Giving your dog ice water in hot weather is a great idea; or is it? There is nothing like downing a nice tall glass of ice water after a long walk in the summer; it refreshes one greatly and our bodies need it desperately in order to remain hydrated and healthy.
It would seem natural that your dog would also enjoy a nice bowl of ice water after a run around or a long walk, but there has recently been a bit of a scare about giving dogs ice-water due to a certain person had a scary episode with there do after giving her dog ice cubes.
This lady had also given her dog a bowl of food at the same time and shortly afterwards noted that her dog was drooling, coughing and spluttering to the point that she became worried and took her pet to the vet. The vet subsequently told her that her dog had a dangerous condition called gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV) which causes the dog’s stomach to spasm and bloat.
According to the lady in the story above, the vet told her that giving ice-water to a dog is very dangerous; this is untrue: “Frigid water gastric “cramping” is a falsehood akin to those that inform you that your hair will grow back coarser if you shave it (myth), or that you shouldn’t go swimming for 30 minutes after eating lest you drown in a fit of cramps (myth).â€
According to many vets, the problem in that particular scenario was that the dog ate and drank too quickly, causing the boating problems. When dogs drink or eat too quickly, they inhale too much air alongside that food or water; this air then fills their stomachs, putting them at risk for GDV. Make no mistake, bloat is dangerous and CAN kill your dog, it is just not caused by ice water.
There is nothing wrong with giving your dog ice water to drink, but wither give only small amounts at a time so that the dogs does not gulp too much at once, or give him or her ice-cubes to eat which will cool them off but take a bit longer to be metabolised.
When the fluid level in a dog drops below normal levels due to overheating from extreme temperatures, illness or an increase in physical exercise, a dog could become dehydrated. Dehydration is especially prevalent in puppies, either from too little water intake or increased fluid loss due to a bad bout of vomiting or diarrhoea.
A dog left in a hot car without fresh air or drinking water will get dehydrated very quickly, and this could lead to illness and even death, which is why it is NEVER a good idea to leave your dog locked up in your car, even for just a few minutes.
When the fluid level in a dog drops below normal levels due to overheating from extreme temperatures, illness or an increase in physical exercise, a dog could become dehydrated. Dehydration is especially prevalent in puppies, either from too little water intake or increased fluid loss due to a bad bout of vomiting or diarrhoea.
A dog left in a hot car without fresh air or drinking water will get dehydrated very quickly, and this could lead to illness and even death, which is why it is NEVER a good idea to leave your dog locked up in your car, even for just a few minutes. See More at : water coolers London and water dispensers.
