On a hot sunny day, I went for a walk with my puppies and when I came back I got ice cream for myself, my puppies started trying to climb my body indicating that they wanted was good or puppies or not.
I did not give them the ice cream. I was not sure if it was safe, so I had to go and do some research because I had some questions “Were they safe”, “Were they safe but unhealthy”, and “Is there special ice cream made for puppies?”.
I did my research and I found out that ice cream is not good for puppies especially when fed often and I would be explaining why in this blog post.
Why ice cream is not good for puppies
After puppies are weaned, they lose the enzymes needed to digest the lactose in milk which makes them lactose intolerant. As you know ice cream is high in lactose, so your puppy may end up having gas, diarrhea, or bloating after eating ice cream.
If your puppy has a few licks of ice cream, there may be no issues, so monitor them first, there might be no need to take them to the vet.
Some puppies are more intolerant to lactose while some are less intolerant to lactose, that is why some puppies could eat ice cream and would not have a reaction or have a mild reaction while some would end up with explosive diarrhea, so would you like to find out the hard if your puppy is highly intolerant or not?
Another thing I worry about is the different flavors of ice cream, some flavors can be harmful to your puppy like raisins, chocolate, and much more. In addition, some ingredients used to make ice cream may contain substances that are harmful to your puppy, a good example is peanut butter, some of them contain xylitol which is toxic to dogs.
Ice cream is also not healthy which we know, most times it is packed with sugar, and the calories would be too much for your puppies, so regular feeding of ice cream can lead to obesity, dental issues, and diabetes.
I once thought about feeding my pup vegan ice cream and I found out that nut-based milk is used in making some of them and some can be harmful to puppies. Moreover, they may contain additives or other ingredients which are harmful to dogs.
If you are considering feeding your puppy vegan ice cream, you must find out all the ingredients used in making it and research to find out if all the ingredients are safe for your puppy.
In short, if your puppy has had ice cream before and did not experience diarrhea, bloating, or vomiting, it means they are less intolerant to lactose, so if you want to keep on giving them ice cream, you should not do it often (thrice a year is fine), you should give them small quantities, you should make sure there are no harmful ingredients like xylitol and some other sugar substitutes.
I advise you not to give your puppy ice cream an hour before or after a run because ice cream can induce gas which could lead to severe bloating during or after exercise.
If your puppy is prone to pancreatitis I advise you dong give your puppy ice cream.
Homemade Alternatives to ice cream for puppies
Frozen banana paste
This is a tasty alternative to ice cream for puppies, I usually give this to my puppies on hot days and I would be teaching you how.
You would get ripe bananas, cut them into small pieces, and put them in the refrigerator for them to freeze, when they are frozen, you put them in a blender and blend them into a thick paste, then you put the paste in ice cube trays or silicone molds and freeze for about two hours.
If you don’t want the banana paste to be plain, you can add stuff like pieces of dry meat, peanut butter, or other safe add-ins. Make sure the peanut butter does not have any artificial sweeteners like xylitol and the rest.
Homemade Alternatives to ice cream for puppies with sensitive stomachs.
Plain ice cubes
If your puppy has a sensitive stomach or weight issues plain ice cubes would be a good option to try, I know you might think they are plain and boring but puppies do like them. Make sure the ice cubes are in sizes that can’t cause choking, I sometimes add the ice cubes to my puppies’ water.
Food popsicles
My grandpa has a puppy with a sensitive stomach, so on hot days he uses the puppy’s canned food which the puppy is already used to, to make popsicles and the puppy loves it.
Direction on how to prepare it: Fill a small cup with canned dog food. Stand a biscuit treat up in it as a handle, Freeze it, and Run warm water over the outside of the frozen cup for a few seconds to loosen the popsicle. Present treat to pup
Frozen fruits
You can get fruits that your puppy is not sensitive to, cut them into sizes that would not cause choking, freeze them, and feed them to your puppy.
Specially made ice cream For puppies
There are some companies and small businesses that make special ice cream for puppies to enjoy, the ice creams are safe and do not contain harmful substances.
Puppy scoop dog Ice cream mix
This is an ice cream mix which you just have to add water and freeze then you can serve it to your puppy. They have 5 flavors; the birthday cake flavor, the peanut butter flavor, the carob flavor, the maple bacon flavor, and the vanilla flavor. I don’t recommend the Birthday cake flavor because it contains lemon essential oil, the ingredients of the other flavors are safe for your puppy.
The two flavors my puppies loved best are the peanut butter flavor and maple bacon.
This ice cream mix costs about $9 for s as 4.65 ounce pack
Pooch Creamery Ice Cream Mix Peanut Butter
This is an ice cream mix that contains only five ingredients which are lactose-free whole milk, peanuts, cane sugar, gelatin, and salt.
All you have to do is add water and freeze. It costs about $6 for a 5.25 oz pack. I got it for one of my puppies that likes peanuts and she enjoyed it.
This ice cream mix freezes a bit too hard, so I waited some minutes before I was able to scoop it.
Hoggin cake ice cream mix
This is an ice cream mix which you just have to add water and freeze then you can serve it to your puppy. They have 4 flavors; the cheese flavor, peanut flavor, banana flavor, and bacon flavor. The ingredients used are safe for your puppy.
This Ice cream mix costs about $9 For a 4.65oz pack.
Conclusion
Any options you choose from the advice I have given in this post you should know that treats should not be more than 10% of your pup’s daily food intake.
FAQs about ice cream for puppies
Can 2-month-old puppies eat ice cream?
No, they should not, I don’t recommend it for them.
What happens if my puppy eats ice cream?
After, weaning your puppy loses the enzyme that helps it digest lactose, so if they eat ice cream they may experience diarrhea, vomiting, or bloating. Ice cream may also contain harmful ingredients like xylitol which is toxic to your puppy.
Can 7-week-old puppies eat ice cream?
No, they can not. Though your puppy may still have the enzyme to digest lactose, ice cream contains lots of sugar and fat and may also contain harmful ingredients like xylitol which is toxic to your puppy.
Important information
I am not a vet, any advice shared in this post is from my personal experience, deep research, advice from puppy parents, and vets in the Reddit and Facebook dog groups and dog forums that I am a member of.
A Lot of puppy parents don’t know that ice cream can be bad for puppies and they also don’t know the alternatives, so if this post was helpful to you, please share it with people or groups that might need it.
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