Ice/ice water & Dogs - Page 2

ps4570 · 08-28-2007, 02:01 PM

I'm glad you thought to post this email here. I saw it also and we decided we wouldn't be putting ice in the dog's water anymore.

There was a really good article in the AKC Gazette this month on bloat. It doesn't discuss ice cubes, but it is available on the web if anyone is interested...
From the August 2007 AKC GAZETTE

reddobes · 08-28-2007, 08:08 PM

I just want to caution people about taking things floating around the internet as gospel. There is so much we don't know about GDV in dogs and the most recent studies mention nothing about cold/ice water. In fact, if you try to search the web about it, mostly what comes up are just links to this same letter. And in many of the post op treatment protocols they recommend starting with ice chips (like they frequently do in people who have surgery). If the letter is in fact a true letter, it is still only ONE vet's OPINION. Will I stop giving my dogs ice cubes because of this letter? No. Most of the studies on GDV in dogs are retrospective and they look at associations, not PROVEN cause/effect. The most recent prospective studies where done at Purdue university and found after following over 1600 dogs of large/giant breeds for 5 years that the only statistically significant risks were: raised food bowl, increased age, sibling/parent/offspring w/ GDV, and eating rapidly.

There have been a lot of conflicting papers/studies on GDV. Bottom line: there's a lot we don't know. IMO certain dogs are probably going to get it regardless of what we try to do to prevent it. My own Dobe had GDV surgery when she was 9. There was nothing specific that preceded it. She ate the same way and did all the same things she did almost every other day for the previous 9 yrs.

more info:
http://www.addl.purdue.edu/newslette...canine-acd.htm
you can also search on www.pubmed.gov for abstracts of veterinary and human medical articles.

I don't mean to offend anyone, by writing this, but just think of all the emails that get passed around to all of us about "this test" or "that cancer" or whatever that have no validity. Or how we hear every other day on the news that this food or that food is bad for us, but then 1 year later...

It's so easy for misinformation to spread on the internet or in the dog world. All I am saying is look at the sources of info, research further, take things with a grain of salt

SNCBOOM · 08-28-2007, 10:35 PM

Dozer love to chew ice cubes up. I give him several per day and he has never shown symptoms like that.

DreamDoby · 08-29-2007, 12:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reddobes

I just want to caution people about taking things floating around the internet as gospel. There is so much we don't know about GDV in dogs and the most recent studies mention nothing about cold/ice water. In fact, if you try to search the web about it, mostly what comes up are just links to this same letter. And in many of the post op treatment protocols they recommend starting with ice chips (like they frequently do in people who have surgery). If the letter is in fact a true letter, it is still only ONE vet's OPINION. Will I stop giving my dogs ice cubes because of this letter? No. Most of the studies on GDV in dogs are retrospective and they look at associations, not PROVEN cause/effect. The most recent prospective studies where done at Purdue university and found after following over 1600 dogs of large/giant breeds for 5 years that the only statistically significant risks were: raised food bowl, increased age, sibling/parent/offspring w/ GDV, and eating rapidly.

There have been a lot of conflicting papers/studies on GDV. Bottom line: there's a lot we don't know. IMO certain dogs are probably going to get it regardless of what we try to do to prevent it. My own Dobe had GDV surgery when she was 9. There was nothing specific that preceded it. She ate the same way and did all the same things she did almost every other day for the previous 9 yrs.

more info:
http://www.addl.purdue.edu/newslette...canine-acd.htm
you can also search on www.pubmed.gov for abstracts of veterinary and human medical articles.

I don't mean to offend anyone, by writing this, but just think of all the emails that get passed around to all of us about "this test" or "that cancer" or whatever that have no validity. Or how we hear every other day on the news that this food or that food is bad for us, but then 1 year later...

It's so easy for misinformation to spread on the internet or in the dog world. All I am saying is look at the sources of info, research further, take things with a grain of salt

I am not preaching how to treat your dogs. I am not telling you to stop doing this or that. I am simply passing something on that I found interesting. You can take it or leave it. That is your decision. As you stated, there is a lot that we don't know about GDV. So, in knowing that, don't be so quick to push theories out the window. Just because it hasn't happened to you or a hundred other dogs, does not mean that it cannot happen.

I personally do not give my dogs ice water and have never given it to them. I do not feel that my dogs need ice water to cool off faster. I do give them ice cubes in moderation because they like to chew on them. Will I change my practice, probably not. I have used ice for teething when nothing else worked in the past.

**Chaz** · 08-29-2007, 01:26 AM

What about snow?

All my guys like to chomp mouth-fulls of snow on our winter hikes.

reddobes · 08-29-2007, 01:37 PM

Dream Doby,
I wasn't trying to imply that you were preaching. One of the problems with emails/written words is that it is hard to convey tone. Things can sound different than they were intended. After seeing some of the repsonses to your post. I just wanted to bring up the point that people should do their own research on things before making a decision on what to feed/not feed or how to care for their dogs.
I wrote what I did because there are internet "scares" all the time... Febreeze comes to mind. I get emails forwarded to me almost daily by my aunt about this or that. And many of these scares have some basis in truth, but get twisted into something that's not true. Because of this there is a whole website dedicated to confirming/dispelling rumors/urban legends.
www.snopes.com

Again, I wasn't implying that you were saying anyone on here SHOULD do this or that, I just wanted to remind people to not jump to conclusions and to use more than just one letter posted on the internet to make their decisions. I wasn't trying to start a debate or insult/offend anyone.
And thank you for saying that you were just passing along something you found interesting.
My other reason for posting was that I wanted to share some important info on GDV (the Purdue link/study) so those who don't know much about the disease can get more info and see what studies have been done.

Monica · 08-31-2007, 08:00 PM

Thank you for sharing! I am glad to hear that Baran is doing better! Hope he continues on his way back to 100%

RedstarDog · 09-05-2007, 01:17 PM

Stella hates ice, along with anything else that is crunchy, but i do give her water from the fridge door. it comes out pretty cold. i usually do that just because its filtered and the faucet water isnt. should i stop giving her cool water from the fridge dispenser and just give her normal temp water?

Makaveli · 07-02-2008, 01:20 PM

OMFG!!! Thank you sooo much for this thread!!!! Cleo loves ice like no tomorrow....and I kept on giving it to her...no problems but that probably explains the loose stools....she loves chewing on them or just simply licking them. But I'm gonna cut down her ice cubes to 2 every morning when she wakes up and 2 when she has her last meal. THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Doberdog** · 07-04-2008, 03:24 AM

Q eats ice all the time. Sometimes I put big handfulls in his water bowl and he fishes them out and eats them. Most times his stools are ok. Hmmmmmmm............ I'm terrified of bloat but he has done great and eats a lot of ice. Maybe I will cut him down, just in case, it can't hurt.