Does your dog’s breath smell a little less than pleasant? Not to worry! These homemade dog breath mints are super easy to make at home and loved by all the pups!
At our house we have Greenie Friday. Every Friday, the the pup gets a Greenie as her treat. She loves them, her breath smells better, and they help clean her teeth. But – they are expensive!
Enter these homemade dog breath mints. These are only 4 ingredients, super easy to make, and made with human friendly ingredients. This means that any ingredients not used for the mini dog treats can be used in your own meal.
You can keep these treats in the freezer and serve as needed to keep that breath smelling fresh as daisies!
Ingredients for Homemade Dog Breath Mints
These only require 4 ingredients and you may already have them in the fridge from breakfast or a tasty mojito!
- Spinach: Spinach is safe for dogs and is a great way to naturally color these treats, plus it adds vitamins and fiber to the treats.
- Curly Parsley: It is super important to make sure you are using curly parsley for these breath mints for dogs. Parsley can be found in curly or flat leafed, BUT flat parsley (or Italian parsley) can be toxic to dogs so it cannot be used for these treats. If you are unsure, simply leave the parsley out of the recipe.
- Plain Yogurt: Yogurt makes the base of these treats. Just be sure to use plain, low fat because dogs should not have any flavor add ins or additional fat. For a boost of probiotics, you could use dog-friendly kefir instead!
- Mint Leaves: Of course we need mint for homemade dog breath mints! You could use spearmint or peppermint leaves that are found in the produce section of the store. (There are some mint leaves you need to avoid when feeding your dog! Grab our guide to dog-friendly mint leaves here.)
Does your dogs breath seem exceptionally bad? It could require more than just breath mints. Often times the vet will find small amount of plaque build up at routine exams. If that is the case, you can carefully give your dog tougher bones or antlers to wear off any build up or try brushing their teeth with dog safe tooth paste.
How to Make Breath Mints for Dogs
These treats actually are probably easier than getting in the car, driving to the store, and buying commercial fresh breath dog treats. Here’s how to make breath mints for dogs:
Step 1: Blend
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blitz until smooth, adding a splash of water as needed to get things moving. I try to limit the amount of water I add to keep the treats from becoming icy.
Step 2: Pour
Place silicone dog treat molds onto a flat plate or baking sheet for easier transfer to the freezer. Pour mixture into silicone molds, leaving a little room at the top for them to expand while freezing. Freeze until solid, about 4 hours. Check out our favorites molds on Amazon here!
Step 3: Serve
Pop them out and serve as occasional treats for your pup!
Recipe tips
Storage: These treats are kept in the freezer. You can either keep them directly in the molds and cover with plastic wrap or beeswax wrap (they are more likely to get freezer burnt this way, however). Or, you can pop them out and store in a freezer safe container lined up next to each other. If storing in multiple layers, I like to place a layer of parchment paper horizontally to keep them from sticking to each other.
Mix-Ins: The great thing about a blended treat is that you can add just about anything in for added/hidden nutrients. Some favorites of ours are flaxseed, green-lipped mussels, eggshell powder, or zucchini! Just be mindful that adding something like zucchini will also add moisture so add a little at a time and omit the splash of water.
More Frozen Dog Treats
I love to keep a stack of frozen dog treats in the freezer for Rhubarb and her friends. They keep for quite a while and are easy to take out and serve on a whim. Here are some favorites we almost always have on hand.
- Salmon Dog Treats only use 1 ingredient! They are favorite among dogs and offer lots of nutrients from the salmon.
- Frozen Dog Treats (5 ways!) is a great way to mix up the type of treats you have while only using one blended base.
- Dog Ice Cream is maybe a little more for special occasions but, let’s be honest – there are a lot of reasons to have special occasions for our pups!
Homemade Dog Breath Mints Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup spinach
- ¼ cup curly parsley*
- ¼ cup plain low fat yogurt
- 6 fresh mint leaves
Instructions
- Blend: Combine all ingredients in a blender and blitz until smooth, adding a splash of water as needed to get things moving.
- Pour: Place silicone dog treat molds onto a flat plate or baking sheet for easier transfer to the freezer. Pour mixture into silicone molds, leaving a little room at the top for them to expand while freezing. Freeze until solid, about 4 hours.
- Serve: Pop them out and serve as occasional treats for your pup!
margarida
Wednesday 21st of February 2024
I´m really going to try it. 1 portuguese podengo 8 yo, 1 Belgian Sheperd Laekenois 5 yo and an Irish Wolfhound 4 months old. I usually give them fresh carrots, parsnips that I grow in my garden... If they dont steal it before I collect...😑 Can I do it with greek yogurt? Just asking! Thank you so much for the recipes!!
Sarah Bond
Friday 23rd of February 2024
Greek yogurt is okay as long as it is non-fat and unflavored! Bone Appetreat! :D
Q
Friday 16th of February 2024
are there specific measurements for the ingredients?
Sarah Bond
Tuesday 20th of February 2024
Yes! All ingredient measurements and directions can be found at the end of the post (here)
NikNak
Saturday 6th of January 2024
Looking forward to trying it! 🤗