5 delicious recipes to make dog ice pops yourself

On a warm summer day, most people enjoy a refreshing ice cream. Our dog friends can also definitely appreciate a delicious cool treat when it's hot outside. Unfortunately, many ice creams meant for humans are not suitable for our four-legged friends. But did you know that you can easily make ice creams for your dog yourself? In this blog, we share 5 delicious recipes for dog ice creams with you!

Photo: @Yoshi_doglife on Instagram with a homemade Riverwood dog ice cream

Can a dog eat ice cream?

We totally understand: it's very tempting to give your dog the last bit of your ice cream when he's watching you eagerly enjoy your refreshing treat. Unfortunately, this is not advisable; ice cream meant for humans is not suitable for dogs. This is because “human ice cream” often contains lactose, chocolate, and a lot of sugars. Dogs are lactose intolerant and can therefore get gastrointestinal problems from products containing lactose. Chocolate is even toxic to dogs. Large amounts of sugar can also lead to various health problems in dogs, both short and long term. Finally, sugars are bad for dental health. It's therefore better to keep your ice cream for yourself and choose special dog ice cream for your four-legged friend, or make healthy dog ice creams yourself.

How much ice cream can I give my dog?

It's actually very simple. Anything with “too much” is not good. Eating too many ice creams is therefore not recommended, for both humans and animals. Generally, the rule is that a dog may eat one ice cream per day. A dog's daily snack menu should consist of no more than 10% of the daily calorie intake. When you give your dog a maximum of one ice cream per day, this usually corresponds with this guideline for most dog ice creams.

Which ingredients can you use to make dog ice creams?

The fun thing about making dog ice creams yourself is that you can let your creativity run free. Of course, it's important to consider which products dogs can and cannot eat. Curious about which products these are exactly? Then read our blog ‘What can a dog eat and not eat?'.

Depending on what your dog likes and what you might already have at home, you can go many different ways when making dog ice creams. Of course, you can make dog ice creams from water with wet food, dry food, and snacks, but you can also brighten up the ice cream with less obvious ingredients like fruit, vegetables, pure peanut butter (without xylitol), canned fish (in water), and lactose-free yogurt or quark. You can even make dog ice creams from broth! So there are plenty of options.