Canonical: https://coopersdogtreats.com/blogs/news/pupsicle-vs-frosty-paws # Pupsicle vs Frosty Paws, Which Frozen Dog Treat Wins? - **By:** Alex Willen - **Published:** 2026-07-23 **TL;DR:** Frosty Paws is a frozen dairy dessert designed to taste like ice cream for dogs, sweetened, dairy-based, and around 150 calories per cup. Our Pupsicle Mix is a freeze-dried meat-based frozen treat, no sugar, no dairy, around 20 calories per Pupsicle. Frosty Paws wins on novelty and "looks like ice cream." Pupsicle Mix wins on ingredients, calorie control, and being something you can actually give a dog regularly. If you want a once-in-a-while sweet "ice cream" experience, Frosty Paws works. For everyday frozen treats, the Pupsicle approach is better. Frozen treats for dogs come in two main shapes: the ice-cream-mimic (dairy-based, sweetened, calorie-dense) and the savory frozen broth or meat treat (protein-based, low or no sugar, calorie-light). Frosty Paws is the original example of the first category, it's been around since the late 1970s and shows up in most grocery store freezer aisles. We make the second kind, freeze-dried meat that you mix with water and freeze in silicone molds. People ask us all the time how they actually compare. Here's the honest version, ingredients, calories, sugar, price per serving, what dogs think, and which one fits which situation. ## What Is Frosty Paws? Frosty Paws is a frozen dessert for dogs, sold in 4-packs of small cups. Currently owned by JM Smucker. The original variety is essentially a sweetened, lactose-reduced "frozen dairy product" (the legal term for ice-cream-like things that don't technically meet the FDA's ice cream standards). The newer "peanut butter" variety subs in peanut butter for some of the dairy. Per the current product label, one cup of Frosty Paws Original has roughly: - 140 to 150 calories - 6 grams of fat - 14 grams of sugar (mostly from added sweeteners and dairy lactose) - 3 grams of protein - Ingredients: water, whey, soybean oil, corn syrup, sodium caseinate, vegetable monoglycerides, salt, gums, vitamins and minerals It's a dog product, but the formula is closer to a low-end human frozen dessert than to anything you'd call "natural." ## What Is Cooper's Pupsicle Mix? Our Pupsicle Mix is a freeze-dried meat-based mix that you reconstitute with water and freeze in silicone molds (which we sell, or you can use your own). The main ingredient is real meat, freeze-dried at low temperature so the protein and flavor stay intact. You add water, stir, pour into molds, and freeze. Per Pupsicle (a typical small mold serving), you're looking at: - About 20 calories per Pupsicle - About 2 to 3 grams of protein - About 1 gram of fat - Zero added sugar - Zero dairy - Zero artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives - Ingredients: real meat (chicken, beef, turkey, depending on flavor), plus a small amount of binders You can read more about how we approach our frozen recipes in our [Frosty Paws ingredient breakdown](https://coopersdogtreats.com/blogs/news/whats-in-the-frosty-paws-recipe). ## Ingredient Comparison The honest side-by-side: ### Frosty Paws Original **Ingredients:** water, whey, soybean oil, corn syrup, sodium caseinate, vegetable monoglycerides, salt, calcium carbonate, dipotassium phosphate, lactic acid, polysorbate 80, guar gum, vitamins (A palmitate, D3 supplement), minerals. The bulk of the formula is water and dairy by-products (whey, sodium caseinate). The sweetness comes from corn syrup and the lactose naturally in whey. Soybean oil adds fat and texture. Polysorbate 80 and guar gum are emulsifiers and thickeners. The vitamins and minerals are there to round out the nutritional panel. Not toxic. Not dangerous. But also not what most people picture when they read "treats for dogs." ### Cooper's Pupsicle Mix **Ingredients (Chicken Pupsicle Mix, as an example):** freeze-dried chicken, a small amount of binders to help with texture when mixed with water. That's it. You add the water yourself. You control the final consistency. There's nothing in the bag that you couldn't pronounce or wouldn't feed your dog as a regular meal topper. ## Sugar Content This is where the two products separate the most. - **Frosty Paws:** 14 grams of sugar per cup. That's roughly equivalent to a small scoop of frozen yogurt. - **Pupsicle Mix:** 0 grams of added sugar. The natural sugars from the meat are negligible. Sugar isn't acutely toxic to dogs, but it has the same long-term issues as in humans: weight gain, dental problems, and potentially blood sugar issues over time. Most veterinary nutritionists recommend keeping added sugar out of regular dog food and treats. If you're going to give a dog a sugary frozen dessert, occasional is fine. Daily is not. ## Calorie Comparison - **Frosty Paws:** 140 to 150 calories per cup. - **Pupsicle Mix:** About 20 calories per individual Pupsicle. The general rule for dog treats is that they should make up no more than 10 percent of daily calories. For a 30 pound dog (roughly 800 daily calories), 10 percent is 80 calories. That means one Frosty Paws cup is almost 2x the entire daily treat budget for a medium-sized dog. One Pupsicle uses 25 percent of it. Three Pupsicles still leaves room for other small treats. For small dogs (15 to 25 pounds), a single Frosty Paws cup can easily exceed the entire day's treat allowance. ## Price Per Serving Frosty Paws Original is typically sold in 4-packs at $4 to $5 retail. Roughly $1 to $1.25 per cup. A Pupsicle Mix bag yields about 20 to 25 Pupsicles depending on mold size. Total cost per Pupsicle works out to about $0.50 to $0.75 each. By calorie, Frosty Paws gives you more calories per dollar (it's mostly water, fat, and dairy). By "useful frozen treats that don't blow your dog's calorie budget," Pupsicle Mix is significantly cheaper. ## What Dogs Actually Think Honest take: both go over well. Dogs aren't food critics. They like cold things. They like things that smell like food. They like things that come from your hand. That said, in our experience: - Dogs go nuts for the meat-based Pupsicles. Real chicken, beef, or turkey is genuinely exciting to most dogs. They smell the meat the second you open the freezer. - Dogs also love Frosty Paws, but it's a sweet/dairy reward, which is more of a novelty. - For dogs with dairy sensitivity (a meaningful percentage of adult dogs), Frosty Paws can cause loose stools. Pupsicles, being dairy-free, don't. ## Who Should Pick What? ### Frosty Paws makes sense if: - You want a once-in-a-while sweet "ice cream" experience for your dog (a birthday, a hot summer party). - You don't want to mix and freeze treats yourself. - Your dog has no dairy sensitivity, no weight issues, and no specific allergies. - You're willing to count it as a meal-sized indulgence on calorie days. ### Pupsicle Mix makes sense if: - You want a frozen treat your dog can have several times a week without weight or dental fallout. - You care about ingredient lists you can read. - Your dog has dairy issues (most adult dogs are at least mildly lactose intolerant). - You like the idea of customizing the texture, smearing into a lick mat, freezing in your own molds, or layering with other dog-safe foods. - You're feeding a small dog where every calorie counts. ## Why We Built the Pupsicle Approach When we started Cooper's Treats, we looked at the frozen dog treat aisle and noticed the same thing most dog owners notice: every product was basically frozen dessert. Sweet, dairy-heavy, and designed to look like an ice cream cup. None of it was something we wanted to feed regularly. The Pupsicle Mix was our answer. Real meat as the primary ingredient. Freeze-dried so it shelf-stable until you're ready to use it. Add water, freeze, done. Each Pupsicle is about 20 calories, which means most dogs can have a couple a day without affecting their main meals. The protein is real (not "meat by-product" or "animal digest"). The fat is what naturally comes with the meat (no added oils). The trade-off is that you do a little bit of work. You add water, you pour into molds, you wait an hour for them to freeze. That said, it's about 60 seconds of actual work for a week's worth of treats. If you want to try the approach, our [Pupsicle Starter Kit](https://coopersdogtreats.com/products/pupsicle-starter-kit) comes with mixes and the silicone molds. ## Can You Mix the Two? Sure. There's nothing about Frosty Paws and a Pupsicle that conflict. A reasonable approach for someone who likes both: Frosty Paws as the occasional birthday or special-day dessert, Pupsicles for daily or weekly frozen rewards. The calorie math still has to work, but no nutritional reason they can't coexist. ## DIY Alternative If you want to skip both products, the basic frozen dog treat recipe is: 1. Plain Greek yogurt as the base (low lactose, high protein). 2. Mash in a few dog-safe fruits (blueberries, bananas, strawberries). 3. Pour into an ice cube tray or silicone mold. 4. Freeze 2 to 3 hours. Calorie count varies depending on what you use, but it's hard to go wrong. The downside compared to Pupsicles is that yogurt is still dairy (which doesn't suit every dog), and you're getting carbs and lactose rather than protein as the bulk of the treat. ## The Short Version Frosty Paws is fine for special occasions if your dog tolerates dairy and you've got the calorie room. The ingredient list isn't terrible but it's not what most dog owners think they're feeding when they buy something labeled as a dog treat. Our Pupsicle Mix is built for regular use, real meat, no added sugar, no dairy, controlled portions. For everyday frozen treats, that's the approach we'd pick. For an occasional sweet novelty, Frosty Paws still has a place. *If your dog has had loose stools after Frosty Paws, lactose is the likely culprit. Try switching to a dairy-free frozen treat and see if the issue clears.*