Would you give a dog a cone?
It’s the latest pet trend — sorbet and ice cream for your pooch. So...
JUST when you thought Britain’s obsession with spoiling its dogs couldn’t get any sillier, along comes ice cream for pooches. Yes, really. We’ve had dog advent calendars, even pawsecco for pampered pekingeses. Now, there are an increasing number of doggie iced treats on the market, sorbets for your salukis and gelatos for your German shepherds.
And it’s not just found in a few upmarket pet shops. Last month Aldi, the discount supermarket, started selling pea & vanilla and apple & carrot flavoured doggy ice cream as a ‘special buy’ — and the tubs sold out in just over a week.
Emma Holmes, a dog groomer who works at Pets Pavilion which sells Doggy Doggy Yum Yum, explains why so many customers like buying the product. ‘Dogs have become such a big part of the family, you think, “I’m off to the park. I want an ice cream, but I also want my dog to have one.” So you can now have it together.’
She insists pet owners have not gone soft in the head. ‘It’s not just a gimmick, they do help a dog cool down better than a bowl of water.’
Some — but not all — dogs are lactoseintolerant and all pets really should avoid sugar, so traditional, human ice creams are not suitable. These dog ice creams, as a result, tend to be dairy-free and none of them have added sugar.
Which are the best? To find out I roped in my cockapoo, Darcey, to test them. But as she gladly eats anything out of a rubbish bin — and worse — I am not sure she is a very discerning tester. So, I also tried a bit of them myself (they are perfectly safe for human consumption), to see if they are top dog or a bit ruff.
NOT-SO-MUCKY PUP
Doggy Doggy Yum Yum, peanut butter and banana (£2.98, doggydoggy yumyum.com) DAIRY FREE? Yes ‘NO MUCK inside’ is the promise from this Dorsetbased company. It’s organic, it’s vegan, it’s dairyfree and glutenfree. The ice treat is made up of banana puree, yoghurt made from coconut milk, some agave syrup and peanut butter. I found it surprisingly tasty and Darcey gave it a big paws up too.
SWEET TREAT
Jude’s ice cream for dogs (£1.40, ocado.com)
DAIRY FREE? Yes JUDE’S, the upmarket human ice cream brand, has been going for 20 years but it branched out into tubs for dogs just last year. The main ingredient is fruit juice: strawberry, apple and banana puree, which makes it surprisingly sweet. It’s pretty good as a sorbet for humans, too!
FIDO’S FROYO
Frozzys lickable frozen yoghurt for dogs, original flavour (£5 for 4, Morrisons) DAIRY FREE? No FROZZYS is frozen yoghurt but the company says these little tubs are lactose-free. The taste (to a human) is unsweetened, watery yoghurt, with a slight vanilla flavour. It has added vitamins too.
The consistency is that of a block of ice, which in some ways is quite good — your dog can’t wolf it down in one go. But Darcey seemed less keen on this one.
MIX-YOUR-OWN
Sunny Daze, ice pops with blueberry (£3, Pets At Home) DAIRY FREE? No SOME might find these very clever; I thought they were a faff. You get sachets of frozen yoghurt powder with added dried blueberries, carrot powder and corn starch. You mix the powder with water in a jug and then pour it into a reusable and washable rubber popsicle sheath, before freezing. The taste, to me, was sour yoghurt but Darcey loved it.
POSH PET-POPS Woof & Brew ice pops (£5.99 for 6, Pets At Home)
DAIRY FREE? Yes WOOF & Brew made a name for itself by making pawsecco and doggy beer. Now, it has ‘luxurious petpops’ made from elderflower, linden blossom, ginseng and a preservative.
They are, however, almost completely tasteless. Darcey gnawed away happily, but then again she loves an ice cube — which would be far cheaper.
SCRUMMY SCOOP
Marshfield Farm Scoop’s, vanilla (£2.95, marshfieldicecream.co.uk) DAIRY FREE? No THIS is the closest of all the treats to an actual ice cream. Because it contains milk and buttermilk powder, it is quite smooth and, frankly, as good as some human ice creams.
It also has the added joint and muscle supplement Joint Aid For Dogs, which I hope — thanks to my spoonful — will aid my ageing knees.
If your dog doesn’t tolerate dairy, this isn’t for them. But Darcey is a cheese monster and was a big fan of this.