5 delicious recipes for making homemade dog ice cream

On a warm summer day, most people enjoy a refreshing ice cream. Our canine friends can certainly appreciate some delicious relief when it’s hot outside too. Unfortunately, many ice creams intended for people are not suitable for our four-legged friends. But did you know that you can very easily make ice creams for your dog yourself? In this blog, we’re sharing 5 delicious recipes for dog ice creams with you!

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

Can dogs eat ice cream?

We completely understand: it’s very tempting to give your dog the last bit of your ice cream when they gaze longingly at you while you enjoy your refreshing treat. Unfortunately, this is not advisable; ice cream intended for people is not suitable for dogs. This is because ‘human ice cream’ often contains lactose, chocolate, and a lot of sugar. Dogs are lactose intolerant and can therefore develop gastrointestinal problems from products containing lactose. Chocolate is even toxic to dogs. Large amounts of sugar can also lead to all kinds of health problems in dogs, both in the short and long term. Finally, sugar is bad for their teeth. It is 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 that is ‘too much’ is not good. Eating too many ice creams is therefore not recommended, for people or animals. In general, the rule is that a dog may eat one ice cream per day. A dog’s daily snack allowance may consist of no more than 10% of its daily calorie intake. When you give your dog a maximum of one ice cream per day, this guideline is met 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 is important to consider which products dogs can and cannot eat. Would you like to know exactly which products these are? Then read our blog ‘What can and can’t a dog eat?’.

Depending on what your dog does and doesn’t like and what you may already have at home, you can take many different approaches when making dog ice creams. Naturally, you can make dog ice creams with water and wet food, dog kibble, and treats, but you can also brighten up the ice cream with less obvious products such as fruit, vegetables, pure peanut butter (without xylitol), canned fish (in water), and lactose-free yogurt or quark. You can even make dog ice creams with broth! There are plenty of options.