Should dogs drink ice-cold water? Is it safe for them?

Is it safe?

Deep chested breeds, such as setters, are more prone to developing gastric dilation-volvulus syndrome Credit: D Tomlinson

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Q: I have heard that I should  not allow my dog to drink  iced water in hot weather because  it causes bloat. Can you tell me  if this is true? If not, can I safely give my dog iced water?

A: As far as I am aware there is  no real evidence to suggest  that allowing dogs to drink iced  water will cause them to develop  bloat (Gastric dilatation-volvulus syndrome, or GDV).

Drinking too quickly

Any association  is much more likely to be the result  of a thirsty dog ingesting too much water too quickly, thereby swallowing a significant amount of air, which unbalances the stomach and predisposes it to twisting over  upon itself, causing bloat.

Allowing your dog to drink too much water too quickly will usually cause the dog simply to vomit it back up, but if it doesn’t then bloat can become a real concern, particularly  in deep-chested breeds, such as setters, that tend to be more prone  to developing GDV.

A post shared by patty (@rocketandlou) on Jul 17, 2018 at 8:45pm PDT

Painful

Drinking iced water might also  be painful for the dog. Think what  often happens when you drink iced water too quickly on a hot day.  What should be a cooling drink  more often than not leads to pain  and discomfort; the same may well happen to your dog.

Another concern is that exposure  to cold causes vasoconstriction —  a narrowing of blood vessels in the region exposed. So it is reasonable  to assume that drinking iced water would cause vasoconstriction of  blood vessels in the tongue, lips  and gums. This is counterproductive when a dog is trying to cool down, since it will decrease or inhibit heat exchange between the superficial blood vessels in the mouth and the expired air, which is essential if the  dog is to lose heat by panting.