Best Overall Dog Ice Cream
Best Budget Dog Ice Cream
Our Other Favorite Dog Ice Creams
What to Know About Dog Ice Cream Treats
Choosing a dog ice cream treat depends on your pet's dietary requirements, individual tastes, and your own priorities. Consider the following when making your selection.
Ingredients
Look for locally-sourced ingredients if sustainability and traceability are at the top of your list of priorities. Ingredients also matter when you have a dog on a restricted diet (for allergies or weight loss), if they are picky eaters, or if they have sensitive stomachs or digestion problems. Steer clear of lots of artificial colorings, preservatives, and sweeteners.
Regardless of ingredients, don't forget to introduce your dog to any new treat gradually. Too much, too quickly can lead to sore stomachs.
Flavors
Dogs, just like people, have individual preferences when it comes to food. If your dog goes wild for a little peanut butter but turns their nose up at bananas, the same might not be true for those flavors of dog treats. It might take a little experimenting to find the brand and flavor that your dog enjoys the most.
Consistency
If your dog loves to crunch down on an ice cube, a frozen "pupsicle" mix might be better than the softer brands you can scoop. The options you can scoop are good for senior dogs with fewer teeth or teething puppies.
The best dog ice cream treats are free from unhealthy amounts of fat, sugar, or salt. They won't contain ingredients harmful to dogs, like raisins, chocolate, or xylitol. A lactose-free variety is less likely to cause tummy upsets, given some dogs struggle to digest the lactose in milk.
Vets advise that treats shouldn't make up more than 10 percent of a healthy dog's diet. So offering a few licks or a small scoop of doggy ice cream every day shouldn't be a problem, but letting your dog have multiple cupfuls could lead to tummy upsets and obesity. If you aren't sure how much dog ice cream to give your pet (or how often to give it to them), talk to your veterinarian.
Frozen yogurt, like ice cream, tends to be dairy-based. For some dogs, this could be difficult for them to digest and lead to tummy troubles, unless it's a lactose-free variety. However, frozen yogurt with healthy, dog-appropriate ingredients could also be an occasional and refreshing treat on a warm day.
