Valentine’s Day is a time to show those important people in your life just how much you love them. For us moms, our kids naturally tend to top the “important people” list. In our house though, it’s not just the people kids who get a little extra love on Valentine’s Day. I may be a self-proclaimed crazy cat lady but the doggos in our home get spoiled every chance we get. Of course, holidays are a great excuse for them to get a little something special. I love making homemade dog treats such as peanut butter biscuits, pupcakes, and others.
Today I am sharing a couple of varieties of frozen yogurt dog treats that our girls LOVE. They are the perfect Valentine’s treat for your furkids ( people kids can even eat them too!)
How to Make Frozen Yogurt Dog Treats at Home
I love coming up with treats for my people kids and my furkids alike. I’m constantly thinking up cute cupcakes and dog bone ideas. Today, though, I’ve got a fun homemade dog treat that comes from the freezer! I don’t know about your dogs but mine love anything in icy form.
We made two different kinds of these frozen yogurt dog treats because, well, we’ve got two very picky princesses (or beauty and the beef as it were). You can do any add-ins that you prefer for your dogs but it is always important to check for items that are dangerous for dogs or that they can’t digest well. Nobody wants to accidentally give their pupper a homemade dog treat that could make them sick. Don’t worry though, we’ve added a useful cheatsheet at the bottom of this post to help you out!
It is important to note that dogs are lactose intolerant. This means that while they can have yogurt from time to time it should be a treat that is not given often and not in large amounts. It won’t make your dog sick unless they already have a rough tummy, but they could end in some pretty bad diarrhea, gas, or other unpleasant consequences for you and them.
When choosing a yogurt to use for your dogs you need to read the label to ensure that there is no added sugar. Generally, plain yogurt is your best bet. Be sure to keep an eye out for artificial sugars such as Splenda, Aspartame, or others. Those can be bad for dogs as well. Never feed your dog anything that contains xylitol. It is very harmful to them because it can cause a dangerous decrease in blood sugar.
Strawberry Swirl Frozen Yogurt Dog Treats
In this one, we will be adding simple fresh fruit. Always be sure to wash your fruit before using it just to make sure that there aren’t any pesticides or preservatives on them. You can use frozen berries but it is important to find ones that do not have added sugar as that can be bad for dogs. (If possible, always go for fresh organic foods when making treats for your dogs.)
Ingredients:
1/2 – 1 C strawberries, finely chopped
1 C plain yogurt
Directions:
Add yogurt to a blender and toss berries on top. Mix on the “blend” function until berries are incorporated into the yogurt. Your mixture will start to turn pink. It is up to you and your dog to determine whether you want the berries fully blended into the yogurt or whether you want more of a marbled effect with chunkier berries.
Once you have your ingredients combined pour into your molds. You can use something as simple as plastic ice cube trays if you want here. We used a silicone baking mold that I have for making heart-shaped cakes and brownies. I tend to find silicone molds work well for frozen yogurt treats because they are easy to remove without losing their shape.
Peanut Butter Frozen Yogurt Dog Treats
For this one, we are going to use natural peanut butter. It is important to read your labels here too because peanut butter can often have a lot of additives, such as sugar, that are bad for dogs.
For a little extra fun, you can throw some of your strawberries into this one too, and have a “peanut butter and jelly” vibe going on. However, I do not recommend using actual jelly in these homemade dog treats as it can contain a lot of sugar. It is also important to not use anything with grapes for dogs as they can be poisonous to them.
You can also throw in some carob chips if you have them. They are a great version of “chocolate” for dogs. However, never put actual chocolate into anything that you are going to give to your dogs as it is poisonous to them.
Ingredients:
1 C plain yogurt
Directions:
The directions are basically the same for this one as with the strawberry one. I recommend adding the yogurt first because, like with smoothies, the other ingredients can tend to clog up the blender blades.
This one will be a little thicker than the one with strawberries. However, you should be able to pour it into your molds just fine.
Once you have your molds filled you can cover them with plastic wrap to keep them from spilling while hardening and place them into the freezer. If you are using silicone molds I highly suggest placing the molds on a plate or baking sheet to keep them sturdier. I much prefer using plastic wrap to items such as foil or parchment paper here because it allows me to form it much easier to the soft molds and allows me to see any spills under the cover while moving and storing the treats.
Generally, these treats do best when you allow them to freeze overnight. However, they should be ready in about 2-3 hours if you have impatient pups. Once they are solid you can remove them from the molds (or ice cube trays).
As some dogs can be sensitive to yogurt it is best to only give these treats one at a time. When it comes to storage I wrapped each one individually in plastic wrap before adding it to a freezer bag. This helps to keep them fresh longer and helps keep flavors from mixing.
As long as they remain frozen you should be able to store these treats for up to 2 months. However, never take them out of the freezer and then refreeze as this can cause harmful bacteria to grow. If you have allowed them to thaw or melt it is always better to make a new batch.
If you plan to give these or your own variety of homemade dog treats a try be sure to grab our handy list of items that can be dangerous for dogs and should be avoided. It comes in PDF form and is easy to print out for quick reference the next time you decide to make homemade treats for your dogs.
Be sure to leave us a comment and let us know what flavors your doggos preferred, or if you made up any new flavor ideas! Of course, be sure to check any new foods to be sure that they are safe for dogs and to be sure to introduce new foods slowly just to make sure that your dog doesn’t have any food allergies or anything that may cause them to not do so well with a particular food.
