Can Dogs Eat Ice Cream?
1Spring is right around the corner and it is time to get outdoors and enjoy quality time with your pup. When the weather begins to warm up, you might think about heading to your favorite ice cream shop with your dog and allowing him or her to have an ice cream cone of their own. Seems like a loving and perfectly safe gesture, doesn’t it? Can dogs eat ice cream? Unfortunately, the truth is that experts including the American Kennel Club advise against giving ice cream to dogs.
Why Shouldn’t Dogs Eat Ice Cream?
The first reason why it isn’t a good idea to give ice cream to dogs is that after they have weaned out of their puppy stage, their bodies do not have the necessary enzyme that is needed to break down the lactose that is found in milk.
As a result, many adult dogs are lactose intolerant. If you feed these dogs ice cream, they may experience symptoms that include gas, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, or loose stools.
Another possible scenario that can occur if you feed your dog ice cream is that they can experience an allergic reaction to it. They may develop a red, itchy skin rash, accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea.
If your dog is overweight, feeding them ice cream isn’t going to help the situation at all. Since ice cream is packed with sugar and calories, regularly feeding your dog ice cream is opening the door to obesity problems in your dog. If you buy sugarless ice cream, this is potentially more dangerous. Many times, manufacturers replace sugar with xylitol, which is very toxic to dogs.
Should you decide to feed your dog ice cream anyway, be sure to avoid any ice cream with flavors, particularly chocolate. A dog’s body cannot digest chocolate and it will make him or her very sick if they ingest it. Instead, if you must give your dog ice cream, choose vanilla instead of flavors that may make them sick.
What You Can Feed Your Dog Instead
Thankfully, there are alternatives to ice cream that your dog will enjoy just as much. All you need to do is freeze some fat-free plain yogurt and let them munch away. If you are looking for something with a little more flavor, blend up some bananas and spoon them in an ice cube mold.
What to Do If Your Dog Ate Ice Cream on Accident
If your dog got into your ice cream without you giving it to them, start by looking at the flavor and how much they ate of it. If it was plain vanilla, they are probably just fine. They might just have an upset tummy.
On the other hand, if your dog ate ice cream with dangerous ingredients such as nuts, grapes, raisins, coffee, or artificial sweeteners, it would be a good idea to go ahead and contact Animal Poison Control or take your dog directly to their veterinarian.
The bottom-line regarding ice cream for dogs is that there are too many questionable ingredients that can make your dog sick. However, one lick off of a vanilla cone isn’t going to likely be a big deal.