The sun is shining, temperatures are scorching and the craving for ice cream is growing! Not just us two-legged folk — dogs love a refreshing cool-down treat to lick too. So today I'm going to show you how easy it is to make dog ice cream yourself.
3 Simple, Quick Dog Ice Cream Recipes
The Ingredient List
Most of what we need is already sitting in our fridge:
- Quark (low-fat)
- Low-fat yoghurt or goat's yoghurt
- Cottage cheese
- Carrot, cucumber or courgette
- Apple, pear and strawberry
- Grated cheese — in our case Emmental
- Poultry pâté or turkey/chicken meat
- Honey
Anyone with concerns about dairy products is welcome to read more here. I've also found further articles that confirm this. As always: if you're unsure about adding something to your dog's diet, please check with your vet or a nutritionist first. Thanks to Archie's epilepsy diet, I know that he tolerates both quark and cottage cheese as well as goat's yoghurt very well, and Murphy hasn't complained of any stomach trouble after having these dairy products in his food either. As the linked article recommends, adult dogs should have no more than 20 ml per kilogram of body weight per day!
Tools We Need
- Small containers for filling, e.g. yoghurt pots or similar
- Chopping board
- Spoon, fork, knife
- Peeler
- Smoothie maker or food processor
- Saucepan
Dog Ice Cream No. 1 – Strawberry Emmental
You'll Need These Ingredients:
3 strawberries, 2 tablespoons (= tbsp) grated cheese, 2 tbsp quark, 2 small teaspoons goat's yoghurt
Here's How:
First, cut the strawberries into small pieces. You can chop the cheese up a little more too. Now mix both of these together with the quark and goat's yoghurt and stir until you have a nice, even mixture. Dog ice cream numero uno is done!
Dog Ice Cream Variant 2 – Apple, Pear & Honey
For This You'll Need:
1 apple, 1 pear, 1 small teaspoon honey, 3 tbsp goat's yoghurt, 1 tbsp quark
How Does It Work?
I blitzed the apple and pear in the food processor. Four tablespoons of this fruit mixture go into an empty yoghurt pot along with a teaspoon of honey. Mixed with 3 tablespoons of goat's yoghurt and one tablespoon of quark, this sweet dog ice cream is already ready for the freezer.
Dog Ice Cream No. 3 – Carrot & Chicken
For This Dog Ice Cream You'll Need:
1 carrot, poultry pâté or treats (approx. 25 grams — adjust to taste), 2 tbsp cottage cheese
And Here's How to Make It:
Peel the carrot (the skin can be a touch too "bitter" for sensitive dogs), cut it into smaller pieces and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes. Once the carrot is done, mash it with a fork. Mix this soft carrot with the poultry pâté and the 2 tablespoons of cottage cheese. The Carrot & Chicken dog ice cream is now ready for the freezer.
The Most Important Part: Taste Testing by Our Chief Lickers
After the 3 flavours have spent some time in the freezer (probably 2 hours is enough, though in our case it ended up being a few days), I take them out for about 10 to 15 minutes to thaw slightly. On this sultry day with a sweltering 30° Celsius, Murphy and Archie are looking at me with eager eyes, ready to finally taste. So:
"On your marks, get set — ice cream time!"
Verdict from the Taste Test:
All 3 flavours were a hit. Murphy went for the Strawberry Emmental and Archie dived straight into the Carrot & Chicken. The Apple, Pear & Honey got a lick too, but as long as the other two flavours are still on offer, it's clearly bringing up the rear.
