When I went grocery shopping last week I picked up a jar of unsweetened applesauce. I thought it might be a nice change for the dogs in their nightly treats.
I decided to use white bones, just for a change of pace.
You know the ones you picked up filled with processed cheese?
I frosted one end with pumpkin in the morning before I left for work and let is sit in the freezer all day long.
Canned pumpkin is perfect for this purpose, because it is really thick and won’t run out of the bone into your freezer.
When I got home I filled the rest of the bone with applesauce and stood it up in a bowl for about 2 1/2 hours. It was just long enough for the applesauce to freeze.
At snack time I handed them off to Sampson and Delilah.
Sampson began working happily on his.
Delilah wasn’t quite sure what to do.
Hubby and I heard her in the living room barking at it. Apparently she thought if she barked at it, she could turn it into her Kong. 🙂
Hubby said, get a video of it.
Of course, as soon as I turned the video on, she figured out how to attack it.
Here’s what you need:
One empty bone
About a tablespoon of canned pumpkin and about 1/4 cup of applesauce (depending upon the size of the bone.)
Smear the pumpkin on one end of the bone and place in the freezer for a couple of hours. Remove from freezer and fill the remainder of the bone with applesauce.
Place the bone pumpkin side down in a glass and place back in the freezer for a couple of hours.
When the applesauce is frozen, remove and serve.
The whole treat is probably less than 75 calories and it should last your dog (depending on how aggressively they lick it) a good 15 to 20 minutes.
Easy right?
Yes it is. It’s also The Tasty Tuesday blog hop hosted by Kol’s Notes and Sugar the Golden Retriever. You can get your linky code at either one of the hosts.
Hop on.
Oh, how I love those sounds!!!! Great idea!
She absolutely loves her treats!
I gotta give that a try.
I bet doggy loves it!!
Yum! My mom always puts my bones and Kongs in the freezer with yummy stuff but she never tried applesauce!
-Corbin
Tell her to try it Corbin and let me know what you think. 🙂
OMD now THAT sounds like a BIRFDAY or other SPECIAL Time TREAT to me. GRRRREAT recipe.
I’m glad you like it Frankie! Plus it’s grrrreat if you have any little chewers. 🙂 Tell your mom to make it for your Birfday!
Hey Sampson, Hey Delilah, Jet here. Hi Miss Jodi.
OMD… everyone is posting awesome ideas… Mom better get on some of these recipes, that’s all I have to say… Mom asked me to share one question… When the yumminess melts, does it get all over the furniture/flooring? If so, any ideas?
Hey Jettie, I’m always looking for new low cal receipes for the pups.
To answer mom’s question, we haven’t had that experience. S & D started on the two openings which leaves the applesauce in the middle After about 20 mins or so Sampson’s was soft enough for me to turn the bone vertical and push the still formed sauce out. Delilah’s was gone but I didn’t see any traces of goop. Delilah does eat hers on the floor or in her crate though and would be sure to lick up any mess. 🙂
Hey Jettie,
I am always looking for tasty low cal treats for the pups.
To answer mom’s question. After about 20 minutes the bone had warmed enough for me to stand it vertically and push the remainder (mabye about 1/2 inch) of the still formed applesauce out onto the towel I place under him.
Delilah’s bone was already gone, but I didn’t notice any left over evidence. 🙂 As long as mom is watching, I think you’ll be just fine. 🙂
Phew… thanks Miss Jodi… we tend to be a little messy when we enjoy our treats!
We use frozen bonie treats all the time. They were a lifesaver during Pager’s nighttime wacky zoomies. I usually seal them with peanut butter, then fill with dry kibble, then more peanut butter–but I have also mixed yogurt and pumpkin and used that to seal them too. Was that your idea? I know I learned from a blog friend somewhere 🙂
I’m not sure if you got the idea from me or not, but I have used pumpkin and yogurt in these bones.
I would have never thought of the dry kibble. Maybe I will stuff some of that in there too!
I bet Delilah was just worried the cold would hurt her fillings. She was probably barking at it to warm it up a little before the chewing began. 🙂
LOL Pamela, Hubby and I were giggling in the kitchen, it was actually really cute of her.
Yay! I love watching videos of other people’s dogs. Delilah is just so pretty to look at, even when she is being silly.
I’ve never thought of using applesauce before but I bet it’d be a big hit around here. Thanks for the idea!
She is a pretty dog Kristine. I’m glad you like watching!
Love the idea – I am sure it will keep us busy for quite some time too with the bone on the outside – Thanks for sharing and I stopped by from the blog hop but today I don’t have a post in this blog hop.
I hope you get the opportunity to try it Emmadog, both my guys love it. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
It’s amazing the treats Sampson and Delilah get! You go to so much trouble. And every night too. I am the laziest dog owner around when it comes to treats. A slice of banana, a teaspoon of peanut butter on my finger, a little cube of cheese … thats as good as it gets for Ms Pea.
They really eat better than we do typist. Yes, every night they get their treat, without fail. Even if we are late for whatever reason, they get a treat when we get home. 🙂
And I bet she loves the treats she gets too!
What a nice bone toy, filled with pumpkin!
urban hounds
yes, we fill with pumpkin, pineapple, yogurt etc. They love their treaties.
I never ever thought to give them applesauce. That might be worth a try, especially for Toby. (The girls aren’t into veggies or fruit as much). Thanks for the new idea!
Here’s the funny thing, there are certain things Sampson won’t eat, but he eats them stuffed in a treat (like bananas.) If you hand him a fresh banana slice he won’t eat it, but will eat it in the kong or freeze dried. Go figure.
Let me know if you try it and how they (he) likes it.
Delilah sure looks happy with that bone. So how long did it keep her busy? 🙂
I think it was between 10 and 15 minutes which is usually typical. She can become frustrated if it takes too long or the treat is too frozen. Then they bring us the treat and want help with it. LOL
Typical doggies…want the treat and then want help with the treat! lol
So creative and healthy! Love that you added applesauce!
I thought it might work because it is nice and thick, not runny where is will make a mess in the freezer. 🙂
I will have to try this one, I know they will like it.
Funny Riva does the same thing with her bones and does the little hoppy back and forth thing while she is talking to it 🙂
LOL that is so cute Misty, have you been able to record it?
You know I may have, I know I have pics but it isn’t quite as good as watching it live 🙂
Yummo! We love to stuff treats with fruit and veggies. Those bones are perfect for stuffing and your version is way healthier than the yucky processed cheese goo
I know, I can’t believe I actually bought those bones filled with crap! LOL
Well, I quite like the idea of frozen apple sauce for me, or maybe mangoes. Must buy some lolly sticks 😀
Oooh, great idea Jodi. And really really really easy, which is my favorite part. I have one of these bones that’s still half filled with the stuff that came in it (Desmond gives up if he can’t reach it instead of chewing on the bone), so I just filled the ends with apple sauce in two parts like you did with the pumpkin/applesauce. I plan to give it to him tonight!
Great idea Jodi – you are so creative!
I’d never thought of plugging the end with pumpkin. Sounds like a great idea. One of the things I do with a Kong as well is, once it’s stuffed, put it in a container of water and freeze the whole thing. I’ve got a couple of cylindrical containers which are perfect. Provided the bottom is plugged and there’s a good plug of minced meat in the top I’ve never found it a problem with stuff leaking out, other than a bit of blood from the meat, but I figure that makes the ice block a bit more interesting.