Lollipops 4 Dogs.
The summer season is a wonderful time to be enjoying the great outdoors with your dog. However, do bear in mind some dogs – puppies and elderly dogs especially – can suffer from heatstroke and exhaustion. Read our Holidays4Dogs article to find out how to keep your pooches cool with lollipops for dogs!
A great way to cool down in hot weather, is to consume ice cold drinks and lollies. Just as we enjoy a refreshing treat on a balmy summer’s day, our dogs do too. Many zoos provide their animals with cooling treats during hot weather, including the elephants at Blackpool Zoo who enjoy delicious ice lollies made from fruit, frozen in large buckets. Not only are iced treats good for keeping animals cool, they also provide enrichment.
Ideally, any treats need to be healthy and appropriate for dogs. Human foods, including ice creams and lollies aren’t really that good for dogs since they contain too many additives and sugar. However, it is easy to make your own treats, suitable for your dog to enjoy. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Veggies and Fruit.
If your dog is used to eating greens, or fruit, this is an easy way to provide something refreshing and they make great lollipops for dogs – simply pop apples, or bananas for example, in the fridge.
They can be given to your dog whole, or chopped. Alternatively you can try blending a variety of foods such as peas, cooked sweet potato, cooked or raw carrots, tinned tomatoes, green beans etc. Mash everything up (or use a blender) and place in plastic lollipop containers, or ice cube trays, and pop them in the freezer.
Chicken and Beef Stock. 
These make lovely tasty lollipops for your dog – just remember not to use stock that contains too much salt – ideally stock from your own home cooking would be best.
If you are feeding your dog dried food, it is always best to soak this in warm water from the kettle before feeding to your dog anyway.
If you soak the meal and then drain off the excess fluid, you will be left with a runny ‘gravy’ which you can then also put into containers to freeze.
Gravy makes very tasty lollipops, even for picky eaters, as they especially love the smell.
Fruit Juices.
Again, this is a quick and easy way to make lollipops for your dog. Do check the sugar content, though. Some juices have a high sugar content. Squeezing your own fruit is ideal and you could then mix it with natural yogurt to make delicious ice treats that all the family will enjoy – not just Rover.
Baby Foods.
These are great to make into ice lollies for dogs. Choose organic brands if possible.
Frozen Tuna Treats.
These make really tasty treats for dogs – and cats too! Use tuna in brine and don’t drain the tin, as the water helps with the freezing process. Add a little more water and beat well in a bowl – (better still, pop it in a blender if you have one). These fish flavoured lollies are sure to get Fido drooling.
Tips on making lollipops for dogs.
Frozen stuffed Kong.
There are loads of different types of receptacles for freezing your doggy treats. Don’t forget you can also freeze stuffed Kongs too. Plastic lolly makers are cheap as chips and available from supermarkets.
Ice trays come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes. Depending on the size of your dog, you could equally utilise old yogurt pots, or margarine tubs, just as well.
Use different coloured plastic lolly makers and ice cube trays for your family and your dog. There’s surely nothing worse than popping a beef broth ice cube into your drink by accident!
The great thing about lollies is that they aren’t fattening either, so there is no danger of your dog piling on the pounds.
