Hello summer! Luckily for our dogs, they (among all other pets) seem to be the only ones who are positively effected by this pandemic, because we are have way more time to spend quality time with them.
One thing that dog owners have to be absolutely aware of during the summer is keeping our dogs warm, because dog’s are highly susceptible to heat stroke. While dogs are very eager to please and will keep going in the heat as long as we are going, we need to stop and make sure they are getting enough water, shade and rest. For Bomber, we make sure that he skips walks on super hot days, and we have a pool that he shares with G.
We also make him his own little pupsicles, or dog-safe popsicles.
Before we get into the process, let’s talk about a few things to consider:
- Only use dog safe food
- If using broth, do not use broth that has salt or other spices
- Large amounts of ice can be harmful to dogs, consider giving smaller portions (see above)
How To Make Pupsicles
- Select your ingredients
Search through your dog safe foods list, and select ingredients that you know your pup will like. Bomber is not the hugest fan of fruit, so I won’t ever make him treats with fruit, because they would just get wasted – but he does love chicken, carrots and celery, so I mainly use those.
2. Prepare your ingredients
Whether you are using the broth from cooking supper (for example I sometimes cook chicken and veggies *with no spices* in the InstantPot and freeze the broth for Bomber) or steaming veggies to blend up, your pup is going to love the carefully selected ingredients.
3. Pour into desired portions and freeze
Super easy! You could use an ice cube tray, or baby food containers from when your toddler was a baby, or anything that you can safely freeze and safely get the pupsicle out once your pup needs a cool down treat!
4. Enjoy!
Bomber is more willing to take some rest in the shade when he sees a pupsicle come outside! It’s the perfect way to get him to slow down and take a rest before we start playing again!
How do YOU help your dog keep cool in the summer? Let me know in the comments!
Until next time,
Amanda Diaries 