How To Make Puppy Popsicles

Dog licking food in the bowl

The Petfinder Foundation loves delivering special treats to shelter pets, and once we made these cooling caatsicles, we were inspired to create frozen puppy popsicles aka “pupsicles” that our dog friends in shelters — and at home — would love, too.

So we reached out to Sara Gromley, public relations coordinator at the Humane Society of Southern Arizona. Located in Tucson, the HSSA is no stranger to oppressive heat, and Gromley’s base dog treat recipe is surprisingly simple: Find a container, add low-sodium chicken broth and freeze!

“Frozen broth is a welcome treat for shelter dogs on a hot day,” Gromley says. “Plus, iced treats are incredibly easy and fun to make!”

Once you master the base recipe, get creative! Try making bigger pupsicles to keep your dog entertained even longer, or add extra-special treats for him to find inside. If you don’t have chicken broth on hand, you can use plain water, too.

“We’ve found that dogs enjoy licking their way to toys, treats, kibble, carrots, and other assorted surprises in large blocks of ice,” Gromley tells us. “This great enrichment idea keeps our critters busy, cool, and happy. They love the variety, and we love seeing them enjoy summer with the coolest treats around. It’s inexpensive, long-lasting fun!

You can try this in your community, too! If you aren’t already acquainted with a local rescue group or shelter, search Petfinder to find groups in your area. Some organizations have special dietary rules for the dogs in their care, so call or write them first to ask if they’re interested in a pupsicle delivery.

Here are guidelines for the base recipe, which can and should be improvised to meet your dog’s desires (and the kitchen equipment you have on hand):

PUPSICLES - Homemade Dog Treats

What you need (makes eight servings)
16 oz. low-sodium chicken broth
8 2.4-oz. kitchen containers with lids (pet bowls or ice cube trays also work)
3 oz.  hard cheese, cubed

See the steps below to get started with your first batch!

STEP 1

Prepare your cheese cubes and pupsicle containers. Be sure that the containers are freezer safe.

Pupsicle Containers

Photo credit: Karen Hollish

STEP 2

Place your cheese cubes in your pupsicle molds.

cheese cubes inside containers

Photo credit: Karen Hollish

STEP 3

Pour in low-sodium chicken broth (if you just made the broth, let it cool to room temperature first) leaving a little room for expansion at the top. Cap the containers and freeze overnight

containers with lids

Photo credit: Karen Hollish

STEP 4

Remove from the freezer and thaw the covered pupsicle container in a pet dish for several minutes.

pupsicle inside pet dish

Photo credit: Karen Hollish

STEP 5

Remove pupsicle from the container, and serve it to your dog!

pupsicle

Photo credit: Karen Hollish

STEP 6

Watch your dog be as happy as these pups below!

dog eating pupsicle from dish

Aspen from HOPE Animal Shelter loves his pupsicles! (Photo credit: Karen Hollish)

dog eating dish

Tom, an adoptable Chihuahua mix at HOPE Animal Shelter in Tucson, Ariz., loves pupsicles. (Photo credit: Karen Hollish)

dog eating out of bowl

Nicky, an adoptable Chihuahua mix at HOPE Animal Shelter, loved his pupsicle delivery. (Photo credit: Karen Hollish)

Dog Licking a person

After eating his pupsicle, Nicky kisses HOPE Animal Shelter‘s Assistant Manager Brittany Powers. (Photo credit: Karen Hollish)