Can dogs eat ice?

We love those pet parents who are always conscious of what they are feeding to their pets. Can my dog eat this? is a query that never escapes their mind. This is a great way of learning new stuff, and something that transforms an average pet lover into a responsible pet parent. You will be amazed at the number of eatables your dog cannot eat, but you and thousands of other dog fathers and mothers are feeding their pets anyway. We thought it would be a good idea if we could take this article as an opportunity to clarify doubts on at least one such dubious food item. And the dart hit the ice column! So, in this discussion, we answer a very simple question. Can or cannot, your dog eat ice and ice cubes? 

Can dogs eat ice?

Without beating about the bush, let us answer this question first. Important to answer this query now, since the whole debate will be orchestrated around it! Yes, dogs can eat ice. But we are afraid that is an incomplete answer. There are several aspects, which must be considered when it comes to feeding ice cubes to your dog. Not a fruit, not a vegetable but simple, frozen water! Yes, we know you are unwilling to accept that this is more complicated than it sounds. Stick with us till the end and you shall see! All that we can tell you right now is that this discussion will debunk several myths you have been forced to believe!  

Feeding your dog ice cubes

Let us do a litmus test. Drop an ice cube on the kitchen floor when your dog is messing around. Don’t make an effort to stop your dog from licking the ice cubes. If your dog’s body language changes in a pleasant manner, which 99 percent sure will, you can feed your dog ice cubes without any hesitation. An important thing to take care of during this little experiment is that you shouldn’t let your dog chew the cubes. This is something that we wish to talk about in detail, later in this discussion. 

Why is giving ice cubes good for your dog?

You don’t want your dog to dehydrate in hot summers, do you? Then please think about other than simple, tap water which you normally fill your pet’s bowl with. Ice cubes can be a fun way of increasing water intake, something that you must think about when the hot days are in sight. So many ways in which you can incorporate ice into your pet’s drinking schedule. Simple ice cubes, ice chips, and much more. Also, ice cubes can be given as a treat. So that means, you can train your dog and give a fun but cheap reward as an incentive. Well, that is economical, more for you than your dog! 

Why can ice cubes be bad for your dog?

The Internet is simply flooded with misleading articles like ICE IS BAD FOR DOGS. So many of them, all of them untrue. Ice causes bloating. No shut up, it doesn’t is what we want to chant back at the authors of such misleading articles. But if you want to find out something bad about the ice-canine relation, let us help you there. Ice can damage your dog’s teeth, only if they are too loose and brittle already. Although we have seen dogs tear apart bones and flesh with a loose set of teeth, we will still say this for the sake of your dog’s teeth. Treat your dog with ice only after making sure the canines are in proper shape! Apart from this, we cannot do anything serious that ice consumption can lead to! 

We know you have choking concerns!

Every responsible pet parent must ask these questions, and we don’t mind you asking questions, just to be clear. It is this ridiculous rumor-mongering that bothers us. Ice can cause your dog to choke and die. No, it won’t until you force down mouthfuls of ice down your dog’s throat. And honestly, what else are you expecting if you do that? As we said, there are plenty of ways in which you can feed ice to your dog. Ice chips are the way to go from our point of view. But you can freeze an ice lolly as well if you like. Or your dog likes it. 

Ice for sick dogs

Let us clarify that by sickness, we refer to those dogs who cannot withstand excessive heat and temperature. It is one of the most interesting questions that we came across during our research. Can ice work for sick dogs as a treatment? Well, the wisest thing to do when your dog is dehydrated is to get the vet. But if you want to do something for your dog at home, you can try a few ice chips as a cooling trick. Again, we must reiterate the fact that you are not the vet. Hence, forcing down too many ice chips down your dog’s throat and hoping things will improve is nothing short of a childish approach.

Is it a breed-specific thing?

More stupid myths are incoming. While this does hold for some eatables, we have never seen a specific breed of dogs more prone to ice chips and cubes than the rest of the breeds. The simple answer to this question is NO and we need you to get off that web page immediately that is telling you so. Are you in for another little experiment? Drop a cube of ice in front of your and your neighbor’s dog. We are sure that both will rush towards ice with the same quotient of alacrity! 

What about iced food?

Here is a question that we like. Can you offer iced food to your dog? There is no straight yes or no answer to this question. Let us explain why. The frozen food you are thinking of serving to your dog is all glued together and well, frozen. If your dog is a big fan of big lumps, maybe it is not a good idea to serve frozen food to your canine friend. WHY? Because of the choking hazard, of course. Your pet is history if the frozen bites are stuck in its throat. On the other hand, frozen food has its advantages as well. For a dog who finds it hard to quench its thirst through plain tap water, you might want to try some iced food. This might be the trick that will refresh your dog in a way you want it to be chill all the time! 

Heat strokes, ice, and dogs

We have talked about how a bit of ice can be good for your dog who is going through a phase of dehydration. Now, let us talk about a much more serious condition. Heatstroke. On a side note, can you identify correctly if your dog is suffering from heatstroke or not? There are signs which can always tell you. Diarrhea, lethargy, and sticky, gummy saliva to name a few. Coming back to the main question, can you give ice to your heat-stroke-struck dog? The answer is no. Can you give an ice bath to your dog for the same reason? Again, we are afraid, the answer is no. Instead, what you should be doing is getting the vet on board immediately. A vet will probably inject fluids into your dog’s system via a drip or injections. There will be some medications as well. An ice bath, on the other hand, can prove fatal for your dog since temperatures are running higher than normal during a heat stroke! 

Ice for ickle puppies?

We knew this question would be asked at some point in this discussion. Yes, we can read your mind that is true. But you should know that feeding ice cubes of larger size to your puppy are not a good idea. There are several reasons why we say so. One, your pup’s water requirements are much lesser than that of an adult dog. We are team hydration but we still think that too much of anything is never good. Things can go south, speaking from the GI point of view. Second, it is a puppy. Do you want to test the dental and esophageal limits of your puppy? Please don’t, even if you were thinking of doing that! Have you ever heard of frozen toys? There is no harm in giving one of those to your dog to chew on. 

Summary

Well folks, got to wrap up things now. Let us recap everything for you in case you dozed off. NOTHING WRONG WITH FEEDING NICE TO YOUR DOG. Yeah, that is pretty much it. But we must say, considering the element of moderation is something you shouldn’t be doing just because an article asked you to do that. You are responsible for the pet parent/parents. Not overdoing things always works in the favor of your pet, whether canine or feline. Oh, and if things go a little south, you can always get the vet!

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