Ice Causes Bloat?
Thanks to Lynn for barking this in and Morgan for writing it! I have never heard of ice causing bloat but if it’s true, it’s good to know.
If you know more about ice causing bloat, please bark in and tell the rest of us.
Subject: Ice / ice water, and Bloat
I occasionally through some ice into water bowls on a hot day, or even let them chew on a few ice cubes now and then when it is hot. I may re-think this! I personally only know of three Siberians over the years who died of bloat in my circle of acquaintances, but something to keep in mind when it is hot.
Hello Everyone,
I am writing this in hopes that some may learn from what I just went through. We went to the Steel Valley Cluster this past weekend.After showing we went back to our site/set up and got the dogs in their crates to cool off.
After being back about 30min. I noticed Baran was low on water. I took a hand full of ice from my cooler and put it in his bucket with more water….
We all then started to get all the dogs Ex’ed and food ready for them.
After checking the dogs and thinking they were cooled off enough we fed everyone. As we were walking around picking out the feed dishes from the crates, one of my friends stated that Baran seamed like he was choking. I went over and check on him and he was dry heaving and was real drolly.
I got him out of the crate to check him over I noticed he had not eaten, he was in some what distress. I checked him over from head to toe and did not notice anything. I walked him around for about a min. when I noticed that he was starting to Bloat. I did everything I was taught to do in this case. I was not able to get him to burp, and we gave him Phasezime.
We jumped on the golf cart to take him down to the Show vet to find out that he did not have a bloat kit, He referred us to the clinic that was to be on call, but we found out that the clinic was closed.
After finding another clinic that was open we rushed Baran to that one. We call ahead and let them know that we were on our way. They were set up and waiting on us and got Baran stable very fast. After Baran was stable and out of distress we transported Baran to AVREC were he went into surgery to make sure no damage was done to any of his vital organs. I am very happy to say that Baran is doing great, there was not damage to any vital organs, and he still loves his food.
In surgery the doctor found that Baran’s stomach was in its normal anatomic position. The Doctor and I went over the events of what happened up to the point of Baran’s Bloating. When I told him about the ice water he asked why I gave him ice water, and have I always did this. I told him my history behind this practice and his reply was “You have been very lucky for the past 15 years.”
The ice water I gave Baran cause violent Muscle spasm in his stomach which caused the bloating. Even though I figured his temp was down enough to feed and give him this ice water his internal temp was still high. Dr. Vogf stated that giving dogs ice to chew or ice water is a big NO, NO; there should be not reason for them to have ice/ice water. Normal water (room Temp.), or cooling with cold towels on the inner thigh. This is the best way to help cool a dog.
I felt the need to share this with everyone, in the hopes that some may learn from what I went through, I do not wish this on anyone. Baran is home now doing fine. He does not like the fact that he has to be walked on lead in the yard to keep him from running. He hates not being able to go out and rough house it with the others, but is doing great. So please if you do use ice and ice water, beware as what could happen.
Morgan and His Angels
Wow! & Woofs!
We are glad this article was written so we can stop this practice immediately.
What about natural ice cream or snow in the winter?
Is anything 32 degrees or below dangerous?
Michael & ~Rufus~
WOW, DEF food for thought! Thank you for sharing. I’m sending a link to this article to all my friends!
I personally lost my white Sibe female to Bloat on Apr.7,2006. It had NOTHING to do with ice or ice water. This sent me on a search about this disease/condition. It is not a breed specific disease in Sibes, however, bowel and digestive disorders can be. It is a problem with dogs that are med/large and DEEP CHESTED. It is caused by gas forming in the stomach from undigested food or large amounts of air being taken in while eating or drinking. It sets in very fast and progresses quite quickly causing the owner very little time to get the dog to a vet before the stomach twists and blocks off blood and air supply. The dog will act like they are trying to throw up and can’t or trying to have bowel movement and can’t. There are many good articles on the internet about Canine Bloat with helpful suggestions such as: more than 1 feeding of smaller amounts a day, raising the food and water bowels from floor level, and NOT letting dogs prone to it to go out and run or get worked up until at least 1/2 hour after eating. It is not advisable to feed ice or ice cream to any dogs in a considerable amount due to it causing muscle spasms in the dog.
Now I am really worried! We get lots of snow in the winter and all three of my girls love to eat it by the mouth full. Do you think that this is just as bad as eating ice or drinking ice water? It seem to me that it be, maybe even worse.
Renee
Bloat is such a terrible thing for our babies… I am so glad to hear that Baran is doing well.
~ Fancy
i feed my pits ice from time to time only when in doors and when thay are not hot i thing the spasms come from to rapid of temp change
oh. Savvy loves to eat ice. And I have been giving her some in this hot weather. She is deep chested too, a Lab – I’d better find another treat for her!
Thank you so much for this information. I give my Jada girl ice cubes all the time but now will stop!!!! I had thought of her choking on it but never ever would have thought of it affecting her in that kind of way.
I’m so glad this was posted before anything happened to my baby.
Thank you very, very, very much!
Missy, Jada’s mommy
Could someone please get back to me about the authenticity of this article, as it has circulated right around the world. And has been posted on numerous dog lists.
I cannot find anyone who will verify the link between drinking iced/cold water and bloat.
Living in a hot country, and often giving ice chips to chew or iced water to drink, it is important to know if this is indeed harmful.
Has anyone asked a Vet?
I don’t know that I entirely believe that ice was the cause of this. Actually, I don’t believe this at all. My boyfriend’s dog has been fed ice as her treats for the past 8 years and has always been one of the healthiest dogs I’ve ever seen. Maybe this was just a freak accident?…otherwise, I don’t see how no other dog has experienced the same whilst eating ice. I don’t possibly see how something that is vital to every living thing is also fatal or harmful at all when frozen…
I can’t even begin to count the number of times a vet has told us to give our dogs ice when they are sick and not drinking well. I’ve had numerous vets tell me to give ice for years and years. If true, this article about ice causing bloat is really disturbing, especially considering that most vets routinely RECOMMEND ice for dogs to lick as a water source or during times when they’re not feeling well. Aaarghhhh!
Thanks for the info. My dogs love ice. I guess they will be a little hurt when we don’t share anymore. In the long run they will thank us for not putting them through any un-necessary pain and discomfort by having to go to the vet.
Thank you, thank you. This is such valuable information. I’d like very much to include a link to your story in my ‘The Way of Animals’ blog.
Thank you for sharing. So glad there was a happy ending for Baran!
Gail
I dont think this is accurate, i have had dogs since i was just a little boy and i have always given them ice cubes, they never had any problems, i dont think this article is very accurate, chances are it was something else. Also, why is it only one instance of a dog having this problem? everyone else has been fine.
Do you have any Black German shorthaired pointer dog for adoption (puppies)
I work for Nutro and this sounds similar to the claims made for bloat with Greenies for Dogs. I’ve given my dogs doggy ice cream sold at Harris Teeter for years without problems, one dog was deep chested, one was not. I’ve also given them Greenies for years, same situation with breeds, again without problems. Several dogs had died allegedly from the Greenies because they hadn’t chewed them properly and they got bloat or intestinal blockages. However, millions of other dogs have eaten the same product without problems. I think the best case scenario is if you give your dog ANY treat or ANYTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY tlike ice or ice cream is to monitor the dog, stay with him/her for 30 minutes afterwards and just watch it’s behavior. All the variables like weather conditions, if dogs have been exercising, stress, etc. will affect the dogs behavior with treats. They may even be fine eating them one day and develop a dangerous condition like bloat the next just because the variables have changed. I’d suggest having a “bloat kit” on hand “just in case.” Better to be safe than sorry, it only takes one incident to kill even if the dog has had numerous other incidents without anything serious happening.
I haven’t seen the abbreviation, DVN after anyone’s name who has bought the “Ice is bad for dogs” line. Until I do I’ll trust first hand experience over hearsay.
I have always given my dogs ice and never had a problem. Actually I originally started with ice cubes on the advice of a very well respected breeder. She recommended ice cubes as opposed to water to avoid bloat. I have a Weimaraner and they are prone to this problem. I agree with Lreoy Blue that there seems to be no scientific evidence behind this one claim. I did check with my Vet and he says that he has never heard this either.
Because we love our pet, I was thankful to have my search lead me here! After owning our dog for 8 months. The last couple weeks my dog had been going potty in the house. At first i that it was a behavoral problem. During this time, I had been giving the dog ICE WATER. (Think it as a reward) After reviewing all information. It may be my fault our dog was going potty in the house because she probally felt so sick. I DONT know if that is a fact. But may solve my problem. ty pet loves
This information is valid, however, some of you are not understanding the problem.
It is not bad to give a dog ice or ice water, in general. The problem with bloat may occur when giving a cold substance to a warm or over-heated animal OF ANY SPECIES. It’s a problem of physics and physiology. When a 20-30 lbs animal is running a body temp of over 100 degrees due to excercise, play, what-have-you, it is not a good idea to suddenly flood its stomach with liquid (or solid) which is 40, 50 or even 60 degrees cooler. THIS is what causes the muscle spasms and bloating.
When your dog eats snow, it’s not after he’s been playing in your yard during the hot days of summer…
After reading the “elevated feeding bowls” to prevent GVT above, I had to weigh in with facts…according to a recent study conducted by Perdue University, elevated food and water dishes actually INCREASE the risk of bloat by more than DOUBLE. Not saying it is necessarily an issue of causation, merely that it is a risk factor and hearing it advised as a preventative measure worries me. I also want to mention a possible genetic component to bloat, namely that dogs with a first degree (sire, dam, sibling or offspring) with either Bloat or GDV are known to be at higher risk of having an incident of GDV/Bloat themselves. These factors, as well as age (middle aged or older) and Breed need to be considered when making an informed decision on giving ice/ice water. For the record, I have a senior Rottweiler (8ish) who is allowed canine ice cream and ice cubes but kept under close supervision for an hour afterward, and is also given Gas-X at the same time as a prophalactic measure.
I would also advise that Stress frequently, if not always is a precursor to an episode of Bloat, and think that in the incident above (which I have read previously with the dog who developed Bloat being 3 different breeds in different tellings) the stress of the dog show may have been a contributing factor.