Why Do Dogs Get Sick After Eating Snow?
Lets take a look at why dogs can get sick after eating snow.
First and foremost, eating a lot of snow could create an upset stomach in dogs because in a dog with a sensitive stomach, his stomach may react to all that water being gulped at once (and also cold on top of it), and therefore, reacts by causing vomiting–just as some dogs do when they gulp all their water at once and vomit it up just minutes later.
Of course, there are also those cases where a dog vomiting after eating snow is just coincidental, and the vomiting is actually due to something else.
On top of all that, dogs can get an upset stomach because the snow is dirty or contaminated with something that disagrees with their stomach. This is where things get more problematic. One main concern in this case is if the snow was treated with ice melt, also known as rock salt.
Ice Melt (Rock Salt) Is Dangerous for Dogs
Most ice melt products contain sodium chloride, potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, calcium salts or some other urea-based material.
According to Caley Chambers with the Pet Poison Helpline, sodium chloride (which is “salt”) can cause vomiting and diarrhea, but if large amounts are ingested, the dog can develop sodium toxicosis which can turn lethal if a dose of 4 grams per kilogram is ingested. Signs of trouble involve the nervous system with dehydration, high respiratory rate, high heartbeat and an elevated temperature.
Potassium chloride salts instead may cause severe gastrointestinal upset, with bloody vomiting and diarrhea. In dogs with impaired kidney function, it can also cause high levels of potassium in the blood.
Ice melts with magnesium chloride can cause gastrointestinal upset, and may also cause the build-up of high levels of magnesium in the blood in dogs with impaired kidney function.
The most irritant ice melts are those containing calcium carbonate, calcium chloride and calcium magnesium acetate. Affected dogs may develop severe gastrointestinal upset along with local skin irritations to skin and paws.
Luckily, some ice melts are less harmful than others. Generally, ice melts containing urea cause drooling and mild digestive upset. These urea-based products wont dry up the dogs paws as others, but they work poorly to melt snow. However, large ingestion may cause tremors, weakness and high levels of methemoglobin in the blood.
In some cases, your dog wont eat snow, but he will lick his paws and may ingest rock salt stuck to his paws. Veterinarian Debra Promovic explains that these small amounts may cause mouth irritation, nausea, drooling and vomiting.
Larger amounts of rock salt are often ingested by dogs who drink from puddles of melted snow. On top of that, walking on ice melt dries up a dogs paws and may cause cracks that turn out being painful by the presence of salt.
Warning: What to Do If Your Dog Is Sick From Ice Melt
If your dog ate snow and is feeling sick, see your vet. If you suspect your dog ate snow that contains ice melt, immediately call the Pet Poison Hotline at 800-213-6680 (there is a $39 per incident fee) or consult with your vet immediately.
Fresh, clean snow is good, clean fun
As a rule of thumb, if the snow is fresh enough for you to catch it on your tongue, it’s probably fine for your dog to lap it up in small quantities. After all, it’s essentially crystalized water.
The only real danger with fresh snow is if your dog eats too much of it. Gobbling up large quantities of snow could trigger vomiting, like what can happen when dogs gulp too much water at once. It could also lower your dog’s core body temperature, making it more difficult to stay warm when the temperatures are already chilly.
If your dog obsessively overindulges in snow, it may be a sign of an underlying health problem, such as diabetes, a kidney condition or Cushing’s disease. Consult with your veterinarian if you suspect something serious.
Can Dogs Get Sick From Cold Weather? | Wag!
To some dogs, new-fallen snow is a blank canvas, asking for zigzagging tracks and the canine version of snow angels. But other dogs see it as a giant sno-cone, beckoning their tongues like glistening sugar.
No one can say what, exactly, compels dogs to lap up the frozen white stuff. Maybe your dog is simply thirsty, or maybe the snow is fresher than what’s currently in their water bowl. Perhaps he or she likes the granular texture or the refreshing sense of something cold melting on the tongue. It could even be a throwback to a Northern-breed ancestor that relied on snow to stay hydrated.
And do dogs get an ice cream headache or brain freeze when they indulge in snow? No one knows for sure.