What happens if my dog eats too much snow? Here’s What to Expect

Why do dogs eat snow?

Dogs love snow for several reasons. First of all, it’s fun to play with. It’s impossible for them, in front of a white ground, not to run back and forth, dig a thousand holes and roll around. Besides curiosity, dogs love snow because it’s fresh. The sensation that comes from contact with such a different substance is truly satisfying. When they get hot from running around, they seek freshness and relief by eating a few flakes, and then they want more!

So, the reasons why a dog eats snow are obvious: to play, because of thirstiness, and to lower the temperature when they feel hot.

What happens if the dog eats snow?

If the dog eats a little snow, nothing happens, but if he is greedy and swallows a lot of it, he could have major health problems.

The main consequences of snow indigestion include:

– a cooling of the digestive system and consequent intestinal congestion with diarrhea;

– a cooling of the stomach which causes vomiting;

cold or even symptoms of canine pneumonia.

In addition to being cold and unhealth, snow can contain bacteria or harmful substances that cause him severe nausea, diarrhea, loss of many fluids and in the most serious cases dehydration.

Is it bad for dogs to eat snow?

According to the expert, eating snow is not a problem in and of itself. Indeed, “the prevailing scientific opinion is it’s OK for your dog to eat clean, fresh snow in small amounts,” says Dr. Kurt. However, that doesn’t make it an entirely risk-free behavior. In fact, eating snow can be downright dangerous when the snow in question is concealing foreign objects (i.e., rocks, sticks or garbage) or contaminated with toxic chemicals, like those used to prevent freezing on roads and sidewalks. For this same reason, Dr. Kurt also advises dog owners to be on the lookout for green or blue puddles of liquid on the ground, which could be antifreeze—a sweet-tasting chemical that’s extremely dangerous when ingested.

Furthermore, Dr. Kurt cautions against allowing your dog to dig into hard-packed snow or chunks of ice, which “can be difficult for dogs to chew and could potentially cause dental issues.” The takeaway? A mouthful of freshly-fallen snow is fine every once in a while, but if you do allow the behavior, you’ll need to keep a watchful eye, as dirty snow can be seriously bad news for dogs.

What happens if my dog eats too much snow?

A dog eats snow

Learn why dogs like to eat snow, why they can get sick from it, and how eating snow can be dangerous.

Dogs and snow, what a great concoction, as much as Rover loves snow, snow though may sometimes disagree with his stomach. What gives? Whatever the scenario, its not totally uncommon for Rover to develop an upset stomach after eating too much snow. Yet its important to look at what may cause this form of digestive upset, as in some cases, vomiting after eating snow may be a sign or troublesome poisoning. And of course, if your dog is sick, see a vet immediately!

Well, for starters, dogs are attracted to snow. Its fun to play with it, and then the dog will be interested in mouthing it. You may be tossing snowballs to Rover and Rover catches them and they break off and melt in his mouth. Snowball after snowball, hes ingested a whole lot that he soon then feels sick to his stomach.

If the dog plays around a lot, he may start warming up and next thing you know, he discovers that snow feels good in his mouth, even better than water! So hell start quenching his thirst by eating snow. Be warned: some dogs like snow so much that theyll seek snow more than water and will eat snow more and more and drink water from their water, less and less. Snow can become addicting!

Some dogs who are nauseous already may eat lots of snow in hopes of triggering vomiting. Normally, they would eat grass to accomplish this, but with all grass buried under a mantle of snow, the snow would be their next (and possibly only) option. By the way, an interesting note: the exact term for animals who self-medicate themselves is “zoocognopharmacy.”