Myth – Ice Water Can Cause Dangerous Bloating in Dogs
The original site is no longer online; links go to the Internet Archive copy.
The claim
Long-running Internet warning claims that pet owners should never give their dogs ice water and cites a case of a show dog that suffered severe bloat after drinking water with ice in it.
Beware giving ice water or feeding ice cubes!
This is something all dog owners should know. Even with the smallest breeds need to remember never to give dogs iced or very cold water.This was posted on another board with permission to cross post in the hopes of saving another dog from having to go through this awful experience.After showing we went back to our site/set up and got the dogs in their crates to cool off. After being back about 30min. I noticed **** was low on water. I took a hand full of ice from my cooler and put it in his bucket with more water. (Note: I use a small Playmate cooler at ringside with ice water in it also. Have for over 15 years now) I use small 2qt. buckets in my crates. He had maybe ½ a bucket when I placed him in his crate after coming back from the ring. We all then started to get all the dogs Ex’ed and food ready for them.
I have an 18 foot trailer with AC and set up, as a rolling kennel it fits 7- 42″ crates, and MY express Van holds 1- 48″, 1- 42″, and 3- 36″, crates. All the crates in the van have 24 ” box fans over them. I had **** in his 48′ crate in the van because that is the place he loves to be. He loves to be able to see everyone and everything. After checking the dogs and thinking they were cooled off enough we fed everyone. As we were walking around removing the feed dishes from the crates, one of my friends stated that **** seamed like he was choking. I went over and checked on him and he was dry heaving and was drooling. I got him out of the crate to check him over and noticed he had not eaten. He was in some distress. I checked him over from head to toe and did not notice anything. I walked him around for about a min. when I noticed that he was starting to Bloat. I did everything I was taught to do in this case. I was not able to get him to burp, and we gave him Phasezime.
We jumped on the golf cart to take him down to the Show vet to find out that he did not have a bloat kit, He referred us to the clinic that was to be on call, but we found out that the clinic was closed. After finding another clinic that was open we rushed **** to that one. We called ahead and let them know that we were on our way. They were set up and waiting for us and they got **** stabilized very quickly. After **** was stable and out of distress we transported **** to AVREC where he went into surgery to make sure no damage was done to any of his vital organs. I am very happy to say that **** is doing great, there was no damage to any vital organs, and he still loves his food.
In surgery the doctor found that ***** stomach was in its normal anatomic position. The Doctor and I went over the events of what happened up to the point of **** Bloating. When I told him about the ice water he asked why I gave him ice water, and have I always done this. I told him my history behind this practice and his reply was “I have been very lucky for the past 15 years.” The ice water I gave **** caused violent Muscle spasm in his stomach which caused the bloating. Even though I figured his temp was down enough to feed, and give him this ice water his internal temp was still high. Dr. Vogf stated that giving dog’s ice to chew or ice water is a big NO, NO; there should be no reason for them to have ice/ice water. Normal water (room Temp.), or cooling with cold towels on the inter thigh, is the best way to help cool a dog. How Dr. Vogf explained it to me was like this:
If you, as a person fall into a frozen lake what happens to our muscles?
Think about that, then compare that to your dog’s stomach.
I felt the need to share this with everyone, in the hopes that some may learn from what I went through, I do not wish this on anyone. **** is home now doing fine. He does not like the fact that he has to be walked on lead in the yard to keep him from running. He hates not being able to go out and rough house with the others, but is doing great. So please if you do use ice and ice water, beware as what could happen.
What the fact-checkers found
This story was first published on July 11, 2013
The claims are untrue. Reports from veterinarians indicate that drinking ice or cold water is not inherently dangerous for dogs and does not cause bloat as claimed in the warning message. Drinking water too quickly is a known risk factor for bloat in dogs, but pet health experts do not consider the temperature of the water to be a factor. While the dog discussed in the message may have indeed suffered bloat, there is no evidence to support the claim that the condition was caused by iced water.
According to this warning, which has circulated via email and social media since 2007, pet owners should be aware of the dangers of giving their dogs iced or very cold water. The message claims that giving dogs iced water can cause a dangerous condition called bloat. It describes a case in which a show dog suffered bloat and had to receive urgent veterinary treatment after drinking water with ice in it.
The message claims that the attending vet, a Dr. Vogf, warned the dog’s owner that ice water caused bloat and she, therefore, took it on herself to broadcast the story via the Internet in an attempt to warn other dog owners.
However, veterinary experts have dismissed the claims in the message as false. Bloat is a real condition and can certainly be very dangerous to dogs. But, there is no credible evidence to support the claim that iced water can cause the condition.
A report about the claims on DogsHealth.com explains :
No, consuming ice or cold water does not, in itself, cause bloat. However, drinking the water or eating the ice too quickly can result in bloat, due to the dog swallowing lots of air while ingesting it.
In an article about the myth, Patty Khuly, VMD, MBA, notes :
Though undoubtedly well-intentioned, the problem is obvious: The writer is misguidedly offering up her story as a helpful truth. When, in fact, the information is unproven, unreliably sourced, unverified, and utterly unnecessarily disseminated to the public – to the potential detriment of dogs who may indeed benefit from drinking cold water or getting ice cubes in their water to brake their drinking binges.
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).
And veterinarian Dr. Audrey Harvey concurs, noting :
There have been rumors that ice and ice water causes a spasm of the stomach muscle in dogs, leading to a swollen stomach, and potentially fatal bloat. These rumors are not true.
Dr Harvey adds:
I think that what is more likely is that dogs are given ice or iced water to drink when they are hot and thirsty, for example after heavy exercise. Under these circumstances, they are very likely to drink a lot of water very quickly, and this is a known risk factor for bloat.
And, Dr. Page Wages of Oberlin Animal Hospital answers the question “ Can bloat be attributed to feeding your dog ice or ice water? ” as follows:
Not directly. If your dog drinks the ice water or eats the ice cubes too fast, there is a potential to lead to bloat.
Furthermore, while there are plenty of detailed veterinary resources describing bloat (gastric dilatation-volvulus) and how to deal with it, none that I have seen identify iced or cold water as a possible causative factor for the condition.
Thus, while the warning message may well describe a real incident of bloat, the condition was almost certainly not the result of a few ice cubes in the dog’s water. Other factors such as how quickly the dog actually drank the water are the more likely cause. The message notes that the dog was “low on water” before his owner added ice cubes and refilled his drinking bucket so it could well be that he had already gulped a good deal of water in a short period of time, a known risk factor for bloat.
The message does not identify the dog’s owner. Earlier versions of the message name the dog as “Baran”, and the dog show as the Steel Valley Cluster. However, the current social media version blocks out the dog’s name and omits the name of the dog show in an apparent attempt to protect the dog and his owner’s identity. Moreover, I could find no references to a veterinarian named “Dr. Vogf” other than in versions of the above warning.
It is important that Internet users verify via credible sources any pet (or human) health-related information their receive before sharing it with others. Sending on false or misleading health warnings can do more harm than good.
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