Healthy homemade festive dog treat ideas

Peanut Butter ice Cubes

This is a quick and simple idea that your dogs will love! Fill each mould of an ice cube tray with ½ tsp of all natural peanut butter (ensure it has no sweetener in, as this can be dangerous for your dog), top the peanut butter with some water and get it straight in the freezer to set! Once frozen, you’ll have tasty bitesize treats for them to enjoy.

Frozen Smoothie Bites

You can use any natural, unsweetened fruit or veggies for this, but we’re recommending banana and watermelon to make a cooling summer treat. Slice the Banana into thin chunks, and fill each section of a silicone mould ice tray with a banana piece. Puree the watermelon in a blender and top the banana chunks with the puree. Pop it in the freezer and leave for at least 4 hours. Once frozen, keep your dog occupied with these fruity frozen snacks!

Homemade Dog Bones

If you’re feeling a little more ambitious, try making your own healthy dog bones. These can even be wrapped up and given as a gift to any of your dog owner friends or neighbours! There’s lots of recipes you can try for DIY dog bones, but here’s a simple one to start with.

You’ll need:

• 2 eggs
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup mashed pumpkin, or ripe banana if you’d rather

Preheat the oven to 180C. Mix the oats in a food processor so they begin to get finer in consistency, add the mashed pumpkin or the banana depending on preference, and the eggs, and combine in the mixer until a dough is formed. Scoop even spoonfuls onto a tray lined with baking sheet, and flatten into cookies (or form them into dog bone shapes if you’re feeling creative!). Bake for approx 16 mins, flipping over half way to bake evenly. Leave to cool completely.

Head into your local IGA to find all the ingredients you’ll need for any of these healthy DIY dog treats, and sign up to the Locals Matter Community Program to receive more content like this straight to your inbox!