Mary Allen
Ah, snow! The white splendor is enticing and fun for most dogs. However, they should not eat snow. We explain why.
Eat snow? Please do not!
In winter you will have often observed that your dog eats chunks of snow. The dog plays happily in the snow and repeatedly takes in small amounts of it. You probably didn’t give this a second thought, but ingesting the snow is harmful to the dog.
The dog’s gastric mucous membranes can be irritated by the cold and above all by dirt in the snow. In this case, one speaks of an inflammation of the gastric mucosa (gastritis). Gastritis caused by snow or dirt is called snow gastritis.
In addition, there can be dirt, road salt, and grit in the snow. All of these substances are particularly harmful to the dog’s gastric mucosa. In addition, the road salt often contains antifreeze, which can also lead to poisoning!
Paradoxically, the special smell and taste of the road salt can encourage the dog to eat even more snow. You should absolutely avoid this.
What are the symptoms of gastritis?
Symptoms of gastritis include abdominal pain, vomiting, fever, diarrhea, a “gurgling” in the stomach, choking, drooling, and coughing. Not all of these symptoms need to appear. However, if you notice one or more of these symptoms after your pet has eaten snow, it is advisable to see a veterinarian. He can examine your animal and determine whether gastritis is actually present.
What can you do for your animal?
It is particularly important not to give the animal any medication or dietary supplements unless they have been explicitly prescribed or recommended by the veterinarian.
A bland diet is advisable for your dog when suffering from snow gastritis. For this purpose, light meals should be administered, so that the irritated and inflamed gastric mucosa can calm down.
It is also advisable not to give the animal cold water, but to warm it up to room temperature.
How can I stop my dog from eating snow?
Keeping the dog from eating the snow is usually relatively easy if you don’t encourage it to do so. This includes, for example, not throwing snowballs, as this encourages them to catch and eat them. If your dog eats snow without your doing anything, stop it with your usual command (e.g. “Off” or “No”).
Important: Do not just prohibit, but offer a great alternative such as retrieval or a hidden object game. Then the dog will quickly find them much more exciting than the snow and will soon leave the unwanted meal altogether.
Once your dog has understood this, something is done for the bond with the dog and nothing stands in the way of wonderful walks in the snowy winter landscape.