Spooky Pumpkin Pup Treats

By Nancy E. Hassel, ThisFurryLife.com

Spooky Pumpkin Pup Treats

What’s more fun than Howl-o-ween season?  So many pet parades, places to bring you pets dressed up, pumpkin picking, wineries in the fall, I love it.   I am always trying to give my dog healthy treats, I thought it would be fun to put together seasonal treat with the number 1 ingredient that has seemingly taken over the fall: Pumpkin!

If you didn’t know, pumpkin can be good for your dogs for so many different reasons, but always, in moderation, and know what you can feed your own dog.  You should always consult with your vet if you are not sure what your dog can eat or not eat.   My dog Cody does not have any food allergies and does very well on the ingredients I put in this treat.

I recently bought a cute silicone mold that is more than likely for making chocolates for humans, but I could not resist getting it for making a treat for my dog.

Since Cody has been a little bit gassy lately, eh em (typical pittie gas), these pumpkin treats come in handy in giving him some more fiber.  He also loves coconut oil, organic of course, and organic fat free plain yogurt with nothing in it i.e. no sugars or anything bad for him.

Because the pumpkin, yougurt and oil combined, can be somewhat thick – I added a bit of 2% milk, to blend easier.  And these pumpkin treats are staying frozen, to help keep them fresh since there is no preservatives in them.  (Cody loves ice cubes too, but these are easier to chew and enjoy and more nutrition than just frozen water).    If you live in a hot climate, this is a fun seasonal cool treat that your dog can enjoy.

The best thing about this is, you can come up with your own recipe specific for your pup.
But here’s what I did:

1/2 can of pumpkin (pure pumpkin with no additives – if you can find organic, even better)

1/4 cup of organic coconut oil

1/2 cup of organic plain greek yougurt with no additives or sugars.  Plain yogurt!

1/4 cup of 2% milk

Put in blender, food processor, Ninja – whatever blender you have, mix until somewhat smooth – doesn’t have to be perfect, and you don’t want to over mix this.

*TIP: Use room temperature, pumpkin, and if you can let the yogurt sit out for about 20 minutes before putting this recipe together.  Why? If you add very cold ingredients to the oil, it is harder to blend.
Here’s what it should look like after being blended:

After it is blended, I highly recommend you put into a pastry bag or if you don’t have use a plastic sandwich bag, and snip off the corner about 1/4 of an inch off, and ta-dah you now have a pastry bag!

Use this pastry bag to fill your mold – believe me it is much easier, less messy.   Your consistency should be somewhat thick so it’s not going to drip out of the bag, you have to squeeze the bag to get the filling into each mold.

I happen to use 2 molds, but if you don’t have 2 just fill the mold, put into the freezer, and freeze for about 35-45 minutes – or until frozen depending on our freezer.  (Put your filled pastry bag in the fridge while the 1st batch is freezing).

You can then pop out the treats, and refill the mold, put the 2nd batch into the freezer.
I popped out all of the treats and put them in a plastic container (with wax paper in between the rows), to keep them from freezing together into one big treat.

Couldn’t get much cuter, and healthy for your dog!  Cody gets one every day, I don’t over do it – as it is a treat after all.

And as you can tell he absolutely loves them!

You can use any mold for this, and really any size, but I like these bite size treats – not too big or small.  If you have a tiny pup, I would look for a smaller mold if you can find one.  Would love to know if you make these or your favorite seasonal treats to give your pup.  Happy Autumn!