Would you feed a dog ice cream?

[Larkspur]

Dogs can sense when some things are bad for them, I tried giving mine a little bit of onion and he wouldn't touch it (thank god cos they're poisonous!! I didn't know!) but with sweet things they won't have a clue, they'll eat anything it's not because they 'like it'

Sadly this is not true at all. My dog ate dark chocolate once and I had to get his stomach pumped (a kid at a party fed it to him). And my friend's dog ate slug bait and died.

Chocolate icecream won't kill a dog (concentration is too low) but I imagine that paired with the dairy in the icecream, it won't make its tummy feel too good. I wouldn't want to be the one cleaning up the garden afterwards either, IYKWIM.

For anyone who doesn't know, the most toxic human food items for dogs (in order) are dark chocolate (60+percent, although a huge amount of milk chocolate could be fatal for a small dog), macadamia nuts, raisins and grapes, onions and avocado.

 

[girlnboots]

My parents' dog ate 2 pounds of grapes and didn't even get so much as the shits. Just goes to show some dogs don't always get affected by toxic things.

I think the key word in most of these posts is SOME. Obviously, every dog is different.

 

[Belle25]

@Belle25 - Ah only some dogs? I never knew they did it til my dog wouldn't eat onion so I googled it Idk if he'd sense everything but he doesn't seem to go near things that are bad for him - he's not even keen on water! Hope your aunts dog was ok though xx

I wonder if having more than one dog perhaps makes them eat anything? My mum had two dalmatians, and they had to be fed separately and they ate so fast they would gag!! So I know you could have given them anything to eat, as it was like eat now, taste after! it was due to the competition for food I guess

But my ohs parents dog is on her own and she is such a fussy dog! She has them tearing their hair out trying to get her to eat anything! mind you, she is a diva.

Guess they are all different like people are.

My aunts dog was fine-she went on to eat part of a sofa, newspapers, some shoes and flowers...that dog was insane. But lovely. Xx

 

[amytrisha]

Sadly this is not true at all. My dog ate dark chocolate once and I had to get his stomach pumped (a kid at a party fed it to him). And my friend's dog ate slug bait and died

I didn't mean with all dogs, my dog just seems to avoid certain things that are bad for him, he'd probably eat a lot of toxic things but certain ones he sniffs & walks away like he knows iykwim? I do think it depends on the dog

 

[Indi84]

I just wanted to point out not all human food is bad for dogs, that is what dog food is made out of after all (chicken, rice, barley, etc) and like someone else my dogs get carrots everyday, they are great for their teeth!

It's mostly manufactured things that are bad for them (and a few others like onions, garlic, raisins) So chocolate, ice cream, coffee (yes it happens!) etc!

Also some dog foods aren't great for dogs, there are two very popular brands of dog food that don't do much for them, in fact at the vets we could always tell when a dog ate them due to their particular odour...! Though good quality dog food is obv great for them!

Edit, that sounded preachy, didn't mean it to, sorry!

 

[dgirllamius]

My brother has a dog and she pinches anything that's within reach. Yesterday she pinched some of this marshmallow things covered in chocolate, a whole bag of sultanas and a whole packet of cream crackers. Needless to say, she had the runs and vomited pretty much everything up. She has pinched so much and been sick that I'm not surprised it hasn't killed her off. She has also nicked frozen stuff like meat, ice cream, fish etc. We even had to put a lock on the fridge because she was able to get in there and take everything.

Thing is, my brother is just a dumbass and doesn't put food away - just leaves it there and has no thought of the fact that she WILL nick it. 9 times out of 10 the things she nicks makes her sick. I am really surprised she is still standing after the stuff she's taken.

 

[Twister]

Oh yeah like I said i'm not against giving a dog human food within reason but when its something like their own bowl of ice cream which isn't really that healthy for us let alone an animal I couldn't help but raise an eye brow.

My dad's dogs won't eat dog food so they get things like pigs trotters, animal hearts etc from the butchers which gets cooked with vegetables.

 

[Pirate]

I would never give my dog ice cream! I have given him Frosty Paws (doggie ice cream) and he frequently gets fruits and/or veggies as treats (he has a really sensitive stomach and can't handle anything with corn or wheat in it). He also gets boiled chicken breast and white rice every year for his birthday.

 

[shelx]

Definitely not. Dogs eat dog food and like it so why give them my ice cream not to mention its bad for them.

 

[Kittycat155]

Well all "dog food" is is just human food or any other animal for that matter. Dog food companies are still finding out new things to some extent. I would feed ice cream as long as it is in proportion to the dogs size(not giving a packed bowl to a 10 dog) and that the dogs diet is generally healthy and exercise given to burn it off.

My 2 get treats left and right(leftovers,dropped items...). 30 and 50 lbs. The little one is still a puppy so weight is not much of an issue from all the energy she burns. The 50lber stays within a few lbs and I watch as was told she did get pretty chunky at one time but I have not had much issue with her weight.

 

[Nela]

I make my dog proper meals a lot of the time. However, I always cook his separately as to not have the fats and spices, etc. in them. So, if I grill him straight chicken with green beans and rice, that will all be separate from what ours would be like. Saying all this to show that I'm totally fine with dogs eating human food.

Puck will get a lick of ice cream just to say he had a taste but I would never give him a bowl of it. However, that being said, if they love feeding him that way, how about you suggest doggy ice cream recipes? I know you can blend banana, peanut butter, and yogurt together and freeze it into ice trays. Now, I know that does contain sugar and yogurt is dairy but not all dogs are intolerant. Either way, it would be healthier than what he is getting now. Even if they freeze a banana in pieces, freeze that, and then blend it til it's a soft ice cream consistency, that would still be healthier than the other ice cream. Even a piece of frozen watermelon could be good.

I think for them, it's all about spoiling their pup and wanting pup happy so if you could redirect them towards healthier alternatives, that might work? Even if you have to print out a few very easy recipes and make it into a cute, simple booklet, it might show them that you care and also want to enable them to spoil the pup instead of just taking away the treat completely. It's a stretch, but it just might work.

 

[smokey]

Probably not but saying that the dog we used to have about 10 years ago ate everything we ate, this was back long before we knew chocolate was bad for them she even used to have her own easter egg
She lived over 18 years so chocolate and ice cream and stuff never did her any harm.
Now that we know better I wouldn't because the dog we have now has a delicate tummy so a bit of ice cream would have her scraping her butt all over the garden
I do wonder sometimes though if there is something in what my dad used to say "bring a dog up to eat anything and it will never go hungry" because all the dogs we had before all ate anything and everything and lived very long lives with no stomach problems yet the 2 dogs we had since and all the in law dogs have been brought up on carful diets yet if they accidently eat something they shouldn't they are ill for ages all over the place.

 

[Siyren]

oh god know! casper is allergic to pretty much everything it seems- from when he's managaed to get into the bin or lyss has managed to sneak him something. he's highly lactose intolerant, even raw hide makes him sick.
he had a closely monitored diet, with the odd human supplement (like veggies or brown rice) just to make his food a little more interesting. he has a specially ordered hypoallergenic food through a local, small business, specialist pet shop.
he's in excellent health though x

 

[mrs_park]

My best friend breeds prize winning dogs and would be HORRIFIED to read this. I know people think they are pampering their animals by giving them treats and human food but it's doing them more harm than good. Dairy and chocolate are so bad for dogs. They are made to eat lean meat and that's what they should be eating. Give them some ice water to cool them down if they are hot.

 

[Wiggler]

I wouldn't give icecream, if it's hot I would mix water and chicken juice from when we roast a chicken and freeze it to make doggy ice lollies.

 

[Belle25]

I wouldn't give icecream, if it's hot I would mix water and chicken juice from when we roast a chicken and freeze it to make doggy ice lollies.

Aww doggy ice lollys! What a fab idea. Wil be telling my in laws this for their dog! Xx

 

[mara16jade]

Only in moderation and for special occasions. We give a little scoop of vanilla (NEVER chocolate) on their birthdays.

 

[july2013]

Our dog Boston gets all of our leftovers, and I always would let him lick out the end of an ice cream tub or whatever. But I wouldn't give him his own bowl of ice cream. I like the dog ice lollie idea! I might try that seeing as the weather is so nice right now!

 

[amytrisha]

I wouldn't give icecream, if it's hot I would mix water and chicken juice from when we roast a chicken and freeze it to make doggy ice lollies.

That's a great idea!

 

[Scoobys mummy]

I used to boil up their dry kibble with some long grain rice and pour the mix into lolly moulds...they loved it. Stank though lol