I am completely in love with ice cream. On these hot days, I’m always wondering several times if can dogs have vanilla ice cream because I wanted Baita to have the same pleasure. So I did some research and came to the following conclusion.
No, dogs can not have vanilla ice cream (or any industrialized ice cream). Most of them contain xylitol, a highly toxic compound that can lead dogs to death. In addition, high doses of fat, sugar, and milk can cause aggressive gastric problems. Frozen fruit with yogurt is an excellent choice if you give your dog something like ice cream.
I continued with the search to learn everything about the subject, and a summary of everything I found is in this article below. You can use the interactive index to go straight to the topic most interests you.
Industrial ice cream vs. homemade ice cream
We, humans, have a completely different digestive system than dogs. We can tolerate some ingredients that are very risky for them much more easily and can even lead to death.
Ice cream is a food that makes us very happy, and this is directly linked with the amount of sugar and fat that ice cream can “hold” due to its composition.
A single 424g pot of Häagen-Dazs ice cream has 84g of sugar, that’s the same as approximately five tablespoons full.
That same pot is contained practically the same portion of fat, something around 70g.
You probably wouldn’t be interested in eating five scoops of pure sugar or taking that same serving of oil or fat, but when you put the two together (and they turn into beautiful ice cream), you can quickly handle a pot of this without suffering.
Industrialized ice creams are foods made to generate instant pleasure regardless of their composition because, for us humans, we can hardly ingest a dose harmful enough to feel bad.
In the case of the dogs, this is different. If a chihuahua in love with ice cream finds a jar of 1Lt on the table without protection, he can eat the whole pot at once.
That would mean practically eating your weight in ice cream, which can be very harmful (make an effort and imagine yourself eating your weight in ice cream in one sitting).
Not to mention the chemicals, flavorings, and preservatives that can be highly toxic to your pet (we’ll talk about them later)
However, all is not lost. Your dog does not have an emotional memory of ice cream, so this food is just another thing different at feeding time.
You can make up for this by creating a super cool homemade version by mixing yogurt with fruit and freezing it.
Besides being healthy, these homemade ice creams will be much more enjoyable for your dog.
And if you are worried about the taste, do not enter this. Dogs have far fewer taste buds than humans, so their taste will be about the same.
Why exactly dogs can not take industrialized ice cream?
Ok, maybe I still can’t convince you that your dog should not lick that ice cream from Mc Donalds once in a while. So let’s go to a more technical argument to understand why ice creams are so harmful to dogs.
Xylitol
The vast majority of ice cream contains xylitol, a sugar whose molecule is alcohol, derived from plants. Dogs cannot metabolize this compound, unlike us humans, who are 100% safe when ingesting it.
It rapidly enters the bloodstream, causing the dog to release a lot of insulin extremely quickly to deal with the “problem.”
This can cause a range of severe problems and, depending on the length of exposure and the amount ingested, even death.
Sugars
We all know that sugar is one of the biggest villains in weight gain and severe problems like diabetes, for example.
With dogs, this is no different at all. Too much sugar can trigger a host of problems in your dog and should be avoided.
Remember, the throat of a chihuahua is different from that of a Saint Bernard.
Fat
Dogs have much more difficulty digesting fats than we do. For this reason, the excess fat, besides stimulating and contributing to canine obesity, can generate inflammation in the pancreas called pancreatitis.
According to PetMD, this disease is severe and causes a lot of pain, kidney failure, cardiac arrhythmia, and shock.
Milk Derivatives
Breast milk is as essential for dogs as it is for humans. But over time, puppies produce less and less lactase because, in nature, the ingestion of milk practically never happens after breastfeeding.
Offering food containing milk can trigger a range of discomforts for your pet, including diarrhea and intestinal damage.
How can my dog safely have ice cream?
I know if you’re like me, an ice cream lover, you’ll be sad to know that your dog will probably never get to have the same habit as you.
But do not be sad. There are very healthy and tasty ways to offer homemade ice cream for dogs. I’ll give you three beauty tips for you to send well at the time of the treat.
Dog Food Ice Cream
One of the things that your dog probably loves most in this world is his feed. You can prepare incredible ice cream for him by grinding a portion of dog food in a blender and then mixing it with a little bit of water.
When the dough is moist enough, fill little cups and freeze.
This is an excellent option for hot days and will also help with hydration and bring more fun at feeding time.
Fruit Ice Cream for Dogs
A great option is to create frozen fruit mixes to offer your dog.
You can freeze just one fruit or fill a little cup with some fruit salad and take it to the freezer.
Your little friend will be happy with the new snack.
But always remember to use only fruits that are allowed for dogs. You can learn more about them by visiting our fruit section here on the site.
Fruit Ice Cream with Yogurt
This is by far the favorite here at home. To produce the most incredible ice cream for dogs globally, choose delicious fruits and hit the blender with yogurt without sugar and lactose, always in the same proportion.
That means if you put 100g of fruit, you should put 100g of yogurt and so on.
Remember that by creating this amazing treat for your dog, you will also be giving a higher contribution of calories and protein in his diet (due to the yogurt). This value should be discounted from the total food of the day, ok?
Conclusion: Can dogs have vanilla ice cream (or any of it)?
No, dogs should avoid all types of industrialized ice cream due to the presence of xylitol and high concentrations of sugar, fat, and milk.
If you want to give something like ice cream for your dog to experience, opt for homemade versions made with pet food, fruit, or fruit with yogurt.
Always remember that dogs’ body is much smaller than ours, and even the largest and large/giant dogs sometimes do not reach the weight of a human. What is little for you can be a lot for him.
Thanks for reading this far. See you next article!
