Get ready for your four-legged Trick or Treaters with these healthy, yummy pumpkin treats. After all, they’ve gone through a lot of fuss getting “tricked out” with their doggie costumes, so let’s treat them with some delights they will find irresistible.
The Power of Pumpkin
Dogs love the naturally sweet flavor of pumpkin, but it’s also very beneficial for them. A few ways pumpkin helps dogs:
Digestive Health: Canned natural pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie filling) is a great source of fiber. It helps dogs experiencing diarrhea or constipation to maintain digestive regularity, and it may also help with stomach issues.
Urinary Health: The oils found in pumpkin seeds and flesh are believed to help dogs maintain urinary health, in particular those with urinary incontinence.
Weight Management: Pumpkin is low in calories, so replacing part of your dog’s normal diet with pumpkin can help control weight gain.
So let’s get going on some treat ideas to whip up for the neighborhood pooches!
Frozen Pumpkin Dog Treats
Nothing could be easier! Take some natural canned pumpkin – not the pumpkin pie filling – and scoop about 1/3 cup into 3 oz disposable plastic cups. Fill each cup to about 2/3 full. Then add a “stick” of sorts – use a baked dog treat, a sausage type treat, a carrot stick – something edible, yummy, but still rigid. Decorate the outside of the cup with Halloween stickers or ribbon. Pop them into the freezer for several hours.
To remove them easily, you may want to defrost them for about five minutes or put a few in the refrigerator while you wait for the pet parade to start. Another quick way would be to hold the bottom portion of the cup in hot water for about 15-30 seconds so the pumpkin releases from the sides of the cup.
Pumpkin Carrot Pup-Cakes
These dog-friendly cupcakes can be used at Halloween, Thanksgiving or for Fido’s next birthday. And everyone in the family can join in because it's all good stuff! This recipe makes six treats.
Whisk the following ingredients together in a medium bowl until well incorporated:
-
½ cup whole wheat flour
-
1 tsp baking powder
-
1 egg
-
1 TBSP maple syrup
-
1 TBSP peanut butter
-
½ cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
-
½ cup shredded carrot
-
¼ cup greek yogurt
Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into lined muffin tins and bake at 350° F for 35-40 minutes.
For the frosting, mix the following ingredients together until well blended:
-
4 oz greek yogurt
-
2 oz peanut butter
-
½ TBSP maple syrup
Spoon or pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and dust with a tiny pinch of cinnamon. Enjoy!
This blog is brought to you by Under the Weather®, provider of bland diet products for dogs. In addition to our Chicken & Rice bland diet, we now offer a Chicken & Rice with Pumpkin! Both of these bland diet products offer a quick and convenient solution to cooking your chicken and rice, or hamburger and rice, at home. Keep a few packages on hand the next time your dog experiences digestive issues such as diarrhea or vomiting. Our bland diet recipes are made with 100% human-gradewhite meat chicken – antibiotic free and no hormones added! Ready to go in minutes – just add boiling water to rehydrate. Made in the U.S.A. No meat by-products, gluten free, no chemicals or dyes!
View Our Products
Visit Our Blog Library
