Warning - Dogs and Ice Cubes

[The Iron Giant]

OP says the volunteer gave them a note. That note was probably a print-out of the forwarded email. It's an email forward that's gone around for several years.

Eh... sure seems like the OP was passing off the person who gave the note as the same person in the story.

 

[Aimeedyan]

Eh... sure seems like the OP was passing off the person who gave the note as the same person in the story.

I can see it being read that way. Even the dog's name is the same from the original email hoax that was started a few years ago.

 

[MichelleVW]

Found this on a pet med site about this hoax.

http://www.petmd.com/blogs/fullyvetted/2010/july/internet_myths

 

[Mrs. Darcy]

I volunteer for a local dog adoption group. Recently, we got a note from a person who also volunteers. It was a real eye opener.

She shows dogs. Recently, she showed her dog Baran. It was a very hot day in Florida. After his work out, she put him in his crate to cool off. .

Oh how horrible for her, what a scare. How's Baran doing now?

 

[goofy!]

Somethings not kosher here... if this whole dog/ice/bloat story is an email hoax then why is the OP claiming that she works with the lady who reportedly experienced this true story?

Eh... sure seems like the OP was passing off the person who gave the note as the same person in the story.

I can see it being read that way. Even the dog's name is the same from the original email hoax that was started a few years ago.

this is the original bogus spam e-mail:

WARNING regarding Ice Water and Ice Cubes in your Dogs [sic] Water Bowl

Hello Everyone,

I am writing this in hopes that some may learn from what I just went through. We were having a good weekend till Saturday. On Saturday I showed my Baran and left the ring. He was looking good and at the top of his game. He had a chance at no less then one of the two AOM's.

It did not work out that way. After showing we went back to our site/set up and got the dogs in their crates to cool off. After being back about 30 min. I noticed Baran was low on water. I took a hand full of ice from my cooler and put it in his bucket with more water. We then started to get all the dogs Ex'ed and food ready for them.

I had Baran in his 48' crate in the van because this is the place he loves to be. He loves to be able to see everyone and everything. After checking him and thinking he was cooled off enough, we fed him. We walked around and one of my friends stated that Baran seamed like he was choking. I went over and checked on him. He was dry heaving and 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 minute 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 rushed Baran to a vet clinic. We called ahead and let them know we were on our way. They were set up and waiting for us. They got Baran stablized very quickly. After Baran was stable and out of distress we transported him 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 Baran is doing great, there was no damage to any vital organs, and he still loves his food.

In surgery the vet found that Baran's stomach was in its normal anatomic position. We went over what had happened. When I told the vet about the ice water, he asked why I gave him ice water. I said that I have always done this. I told him my history behind this practice and his reply was, "I have been very lucky." The ice water I gave Baran caused violent muscle spasms in his stomach which caused the bloating. Even though I figured his temperature was down enough to feed, and gave him this ice water, I was wrong. His internal temperature was still high. The vet stated that giving a dog ice to chew or ice water is a big NO, NO! There is no reason for a dog to have ice/ice water. Normal water at room temperature, or cooling with cold towels on the inner thigh, is the best way to help cool a dog. The vet explained it to me like this: If you, as a person, fall into a frozen lake what happens to your muscles? They cramp. This is the same as a 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. Baran is home now doing fine. So please if you do use ice and ice water, beware of what could happen.

As Aimeedyan mentioned, even the name of the dog in the OP's warning is the same as in the spam e-mail. As it is an unusual name, the person that reported to the OP and her rescue group that this was a friend was really only quoting a viral e-mail they received. Not the OP's fault, but the fault of the person passing on false information to the OP's rescue group, making it seem more valid by couching it as a personal experience.

I've shown my Koms for years and every single handler, breeder, show person I know of gives ice to their dogs in the heat.

I show conformation, so trotting around a small ring 3 or 4 times is not exactly taxing for a dog. I can see perhaps taking a few more precautions if your dog just did several fly ball, agility runs or field trial runs, but not conformation

If there is a hint of truth to the above viral e-mail, the dog's problems were not of the ice water, but that the dog's internal temperature was so high due to being left in a crate in a van. A huge, HUGE no-no. Everybody knows you don't leave children and pets in cars.

Since even the experts who have studied bloat for a decade now don't understand how or why it happens, sometimes it might be better to be safe than sorry.

Our breeders, who have been breeders of Koms for over 30 years, are AKC judges and have sat on AKC panels (so beyond dog experienced) and have a breed that is prone to bloat, have always recommended we give ice cubes as a nice cooling, non-fattening treat to our dogs in the heat.

One of our Koms will come running when she hears the ice maker on the fridge go as she absolutely loves ice cubes.

 

[Nonie12]

Thanks so much for the info! Last night I was letting my dog lick one. I'll never make that mistake again. Is it still safe if you drop it in the water bowl?

 

[LilyWDW]

Thanks so much for the info! Last night I was letting my dog lick one. I'll never make that mistake again. Is it still safe if you drop it in the water bowl?

Read the rest of the thread... you will see the story is a known email hoax.

While the dangers of bloat are real, the OP's story is not.