Delicious Watermelon Recipes For Dogs & People

Did you know that watermelon has a 90% water content and that it’s rich in Vitamins A, B6, C, and antioxidants?

That’s the perfect reason to come up with some delicious watermelon recipes for my dogs AND for myself!

I can’t think of a better way to cool off from the summer heat than with watermelon.

That’s probably because it’s a food with cooling properties according to TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine).

My former pups Missy & Buzz, both Boxer mixes, agreed wholeheartedly and enjoyed the refreshing food both fresh and frozen, just like their Mommy!

My current pup Wally, a Feist mix, loves watermelon as much as Missy & Buzz did!!

So below, you’ll find several options of how you can integrate watermelon into your dog food.

Watermelon As A (Raw) Dog Food Topper

The most straight forward way of feeding watermelon is to simply cut open a watermelon, scoop out some pink flesh and top your dog’s food off with it.

I feed my pups raw dog food and add fresh watermelon to their bowls when it’s particularly hot outside.

Here’s what made it into these raw dog food bowls besides the watermelon:

• Herring (oily fish with muscle meat and a tiny amount of secreting organs in the head; neutral food energetics)
• Duck head (raw meaty bone with muscle meat; cooling food energetics)
• Beef heart (muscular organ meat; neutral food energetics)
• Turkey gizzard (muscle meat; neutral food energetics)
• Beef secreting organ mix (half liver, half kidney/spleen; neutral food energetics)

Below are feeding suggestions for a 50lb and a 70lb adult dog who are not overweight (fed at a 2.5% maintenance percentage of their ideal body weight).

Good to know: Duck heads weigh 4oz on average and have about 75% bone (3oz) and 25% meat (1oz).

Related Reading: All about raw duck heads for dogs

So depending on your dog’s weight, a duck head is likely going to have a little more bone than they need to eat on a daily basis, or a little too much.

That’s OK though because you can achieve balance in raw feeding your dog over the course of 7-10 days.

So if you feed your dog a larger raw meaty bone than they technically need on Monday, they won’t need any bone on Tuesday, and maybe not even on Wednesday.

For the 50lb dog who has a daily bone allowance of 1.2oz, the 3oz of bone in the duck head are going to cover 2.5 days worth of bone.

That’s easier than trying to cut up the duck head into smaller pieces.

For the 70lb dog who has a daily bone allowance of 2.8oz, the 3oz of bone in the duck head are close enough, and he can have 1 duck head per day no problem.

For more information on how to figure out your dog’s raw dog food amount, check out the link below:

Related Reading: Raw dog food feeding charts

But of course you don’t have to be a raw feeder to treat your dogs with a slice of watermelon goodness – it goes just as well on dry or canned dog food.

Actually, I’d say that it goes particularly well with dry dog food because of its high water content. 

Make sure to remove the rind & seeds before you let your pups enjoy the refreshing taste of watermelon.

They can make for a very upset doggie tummy.

Related Reading: Foods that help with upset dog stomachs

Watermelon As A Refreshing Doggie Snack In Between

You can bet your behind that Missy & Buzz watched me intently whenever I was busy cutting up watermelon…they were never pushy about it though. 

That’s because I taught them polite doggie behavior around food.

So whenever I was in the kitchen preparing watermelon, the pups got rewarded with a fresh bite of it for their calm “sit” or “down”.

Speaking of polite doggie behavior around food, I always had Missy & Buzz wait for my release to be allowed to eat before they get to dig into their meals, and Wally does the same now.

I personally don’t care much for uncontrolled barking and spinning around the kitchen, so below picture shows what feeding time looks like in our pack.

Frozen Watermelon Treats for Dogs

Another fun way of feeding watermelon during the dog days of summer is to make frozen watermelon dog treats.

All you need is:

• Watermelon
• Another fruit like banana (or berries)
• Optional: Plain yogurt or raw goats milk

Mix everything up in a food processor, fill into silicone molds and let freeze for a few hours.

Then offer the frozen watermelon dog treats to your pups!

Related Reading: Step-by-step frozen banana watermelon recipe for dogs

Summer Drink On The Watermelon Rocks For Mommy

While we’re on the subject of frosty watermelon doggie treats…I enjoy them too, just in a slightly different way than the pups. 

I once tried a frozen watermelon treat I made for the pups and cringed with brain freeze and hurting teeth.

Yikes, not the funnest moment in Mommy history.

I have since then found a much more pleasant way of incorporating the frozen watermelon treats into my summer diet.

I use them to keep my summer drinks chilled! 

I love mixing tequila, grenadine syrup and ginger ale and adding 2-3 frozen watermelon treats.

It tastes so good!

You can, of course, add frozen watermelon to any drink, regardless of whether it’s alcohol-infused or not.

I found that my favorite summer drink also goes really well with my homemade turmeric tator tots and sautéed veggies:

You can’t go wrong with watermelon during summer!

Doesn’t matter if it’s for the dogs or humans in your life because it’s such a healthy and low-calorie snack. 

Related Reading:

• Can I Feed My Dog (Canned) Tuna?
• How to Make Doggie Popsicles with Handles
• Raw Dog Food Recipe For Two: My Boxers’ Dinner Bowls
• Crispy Turmeric Tator Tots Recipe For Mommy & Golden Paste Paw Prints For My Dogs
• 2024 Review of the Animal Diet Formulator – Individual Version

Barbara Rivers

Barbara Rivers is the founder of K9sOverCoffee. She has been raw feeding her dogs in the US and Europe since 2015, after her Boxer mix Missy’s cancer diagnosis led her to leave processed kibble behind for good.

As a former professional dog walker, she knows firsthand how much nutrition and daily exercise shape a dog’s long-term health.

Today, she works for BARFER’S, one of Germany’s leading raw dog food brands, and is completing a year-long raw nutrition certification for dogs and cats at THP School, founded by raw feeding pioneer Swanie Simon.

Starting in early 2027, she’ll offer one-on-one raw feeding consultations. Join the waitlist.