When the temperatures start to soar each summer, one of the biggest challenges with having a dog is ensuring your four-legged friend stays cool. Ice treats are a great way to make sure your canine companion’s temperature stays low to avoid overheating.

This weekend is set to be a scorcher, with highs of 100 across the county and while we’re not ones to complain about the glorious weather, our pups might feel differently. With this in mind, the recipe development team at Tails.com have shared four tasty pupsicle recipes. These dog-friendly treats are very easy to make and use simple ingredients that you most likely already have in your kitchen.

Watermelon: Our New Favorite Ingredient (pictured above)

Not only is watermelon one of our favorite summertime fruits, but it has a whole host of other benefits. It’s refreshing, packed with vitamins, and it’s great for keeping hydrated as it has high water content. And if it couldn’t get any better – it’s suitable for both humans and dogs alike. So, with the hot weather upon us, what better way to cool down than with this recipe for frozen watermelon treats. Servings: Around 8 cubes, depending on the size of your tray.

1 cup watermelon (seeds and rind removed)
Dog treats

Cut your de-seeded watermelon into cubes. Use a food processor, hand blender or the end of a rolling pin to blend the melon until smooth. You could add a little bit of water at this point if you want to make your batch stretch a little further. Pour the mixture into your mold. Break up the treats into smaller pieces and add to the mix. Pop into the freezer until done.

Serve as a refreshing treat on a hot summer’s day! As with all treats, we recommend making sure they’re served as part of a balanced diet. Even though watermelon is quite low calorie, it does still contain some sugars so it’s best to keep it as an occasional treat.

Strawberry and Cucumber Cooler

This recipe is packed with fresh flavors, so it’s perfect for cooling down on a hot day. Simply take cucumber and a little bit of fresh mint, blend it up with some water and add sliced strawberries – it’s super refreshing and low in calories, and makes a delicious treat for humans, too! Servings: 4 pupsicles or 10 – 12 cubes.

½ cup cucumber
¼ cup strawberries, sliced thinly
2 small mint leaves
1 cup water

In a blender, combine the cucumber, mint and water. Pour the mixture into your ice cube tray or mold. Place a slice of strawberry into each section. Freeze overnight.

A Fido Favorite: Peanut Butter and Banana Ice Cream

It’s a classic combination and a favorite with the CityDog Pack. The nutty peanuts together with sweet banana is a winner, so here it is…our recipe for peanut butter and banana ice cream! It’s great stuffed into a Kong, on a lick-mat, or just dished up in a bowl. And best of all, it’s suitable for dogs and humans. Servings: 3 – 4 scoops.

1 peeled banana – the riper the better!
1 heaped tablespoon of peanut butter (xylitol free)
2 heaped tablespoons of dairy-free yogurt, kefir – or water, if you prefer

Peel your banana (no skins please, they’re not easy to digest) and mash it together with the peanut butter and yogurt or kefir. When the ingredients are combined to a smooth consistency, spoon the mix into a freezable container. Pop it in the freezer until it’s ready. Scoop and serve!

Banana is a great dog-friendly fruit because it’s packed with vitamins and minerals – like potassium and vitamin C – and full of fiber (great for healthy poo). Bananas are high in sugar, so do save them as an occasional treat.

It’s best to enjoy peanut butter occasionally too, because it comes packed with fats, even if they are healthy ones. We can’t say this enough – make sure any peanut butter you choose is xylitol-free. Xylitol is an artificial sweetener found in some nut butters and it’s toxic to dogs.

A Summer Favorite: Chicken and Apple Pupsicles

No matter what summer throws at us, one thing we can all agree on is the joy of a popsicle. Whether in the park or the backyard, they’re a refreshing and tasty treat and a great way to keep cool in the summer months. And who says our dogs can’t enjoy one, too?

It’s a common myth that dogs can’t have ice, but according to Tails.com Head Vet Sean, ice is actually a good way to keep dogs cool in the sun – especially if they’re not great at keeping themselves hydrated. You just need to make sure your dog is supervised at all times as chunks of ice can be a choking hazard for smaller dogs.

And now you’ve got more than just the perfect summer treat, because this recipe is good for teeth too. How? Well, we’ve come up with a great way to combine your dog’s daily dental routine with something fresh. These chicken and apple pupsicles use low salt chicken stock, apple and a dental chew as the popsicle stick!

½ cup low salt chicken stock
1 dental chew stick
¼ of an apple (no pips as they can be toxic for dogs)

Mix up your stock and leave it to cool. Chop up the apple into small pieces. Pop the apple pieces into a small plastic cup, ramekin or mold. Pour in the chicken stock. Using cellophane, create four barriers over the top of your dish – this will hold the dental stick in place. Freeze overnight, or until frozen. Use the dental stick to grab the pupsicle – time to enjoy!

Thank you to Tails.com for providing us with these tasty treat recipes! 

Don’t want to make your own recipe? Then, the Pupsicle Starter Kit by Cooper’s Treats is the perfect way to give your dog healthy, delicious homemade treats without a trip to the grocery store. The pupsicles are incredibly easy to make — just add water to the Pupsicle Mix, pour into a silicone ice cube mold and freeze. The Starter Kit contains one jar of Turkey and Cinnamon Pupsicle Mix, one jar of Beef and Cheddar Pupsicle Mix, and a paw-and-bone shaped silicone ice cube mold.

Available at Amazon.com.