The dog doesn’t drink water but eats snow.
When asked why dogs like to eat snow, only they could answer for sure. We can only guess why our four-legged friends need this. Most likely, this behavior is based on the need to replenish the body’s fluid supply. Here are some likely reasons:
- The dog is thirsty. The water from the bowl does not always seem fresh enough to the dog. Especially if the owner does not change it too often. Newly fallen snow seems much more refreshing and clean – with its help, it is more pleasant to quench your thirst.
- Genetic predisposition. Before domestication, wild dogs ate snow to drink. Perhaps this behavior was passed on to modern domestic animals through genes from their ancestors.
- Health problems. If your pet consumes too much liquid, including trying to eat snow, you should take him to the veterinarian. This may be a consequence of kidney or thyroid disease, as well as Cushing’s disease.
- The process is enjoyable. At first, the dog is curious to taste the snow, and then he continues to eat it simply because he likes the pleasant chill in his mouth.
Can dogs eat snow?
Snow is a natural atmospheric phenomenon: ice crystals fall to the ground as precipitation, forming snow cover. At first glance, there is nothing wrong with a pet eating some clean snow. But this is only in nature, away from big cities. In large cities, eating even a small amount of snow precipitation will most likely harm your dog’s health.
Pure snow in large doses is also not good for the animal. An inevitable decrease in body temperature and hypothermia occurs. The dog’s stomach takes hypothermia hard – its mucous membrane becomes inflamed. The inflammation continues for several days, and as a result, the dog vomits – it loses fluid and salts. In this case, you need to give lukewarm meat broth. If the liquid does not remain in the stomach, you should contact a veterinary clinic.
When your pet has eaten enough snow in a metropolis, the situation is much more serious. In cities, snow during winter accumulates a lot of waste and chemicals:
- Anti-icing reagents;
- Garbage;
- Butts;
All this, if ingested by an animal, can cause severe poisoning, and even death. Accidentally swallowing objects undetected under a layer of snow can easily cause tooth breakage, damage to mucous membranes, or even intestinal blockage.
How to stop a dog from eating snow outside?
To protect the animal, it is better not to allow it to eat snow. Of course, it won’t be easy to completely ban, but several ways will help teach your pet to be calmer about cold treats:
- Provide a comfortable place for your dog to drink. Choose a comfortable bowl, wash it regularly, and change the water to fresh and clean water.
- Control the direction of movement of the animal on the street using a leash – avoid deposits of dirty and stagnant snow.
- Bring treats or toys for walks to distract your dog’s attention from the snow.
- Protect your animal’s paws from reagents by using boots or thoroughly washing their paws every time they return home from a walk.
- At the moment when the dog is about to take snow into its mouth, strictly and decisively pronounce the command “Fu!” The pet will understand that this cannot be done, and after several repetitions, it will stop trying.
City snow, especially not freshly fallen snow, but compacted snow after numerous thaws, is not safe for animals. Allow your pet to frolic only in clean snowdrifts, somewhere outside the city, in nature, or a park. If the dog ate some clean snow, nothing bad would happen. But if it seems to you that she has eaten snow with harmful substances or swallowed a foreign object, immediately show her to the veterinarian.
