Wisconsin summers are made for dogs. Long days, warm evenings, lakes, trails, and endless backyard adventures. But even the most enthusiastic dogs need a reason to slow down when the heat and humidity roll in. The good news is that cooling your dog down doesn’t have to mean cutting the fun short. It just means getting a little creative with what you put in the freezer.
Frozen enrichment treats are one of the simplest and most effective ways to keep your dog cool, mentally engaged, and genuinely happy on a hot summer day. They take minutes to prepare, use ingredients you likely already have at home, and deliver the kind of satisfaction that keeps even high-energy dogs contentedly occupied. Here’s everything you need to know to get started.
Why Frozen Enrichment Works
Before we get into the recipes, it’s worth understanding why this works so well. Licking is a naturally calming behavior for dogs. It releases feel-good hormones, helps regulate arousal, and provides a focused outlet that satisfies something deeper than hunger alone.
When you combine that licking behavior with a frozen challenge, something that takes time and effort to work through, you get a treat that cools your dog’s body temperature, engages their brain, and settles their nervous system all at once. It’s one of the most efficient enrichment tools available, and it’s incredibly easy to pull off at home.
The Tools You Need
The good news about frozen enrichment is that you’re not locked into one product or one brand. The same recipes work beautifully across a whole range of stuffable toys, lick mats, and slow-feeder bowls.
The key is matching the right tool to the right recipe for your dog.
Stuffable Toys
The KONG Classic, the West Paw Toppl, and SodaPup’s line of stuffable treat dispensers are designed to be filled, frozen, and worked through from the inside out. The KONG and Soda Pup Cans both have narrow openings that slow things down significantly, making it a great option for dogs who tend to inhale everything. The Toppl’s wider, more open design works better for chunkier or layered mixtures and is a friendlier starting point for dogs who are new to frozen enrichment.
Lick mats
Lick mats are flat, textured surfaces that hold spreadable mixtures in their grooves and channels. Brands like West Paw, SodaPup, and LickiMat all make excellent options in a range of sizes, textures, and designs. SodaPup in particular offers a wide variety of lick mats alongside stuffable toys, slow feeder bowls, and other enrichment tools, all made in the USA. Freeze your lick mat flat with a thin layer of any spreadable recipe, and your dog gets a long, calming licking session that’s as mentally satisfying as it is cooling.
Slow-Feeder Bowls
Slow-feeder bowls are another great vessel for frozen recipes. Fill them with a blended mixture of dog-safe foods, freeze, and serve. They work especially well at mealtime as a way to add enrichment to something your dog is already doing every day.
Most recipes work beautifully in any stuffable toy, lick mat, or slow-feeder bowl you have on hand. Use what your dog loves most.
Three Summer Recipes to Try
Always check that any ingredient you use is appropriate for your individual dog, and introduce new foods gradually if your dog has a sensitive stomach.
Sweet Summer Smoothie Recipe courtesy of KONG
This one is as simple as it gets and genuinely delicious for dogs. The combination of fresh berries, yogurt, and peanut butter makes a nutrient-rich mixture that freezes beautifully.
Ingredients:
- ½ cup strawberries, chopped
- ½ cup blueberries
- ½ cup plain yogurt
- Xylitol-free peanut butter, for plugging and topping
Instructions: Blend the strawberries, blueberries, and yogurt together until smooth. Use a small amount of peanut butter to plug the bottom opening of your toy of choice. Pour or spoon the blended mixture in through the top. Freeze overnight or for at least four hours before serving.
Smoothie Bowl Recipe courtesy of West Paw
A blended, smoothie-style mixture that works especially well in wide-opening toys and lick mats. The optional peanut butter drizzle and chia seeds finish make this one almost too pretty to give away.
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup blueberries
- ¼ cup strawberries
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp xylitol-free peanut butter, for drizzle
- Chia seeds, optional
Instructions: Blend the blueberries, strawberries, coconut oil, and yogurt until smooth. Fill your toy or lick mat of choice and place in the freezer until solid. Once frozen, drizzle with peanut butter and sprinkle with chia seeds before serving.
Bonus tip: leftover mixture poured into silicone molds makes excellent pupsicles for the rest of the week.
Fruity Cobbler Recipe courtesy of West Paw
A more textural recipe with layers of pureed fruit, fresh diced apple, and a banana oat mixture. It works beautifully spread across a lick mat or spooned into a wide-opening toy, and delivers a more complex sensory experience than a blended smoothie-style recipe.
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup pureed blueberries
- ¼ cup pureed strawberries
- ¼ cup pureed raspberries
- ½ apple, diced
- 1 ripe banana, mashed
- ½ cup rolled oats
Instructions: Mix the mashed banana and rolled oats in a small bowl until combined. Layer the pureed blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries into the grooves of your lick mat or the base of your toy until filled. Scatter the diced apple across the top. Spoon the banana oat mixture into any remaining open areas. Serve fresh or freeze for a longer-lasting challenge.
Take It to the Next Level: The Frozen Enrichment Ice Block
If your dog powers through a stuffed toy in five minutes and always wants more, an ice block is the ultimate summer challenge. Freeze treats, kibble, dog-safe fruit, and small rubber toys inside a large block of ice using a bundt pan, silicone baking mold, or large freezer-safe bowl. Add low-sodium broth or plain water as your base, freeze overnight, and serve outside for a fun backyard enrichment activity. Place it in a shallow baby pool or on the grass to manage the melt and let your dog lick, paw, and dig their way through as the ice slowly releases the treasures inside.
The block changes constantly as it melts, which keeps your dog’s interest high from start to finish. It’s messy, it’s entertaining, and on a hot Wisconsin afternoon it’s one of the best ways to keep your dog cool, engaged, and happily occupied outside. A few things to keep in mind: use jerky-style treats rather than crunchy biscuits, which go soggy when frozen. Avoid anything containing xylitol, onion, grapes, or raisins. And always supervise your dog while they enjoy it.
One More Way to Beat the Heat
On the days when summer fun calls for more than a frozen treat, structured daycare gives your dog mental engagement, positive social time, and a cool comfortable environment to spend the day. At Pawesome Pets Country Club, our members enjoy a dedicated weekly enrichment program designed to keep their minds active and their tails wagging all season long.
Curious about what enrichment-based daycare looks like in practice? A trial day is the perfect place to start.
Become A Member At Pawesome Pets Country Club
Investing in regular daycare with enrichment activities at Pawesome Pets Country Club is one of the best things you can do for your dog’s overall well-being. Not only will it provide them with the exercise and mental stimulation they need, but it will also help them become a more well-rounded and confident companion. Give your dog the gift of a fun, engaging, and fulfilling day.
At Pawesome Pets Country Club, your pup will enjoy weekly interactive activities as well as play time and socialization, letting them experience a day filled with joy and relaxation. We are so happy to help contribute to your dog’s overall well-being at Pawesome Pets and beyond.