Homemade Doggie Breath Freshener Treats

Have a dog with bad breath?

Try this DIY doggie breath freshener treat recipe, made with all natural ingredients that are good for your pup!

Homemade Doggie Breath Freshener Treats - all natural and easy to make!

We love to spoil our pets, but our little dachshund’s tummy can’t handle most commercial dog treats.

And, let’s face it. “Dog breath” didn’t become a commonly used insult for no good reason.

She was in need of a treat to satisfy her snacking urges and a bit of breath freshening to boot.

Enter this terrific recipe for homemade doggie breath freshener treats that we received several years ago for subscribing to a magazine. We tweaked it to suit the ingredients we had on hand and it proved to be a winner!

About the Ingredients

Parsley leaves are full of protein, vitamins and other nutrients. Parsley is an excellent digestive aid, is antimicrobial and helps reduce arthritic inflammation.

Peppermint helps with intestinal gas, colic and motion sickness, plus it’s a great breath freshener!

If your dog has persistent breath or digestive troubles, check with a vet to rule out underlying health problems.

natural fresh breath treats for dogs being spooned into ice tray

Doggie Breath Freshener Treat Recipe

  • 6 oz container of plain unsweetened yogurt
  • a large pinch of fresh mint leaves
  • a large pinch of fresh parsley
  1. Blend all of the ingredients together.
  2. Spoon into ice trays.
  3. Freeze until solid.
  4. Remove from ice trays.
  5. Store in freezer bags in your freezer.

Recipe Notes:

A mini food processor, like THIS ONE is perfect for this purpose. I use mine all the time. I first got it as a bridal shower gift and it lasted 15 years until I had to buy a new one. It’s been useful for everything from making baby food to pulverizing herbs for many of the projects you see on this blog.

These dog treats are so easy to make, my kids loved making them for our dogs. It’s a great way to teach them about common herbs and home remedies.

Make sure the yogurt is unsweetened. Never give a dog anything with artificial sweeteners or xylitol (very toxic to dogs) in it. However, if you’re making some for humans to eat, you could add a dash of honey to taste.

Some dogs prefer these frozen, while others may like them slightly thawed first. Make smaller treats for smaller dogs.

You may also enjoy these pet friendly projects:

Herbal Broths for Pets | Lavender Vinegar | Calendula Salve

how to use herbal broths to treat pets
Lavender Infused Vinegar & 5 Ways to Use It
calendula salve

The information contained within this post is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to treat, diagnose, prescribe or cure. Any attempt to diagnose or treat an illness should be done under the supervision of a qualified veterinarian. This treat was designed for dogs, not cats. This post may contain affiliate links.

Homemade Doggie Breath Freshener Treats was originally published March, 2012, and updated for October, 2018.

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46 Comments

  1. I love this! I have made homemade bones for my pup, but let me tell you – his breath could use some work! lol! I know parsley is good for bad breath, but I like putting it in a little cold treat! Awesome idea!

    1. Thanks! I’m fairly certain I bookmarked a dog treat recipe from your site that looked great. :) My sister-in-law’s dogs love these too, only she’d like me to create one that doesn’t have to stay frozen. I hope to experiment soon! Thanks for your comment!

      1. Jan: im not seeing any recipe here….its missing….lol….bc ive looked all over this site and cannot find it anywheres…..please tell me where i can find this nice looking recipe….it looks/sounds like a winner…but not having the actual recipe can be a big problem ya know!!!~

        1. Hi Mary! It’s all in the post: 6 oz container of plain yogurt and a handful of parsley and/or mint leaves all blended together. You can adjust the amounts depending on how much of each ingredient you have and if you don’t have mint leaves, you can use a drop or two of peppermint essential oil. :)

        2. I agree with Jan…there is no recipe listed. Is there any recipe to be printed?

          1. Hi Pamela,

            Sorry about that! It appears that part of the post disappeared somewhere in time during an update or something. (I’m sure it was my fault while button mashing something!) :)

            I typed the information back in there. Thanks for letting me know it was missing!

            To make this you’ll need:

            6 oz container of plain yogurt (no sweeteners!)
            a large pinch of fresh mint leaves
            a large pinch of fresh parsley

            Blend everything together in a mini food-processor and divide into portions in an ice cube tray. Freeze until firm. Store in the freezer.

      2. I’m wondering if a coconut oil concoction (maybe with yogurt) would work to make a solid treat that can be kept cool but not frozen. Does anyone here know if coconut oil would be a bad choice?

        1. Coconut oil can be used for dogs. I’ve infused it with nettle for vitamin rich dog treats, but haven’t tried parsley & peppermint yet!

        2. YES you could also ADD coconut oil to this recipe. I use coconut oil on my skin as soon as I am out of the shower and my dogs are licking my legs. they love coconut oil!! so I am trying to find a good way to make a recipe that does not need to be cooked or frozen.

          1. If you find a recipe that doesn’t need to be frozen please post! My dog doesn’t like frozen treats.

    1. Hi Vanity! Cats are very sensitive to essential oils. Your cat might like just the yogurt though! My cat loves plain yogurt! :)

  2. LOL….had to write to tell you I have the same mini chopper and have had it for 12 years. You’re right when you say “everyone needs one of these”. Use mine daily and love it!

  3. My dog has super bad breath, we havent tried this recipe yet because she is very stubborn and doesnt like to eat ice cubes. should we still try it (not freezing it)?

  4. I have 3 dogs, a Bassett, mixed terrier, and a pocket beagle. They all have bad breath! I made these 2 weeks ago and they were GONE in no time flat. The LOVED them and it works!!!!! Getting ready to make a triple batch today. Thanks so much!!!

    1. Hi Michelle! I think that will be fine. There’s no real chocolate in chocolate mint, just a similar scent.

  5. If your dog has bad breath though it could be something serious. Could be his/her teeth, gums, or something more serious, please have a vet check them out.

  6. would these be ok for puppies also? i wouldn’t imagine why not, but they’re 7 weeks old, so just checking!

    1. Hi Carly! I would think so, in limited amounts, but anytime I’m dealing with babies (human or animal!) I like to double check with a doctor or other professional. So, you might want to ask your vet, to be safe. :) I know just the plain yogurt should be fine; our vet okayed it for one of our dogs when we first got her as a small puppy & had some tummy troubles.

  7. Going to make these for my dogs today. Is there anything that can be made and not be frozen or refrigerated? I would love to sell these at animal adoption events to raise money for our rescue. Also what about something for cats? Thanks

    1. That is a great question – I have a relative that would like to know the same! Her dogs love them, but she wants the convenience of not having to keep them cold. It’s on my list of things to experiment with (hopefully before Christmas season.)

    1. I just give my dachshund one a few times a week as a special treat, usually during the summer. (She gets cold easily; right now she likes warm broth as a treat!) :) It should be fine to give one each day, but you might want to double check with your vet about any individualized suggestions for your dog.

  8. Great idea, my dashound gets yougurt to help with yeast infection, now I can freeze this into handy little morsels for two reasons!

  9. I love this idea. Thinking of adding a pinch of ginger, for the tummy.
    Wondering if a couple drips of molasses could be used as well?

    1. Hi Susan, I think blackstrap molasses and ginger would be two great additions! I’ve not heard of any contraindications for dogs and in fact good things are said about using blackstrap molasses to treat arthritic dogs, but since I’m not a licensed expert, you can double check with a vet to make sure.

  10. I started out looking at these doggie breath treats. But i just wanted to tell you, your website is awesome. I love homemaking myself and i find your site very helpful. Thanks again jan. And i also love my mini food processor :-)

  11. Hi Jan, Just checked with our vet he said there is nothing in blackstrap molasses or ginger that will hurt my dog and that it is used in some of the better doggie snacks. With that approval i am going ahead with my plan. Cant thank you enough…love ypur site.

  12. The dogs love these and I have found that if you have a dog that doesn’t digest milk or yoghurt well (which I have – gas and bloating like you wouldn’t believe!) then try switching to goat milk. It seems to be more digestible (true for some lactose intolerant people too). It’s easy to make yoghurt from the goat milk and substitute it for usual yoghurt.

  13. yeah and if you use gelatin you can switch the yoghurt( if your dog can’t tolerate milk) with concentrate soup of bones

  14. ok so I love this recipe. just a couple of questions. is the treat hard or soft? we have 3 dogs. 2 younger and 1 14 yr old. the younger dogs can and will eat anything. the older guy however has list most of his teeth. also, can these be given to stinky cat breath cats? can I use peppermint extract? if not where can I purchase the essential oil? Thank for your help

    1. Hi Mauri, The treats are on the harder side when frozen, so for your old guy, he might just like the minty yogurt from the refrigerator. I try to avoid essential oils with cats because they have a hard time metabolizing them. And, yep, I’ve used pure peppermint extract before – it works great!

  15. I drink raw milk, straight from an approved farm, i give it to my dog, he loves it, and I read that its ok to give it to the dogs, and because its raw, any people who are lactose intolerant, should be ok for them to drink, could make this recipe also with the raw milk .I use the Whole milk plain yogurt, add pure vanilla extract and the Truvia sweetener to it, because of diabetes, I give this to my dog also, do you think the Truvia is ok for the dog ? Because it is a natural sweetener, he seems to be ok, and eats the yogurt almost everyday .

    1. Hi Elaine, Raw milk is great stuff! I’m not sure about Truvia, so I did a quick search and found that Truvia contains erythritol (a sugar alcohol like xylitol). You can double check with your vet to find out whether it’s okay or not, but I would just skip the extra sweetener and give him whole milk plain yogurt instead.

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