Dog eating snow

drizzellla · ‎03-14-2010

We have had a rough time getting our dog to eat. Finally the Vet recommended we give him puppy food. Well, he had been eating well since we started giving him puppy food. Until yesterday. He stopped eating again. He did eat earlier today but my husband just came in from a walk and said the dog got sick. He ate 12 hours ago so I doubt it was the food he ate 12 hours earlier.

Do you think it could be from him eating snow? My husband is careful and makes sure that it isn't snow that was near the street. He wants to make sure that there is no salt in the snow. It is rough as soon as the dog walks outside he wants to eat snow. So we try and make sure it is clean looking.

And it has become a habit, as soon as my husband asks the dog if he wants to walk, the dog goes to his bowl and drinks quite a bit of water. And then he goes out and wants to eat snow. So it isn't like he is thirsty.

Snow is the only thing we can think of that would make him sick. The snow fell Friday morning/afternoon so it isn't like it hasn't been sitting around too long.

grandma r · ‎10-26-2010

I don't know why clean snow would cause a problem. Sounds like something else may be going on. I would take the dog to the vet.

eddyandme · ‎09-24-2011

If my Eddy eas too much snow too fast, he'll throw up; then he's fine.

Carmie · ‎10-25-2010

One of my dogs eats snow and she vomits after she eats it...usually when we get home on my kitchen floor. It is clean snow.

I discourage her, but every chance she gets while on a walk, she gulps down a mouthful.

fthunt · ‎12-24-2010

Google says......................a dog can get sick if he gulps large amount of water or eats lots of snow. (if they have a sensitive stomach) So since your dogs gulps - fast and a lot of water - before his walk w/hubby - yea, sounds like drinking too fast can be the problem.

Try: don't ask dog if ready for walk - be sneaky - suddenly put lease on and out the door without chance for the water drink. Let us know.

drizzellla · ‎03-14-2010

We are going to make sure he doesn't eat any snow. Too bad we are expecting quite a bit of snow beginning this afternoon through Monday morning. It seems like that is the biggest reason that he goes out, to eat the snow.

The dog does have a sensitive stomach. We used to feed him what we were having for dinner. If we were having salmon or chicken. But he would not handle it too well. So we stick strictly to dog food and he has been doing better.

Thanks for all your input. I appreciate your comments and experience. And sorry that your dogs also have troubles eating snow. And I will watch his drinking water too.

Lilysmom · ‎03-09-2010

@drizzellla , I had an issue with my Lab once. She started vomiting. She couldn't keep her food down. We were really starting to worry because she was losing weight. Long story short, I did a lot research about issues like this online. At the end of the day, with the help of one of our local pet stores, we found a food she could eat.

We had to her to the vet. The vet tried to sell her food from their location but I vetoed that as we had issues with their food before.

The store gave us samples to try. She settled right down on the new food. We don’t feed her anything with chicken in it. From research, we know that dogs can develop a reaction to a protein if they eat enough of it. Chicken is cheap and it is in most dog foods. Now we give her no food with chicken in it and no treats with that protein either. Also, the list of fillers in dog food is long.

While we were searching for a dog food that worked, we made her food. The food we feed her now is called Boreal Original Canine Food, a grain free product. We haven’t had an issue since. Our Lab is almost 12 now.

I know what a concern it is when your pet can’t eat or eats and can’t keep it down. Good luck! LM

PS, the research pointed us to the right food and then we searched for a local pet store that sold it. The Pet Store was very helpful but it was us that found the solution, not them.

drizzellla · ‎03-14-2010

Lilysmom - That is a discussion I have had with the Vet and my husband. But my husband cooks chicken and uses it as a "starter" to get the dog interested in his food. It is such a habit that the dog will no longer go near the bowl of food unless there is chicken on the top of his food. The dog sometimes will eat the chicken and then not touch the rest of what is in his bowl.

We feed him two different kinds of wet food and none of them have chicken. But the dry food does have chicken. But I am leery of changing the dry food because it is the first dry food that he has eaten on a regular basis. He is a rescue and he has horrible teeth. From him trying to get out of a cage (the Vet's theory) he has worn away much of his front teeth and there are 2 large indentations in his jaw. And he is missing teeth because of the indentations in his jaw. So we are thrilled that he is eating the puppy dry food.

My husband found dry puppy food that is shredded and also has soft pieces in it too but it only comes in chicken flavor. But I will buy the Boreal Original Canine Food. Thank you for the suggestion.

I honestly think we have bought just about every brand/type of dog food. And our local shelter group is thrilled to see us. Because we end up donating so much food that the dog will not eat.

drizzellla · ‎03-14-2010

@fthunt wrote:
Google says......................a dog can get sick if he gulps large amount of water or eats lots of snow. (if they have a sensitive stomach) So since your dogs gulps - fast and a lot of water - before his walk w/hubby - yea, sounds like drinking too fast can be the problem.
Try: don't ask dog if ready for walk - be sneaky - suddenly put lease on and out the door without chance for the water drink. Let us know.

I was thinking about what you said. And my brother gave the dog a water fountain for Christmas. The dog did not care for it so we stopped using it. But it would certainly cut down on him drinking too fast or gulping.

I think I will scrub it down and try it again. And see if the dog will drink from it this time.

It is hard to be sneaky with this dog. As soon as my husband stands up, the dog is up and ready for a walk. In fact my husband was just cleaning out his vehicle and the dog did not know what to do. He was pacing around the house. My husband was outside and he did not take the dog with him.

Lilysmom · ‎03-09-2010

@drizzellla , my heart goes out to you. It’s so hard trying to find a solution when your dog can't tell you what’s wrong.

I am sure you know this and perhaps someone has mentioned this upthread. When you change dog food, introduce the new food slowly. First 1/4 cup for a week or so, then 1/2 new 1/2 old, then 3/4’s and so on.

We were so worried about our Lab. They love their food and to see her losing weight was frightening. It went on for almost two weeks. Finally, after copious research, we found a solution. I have to say, the pet store was great. They told us to bring back any food at no charge that she couldn’t eat. They were so supportive.

if you are feeding your dog real chicken it is probably not a problem. There are so many fillers and byproducts in some dog food it is just awful. We change the protein we feed her but have used the same brand since she had the issue. Never had that problem again thankfully.

Good luck @drizzellla . Hoping for the best results! Lm