softer options to avoid accidently damaging their teeth. An easy alternative for a softer but still low mess golden milk treat is to make golden milk gummies.
Golden Milk Pupsicle Frozen Dog Treat Recipe
Ingredients can be easily scaled to suit your own mould (affiliate link) and you can adjust the mixture measurements in any way you’d like to suit your pet and personal preferences. Measurements are indicative only for the treats as pictured and can be easily adjusted.
Homemade Golden Milk Pupsicle Dog Treats
Treat Ingredients:
- 1 cup of suitable dog-friendly liquid (below) divided
- 1 tbsp turmeric powder
- Sprinkle of ground black pepper
- Sprinkle of ground ginger and/or Ceylon cinnamon (optional)
The pictured treats were made with reduced fat coconut milk. If you’d prefer, you can make this with dairy milk (regular or lactose free), goat’s milk, yogurt, kefir, or any dog-friendly “milky” base that suits your preferences and your pet’s palette and dietary needs. You can also dilute your chosen liquid with water for a less-rich treat.
If you’re using something without any fat content, you may wish to consider adding a little coconut oil to the treats. Layered it with the turmeric in the middle is a handy option, since it won’t blend with water-based liquids. Both it and the pepper can help to enhance the absorption of the turmeric. You could use all coconut oil instead if you’re into coconut oil supplementation for your dogs, but take extra care to ensure that your mould is small enough to be a suitable size for serving that type of supplementary treat for your specific pet.
Making the Treats:
- Divide the base liquid into three measures. These can be even thirds or, for a skinny middle, as shown, less for the middle of the treat.
- Pour (or spoon) the first plain layer into your mould. Freeze to set until firm to the touch.
- Mix together your liquid with the turmeric, pepper, and optional extras for the middle layer. Pour (or spoon) the mixture onto the prepared first layer. Freeze until set firm to the touch.
- Pour (or spoon) the remaining plain layer into the mould.
- Freeze thoroughly before removing from the mould. 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
- Flexible silicone moulds (affiliate link) or ice-cube trays work great for making single servings or fun little shaped treats. If you want a precise measure for capacity and recipe scaling, you can do a test pour from a measuring cup of water to measure the volume required to fill your tray or mould. Volumes are very easily scaled, and you can customise the type and amount of flavour add-ins to suit your pet.
- Store and serve straight from the freezer. 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. Especially if you’re concerned about turmeric stains!
- See our comprehensive post on making and storing frozen dog treats for additional information on frozen and chilled treats.
Hungry for more tasty treats? There are all sorts of different DIY dog treats here on the blog. Woofs! Remember, treats (bought or homemade) are for spoiling your pup in moderation. We share ideas here from treats that we make ourselves for our pets, but different animals will have different preferences (likes or dislikes) and dietary needs. Some pets may have special dietary requirements and/or food allergies or intolerances. If you are ever in doubt or have questions about what’s suitable for your pet, have a chat with your trusted vet.
