5 Summer Toys & Treats For Your Pup

The hot season has officially begun and the dog days of summer are upon us! If you’re like me, you’re starting to get a little worried about your pooch overheating, but fear not! There are a lot of great ways to help keep your dog cool when it’s blazing outside. Here are five summer toys and treats for your pup:

1) Frozen Peanut Butter Filled Kong Toy: If you’d rather not make a big block of ice or cubes, an easier way to make a frozen dog treat is to simply stuff a Kong toy with peanut butter and freeze it. This will make a very tasty treat to keep your dog satisfied and busy!

Luke knows how to keep it cool.

2) Kiddie Pool: This is the most obvious choice for your dog, but is also a very important and essential toy for the summer. If your pup is going to spend a lot of time outside, she needs to be able to cool off when she starts to feel too hot, and a kiddie pool is a perfect and inexpensive way to do just that. Kiddie pools don’t take up much room and are easy to clean, empty out, and refill when needed. Plus they are a lot of fun for your dog to splash around in! You can find these at Walmart, Toys R Us, or other local retailers. Make sure you choose a hard plastic pool, though, because dogs can (and probably will) puncture soft plastic pools with their claws.

3) Hose Attachment: If your pup loves playing in and around water, this is a great addition to your kiddie pool. You may have noticed that your dog likes to play with your hose and bite at the stream of water coming out. If so, it can be even more fun to have different kinds of water streams that you can get from a hose attachment normally used to water plants outside. You can change the types of water pressure and streams with a simple twist and it gives you and your pup tons of entertainment. My Labrador mix, Luke, loves when I lay the hose inside the pool with the attachment set to a hard pressure and single stream. He barks and bites at the stream until the pool is filled, sometimes looking like he’s eating an ear of corn and it’s hilarious to watch! You can find an attachment for your hose in any gardening store, gardening center, or even online. Make sure you find an attachment that can lock the handle down because you’ll want the hose to keep spraying on its own when you aren’t holding it.

These strawberry and apple pupsicles were a HUGE hit with my dogs!

4) Pupsicles and Frozen Toy Blocks: The perfect way to keep your dog hydrated in the outside heat is to give her some ice to munch on, but why not make it a more enjoyable treat or toy for her?

If you want to give your dog an ice treat, cut up some fresh fruit into small pieces, fill up an ice cube tray with water, and put a few pieces inside each slot. Put the tray in the freezer, wait a few hours, and then give your dog a pupsicle! If you aren’t sure what fruits are safe for your pup, check this list for dog friendly fruits.

As you can tell, Max loved his ice block, especially the strawberry I included!

If you’d rather make a toy for your dog, you can fill a larger container with water, drop a few toys into it, and place it inside the freezer. I’d suggest that you use a combination of heavy toys and toys that float so they will be spread out inside the ice block. When it’s completely frozen, take the container outside, pop the block out and let your dog go to town on it! This will keep your pup hydrated while providing great mental stimulation. You can easily add treats or fruit to these as well.

5) DIY Doggie Ice Cream: Your pup will love you for this treat! If you’re feeling really creative and want to make something just to reward your dog for being so awesome, there are lots of great recipes for doggie ice cream, especially on Pinterest. Here is a recipe I found that combines yogurt, peanut butter, and pumpkin to make pawfect ice cream for your buddy!

See, there’s no reason to worry about your dog being roasted by the sun! Summer days are hot, but your pup won’t be when you give her these pawsome toys and treats.

What toys or treats do you give your pup in the summer? Let us know in the comments below!