Frozen Dog Treats to Beat the Summer Heat

Keep your dog cool this summer with these delicious dog-friendly frozen treats.

After a long, difficult winter, summer is finally here! For many of us, that means swimming, boating, picnics and other fun summertime activities. But summer also means scorching temperatures, and dogs are particularly susceptible to the dangers of heat and dehydration. Along with being sure to keep our dogs nice and cool and well hydrated, frozen treats are a great way to help our dogs beat the heat.

If you have a few spare moments, you can whip up these treats in almost no time for your dog – and he’ll be sure to thank you for it with plenty of appreciative kisses and tail wags! I devised these recipes for my boy, Chase, and he loves them! I’m sure your dog will, too!

PB&J Treats

What dog doesn’t love peanut butter? And what’s better than peanut butter in the summer heat? Frozen peanut butter, of course! Inspired by the traditional PB&J sandwich, I redesigned this recipe to be dog-friendly and then froze it for added summertime fun. Grapes are toxic and cannot be given to dogs, so I opted instead for antioxidant-rich raspberries as the “jelly” and then kicked the whole thing up a notch by adding banana (thank you, Elvis!). Instead of bread, these treats are “sandwiched” within a gelatin base. Gelatin, which is made from collagen, has tons of health benefits for dogs, including aiding digestion, helping with weight loss, improving hair, skin and nails, strengthening bones and joints and helping protect against seizures.

Feel free to play with this recipe and add your own dog-approved, healthy “fillings”. And, of course, if your dog is not “cool” with raspberries or bananas, simply leave them out!

Ingredients

• 1 envelope Knox original unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup creamy, unsweetened peanut butter, at room temperature (preferably organic)
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• 1 large ripe banana
• 1/2 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 cup cold water

Line an 8” X 8” baking pan with parchment paper or wax paper.

In a large bowl, sprinkle the envelope of gelatin over 1/2 cup of the cold water and lightly stir. Let sit for a minute or two to soften.

While the gelatin is sitting, combine the peanut butter with the maple syrup and the other 1/2 cup of water in a medium saucepan. Heat the mixture on the stovetop on low heat, stirring constantly until all ingredients are well incorporated and the mixture is smooth and very hot. Be careful not to burn the peanut butter!

Pour the hot peanut butter mixture into the bowl of gelatin. Stir vigorously for a few minutes until all ingredients are well-incorporated and very smooth.

Thinly slice the banana and place the slices along the bottom of the baking pan lined with parchment paper, leaving some space between each slice. Scatter the raspberries in between the banana slices (frozen raspberries do not need to be thawed).

Pour the peanut butter mixture into the baking pan over the fruit. Refrigerate for at least three hours until firm.

Remove from the refrigerator. Place a plate over the top of the baking pan and flip the pan upside down to unmold the treats. Remove the parchment paper and slice into approximately 1” X 1” pieces. Place in layers in a freezer-safe container with a layer of parchment paper or wax paper in between each layer, to prevent the treats from sticking together. Cover tightly and freeze until ready to serve.

Note: If your dog has never eaten peanut butter before, please proceed cautiously with just a tiny amount to start, as dogs have the potential to suffer from peanut allergies, as do people. Also, please feed these treats in moderation, as you would any peanut butter treat, due to the fat content. Remember, a little goes a long way!

Makes 42 treats.

Chia Blueberry Yogurt Treats

Your dog will gobble these treats up because they’re delicious, and you will feel great about giving them to him because they’re healthy! Goat milk yogurt is a great source of probiotics, while blueberries are a powerhouse of antioxidants and phytochemicals (beneficial plant chemicals) to help fight cellular damage. The recipe, which has a pudding-like consistency before frozen, is held together with protein-packed chia seeds.

These treats are also great if your dog needs to shed a few pounds. Chia seeds absorb up to 12 times their weight in water, which means they expand in the digestive track, helping Fido feel fuller faster.

Ingredients

• 2 cups plain yogurt (preferably goat milk yogurt, such as Redwood Hill Farm or Trader Joe’s)
• 1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil (room temperature)
• 1/2 cup chia seeds (either black or white)

Measure the yogurt into a medium-sized bowl. Stir in the blueberries (frozen blueberries do not need thawing), vanilla extract, maple syrup and coconut oil until all ingredients are well incorporated and the yogurt has a nice deep purple color. Stir in the chia seeds.

Place in the refrigerator and let sit for 15 minutes, stirring twice during this time (alternate between letting the mixture set for a few minutes and stirring). Remove from refrigerator and cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Return to refrigerator and let sit for at least 4 hours or overnight, until the mixture thickens into a pudding consistency.

Scoop into ice cube trays and freeze until ready to feed. Once frozen, cover with plastic wrap.

Makes approximately 16 ice cube-sized treats.

I look forward to hearing how your canine buddy enjoys these frozen dog treats!

The post Frozen Dog Treats to Beat the Summer Heat appeared first on Pet Food Diva.