It’s a hot summer and you’re enjoying ice cream but you feel two eyes staring at you. It’s your husky begging with puppy eyes for a taste, for just a little bit. You may start to wonder if your husky can eat ice cream. Read the ice cream label and look at the ingredients before you give some to your husky. The more natural the better.
But we all know that store-bought ice cream can contain artificial flavors, preservatives, and food colors. We can eat not-so-natural ice cream even if it’s not the healthiest option for us, the people. We like the taste and our human body can tolerate more than our four-legged friends’ bodies. Read this article and see what ingredients are bad for your husky and what kind of ice cream can your husky enjoy with no problem.
A quick reminder for those who have kids. Don’t forget to tell your kids not to share their ice cream with their furry buddies. Kids love to share and they will want to give some to their friendly dogs. Sharing is caring but some ingredients are not safe for dogs.
Sweeteners found in ice cream that will and can harm your husky
Ice cream contains sugar. Too much sugar can do the same thing to huskies that it does to people. Therefore, too much sugar can lead to obesity, diabetes, dental damage, upset stomach, and more problems that are linked to weight gain.
You don’t need to panic if your husky stole a sweet that contains sugar if the other ingredients of that sweet are dog safe. For example, butter biscuits or lemon muffins that are made at home. If that was a small amount you don’t need to worry too much, but if your husky starts to feel worse you should call your veterinarian. As I mentioned earlier, you don’t need to worry if your husky ate something with sugar that doesn’t contain harmful ingredients such as chocolate or nuts.
Sweeteners found in ice cream can be toxic for your husky
Before you give some ice cream to your husky you must read the label and check the ingredients. Be careful because ice cream can contain xylitol, erythritol, saccharin, stevia, or sucralose. These are just a few artificial sweeteners. The worst on the list is xylitol because xylitol is highly toxic to dogs.
Ice cream with xylitol should never be given to dogs
Xylitol is a highly toxic sweetener to dogs and should not be consumed by dogs. The smallest amount of xylitol can be fatal to your dog. Your husky should never eat sweets that contain xylitol. There can be xylitol in a lot of foods such as fruits yogurt, ice cream, peanut butter, cereals, puddings, Jello, biscuits, and many more. There is usually xylitol in most foods labeled as sugar-free.
You may find xylitol in the ice cream advertised and labeled as sugar-free ice cream. Even if the ice cream has no sugar, that doesn’t mean it has no sweeteners. This is why it’s mandatory to read the ingredients before you give ice cream to your dog.
Why is xylitol toxic to dogs?
I mentioned in many articles why is xylitol toxic for dogs and the risks of ingesting this sweetener but I must mention it again. When a dog ingests a large amount of xylitol there is a huge release of insulin from the pancreas that will result in dangerously low blood sugar levels. Signs and symptoms of low blood sugar levels are vomiting, weakness, trembling, seizures, collapse, and even death.
A dog’s body can’t take more than 0.1 gr of xylitol per kg. Therefore, your dog shouldn’t ingest any amount of xylitol, even the smallest amount of xylitol can harm your husky. If your husky ate xylitol you have to call your veterinarian or go to a veterinarian clinic or hospital. They will try to make your dog vomit at first, especially if it didn’t pass more than 30 minutes since your husky ate xylitol. If the dog vomits before the xylitol leaves the stomach, there is a high chance the dog will be fine. If it passed more than 30 minutes, and the xylitol triggers the pancreas to produce insulin, your dog will follow intensive treatment for the low blood sugar level and liver damage.
As you could read, xylitol is highly toxic to dogs and this is why I felt the need to mention it again. There are high chances that you already knew that if you’re a dog owner or if you read why is xylitol toxic for dogs but I just had to mention it again.
Artificial sweeteners that can cause your dog minor to major digestive problems
Some other artificial sweeteners that you could find in ice cream are stevia, erythritol, sorbitol, saccharin, and sucralose. Sucralose, saccharin, erythritol, sorbitol, and stevia can cause minor to moderate gastrointestinal issues and diarrhea in dogs, but they are pretty safe for dogs in small quantities. Still, there shouldn’t be part of your husky diet and there are no long-term effects tested on pets.
Dairy products can be bad for your husky
Dogs lack the enzyme required to digest lactose and that is why most dogs are lactose intolerant. Some dogs can eat plain yogurt or cheese even if they are lactose intolerant. Plain Greek yogurt or cheese is easier to digest than simple milk. Still, some dogs will have stomach problems if they ate any dairy products. If your husky is lactose intolerant and he or she eats dairy products then it will lead to loose stools, vomiting, gas, and diarrhea.
Can my husky eat ice cream cones?
I will start again with what to avoid by any means when it comes to your dog. Therefore, do not feed your dog chocolate-dipped cones, cones that contain xylitol, nuts – if your dog is allergic to nuts, or even macadamia nuts. Always look on the label and check if the ice cream cones contain xylitol. If you buy an ice cream cone from the ice cream shop and it has no label, ask the seller if it contains xylitol.
Macadamia nuts are toxic to dogs, even in small amounts. Some side effects that you can see in your dog after he ate macadamia nuts are weakness, stomach pain, diarrhea, and vomiting. If your dog ate macadamia nuts you should immediately call your veterinarian.
Your husky can’t eat chocolate-dipped ice cream cones
Chocolate-dipped cones are a no because they are dipped in chocolate and your husky can’t metabolize theobromine effectively. Chocolate is toxic for dogs and the clinical signs can depend on the amount, the type of chocolate that was ingested by your dog, the size of the dog, and age. The clinical effects are vomiting, increased thirst, panting, restlessness, racing heart rate, muscle tremors, seizures, and even heart failure. If your husky eats chocolate you shouldn’t wait for signs. Call your veterinarian or go to the veterinarian clinic.
Can my husky eat strawberry ice cream?
Check the label to see if there is xylitol in the ice cream before you give a bite of strawberry ice cream to your husky. You can’t give strawberry ice cream to your husky if it contains xylitol. If the ice cream doesn’t contain xylitol and you give a bite to your husky, he will be most likely fine. Still, the store-bought ice cream contains preservatives or food colors that are not so healthy. If the ice cream is made only with natural products or homemade, you can give a bit to your husky. Still, be careful because ice cream is also high in fats.
What you also need to keep in mind is that lots of dogs are lactose intolerant and they can have difficulty digesting dairy products such as ice cream. This can lead to vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, and stomach aches.
Strawberry ice cream for dogs
You can make a simple and safe strawberry ice cream at home in just a few minutes for your husky.
You will need a cup of plain Greek yogurt/ kefir/ goat milk or non-diary milk products such as organic and unsweetened Coconut Milk. You can even replace Greek yogurt with water.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of strawberries
- 1 cup of Greek yogurt / kefir / goat milk / coconut milk / water
Method
- Blend the Greek yogurt with the strawberries.
- Pour the mix into a freezer container and freeze for 1-3 hours or even more.
- Remove it from the freezer and let it soften a bit and serve it to your husky.
This is an easy dog-friendly ice cream recipe. Still, moderation is the key. Don’t give him or her too much because it can upset the stomach. This is a safe treat from time to time, in moderation. I usually use plain Greek yogurt because it is creamier and I also eat it. If I don’t use Greek yogurt I use kefir or just water. So, there is always a bit for my huskies too, especially when is warm outside. My huskies have no problems after they eat Greek yogurt or kefir.
Can dogs eat lactose-free ice cream?
Lactose-free ice cream can also contain xylitol, chocolate, raisins, or macadamia nuts. Xylitol is highly toxic to dogs; chocolate is poisonous to dogs and the same goes for raisins or macadamia nuts. Always read the label and see if it contains ingredients that can harm your husky. The safest way is to make home some frozen treats that are safe for dogs.
Can my husky eat an ice cream sandwich?
Your husky can’t ice cream sandwich due to the high sugar content. Also, check if the ice cream sandwich doesn’t also contain xylitol or chocolate. Xylitol is highly toxic to dogs and chocolate is poisonous to dogs. It’s better to keep the ice cream sandwich away from your husky, even if you are tempted to share some with him or her.
Can my husky eat butter pecan ice cream?
No, your husky can’t eat butter pecan ice cream. First of all, pecan is poisonous to dogs because it contains juglone. Juglone is a toxic compound that can cause poisoning in dogs. Other walnuts that contain juglone, besides pecan, and you must avoid feeding them to your dog are black walnuts, butternut, and hickories. Besides this poisonous ingredient, the butter pecan ice cream is high in fat and sugars. Butter pecan ice cream is poisonous for your husky, therefore your husky can’t eat butter pecan ice cream.
Can my husky eat coconut ice cream?
Your husky can lick some coconut ice cream, or to be more specific coconut-based ice cream but only if it doesn’t contain xylitol or other ingredients that are toxic or poisonous to your dog. I can stress enough when I say to check the ingredients list and if you see xylitol don’t feed it to your dog and put that goodie far away from your dog, somewhere he or she can’t reach. Xylitol is highly toxic to dogs.
Small amounts of safe-for-dog coconut ice cream will not harm your dog, but keep in mind that this also can cause stomach problems like bloating or diarrhea. If you really want to make some cold treats for your husky you can do it at home with fruits and veggies that are safe for dogs.
Can my husky eat pistachio ice cream?
Even if the pistachio ice cream is not toxic as the chocolate ice cream it’s still not a great idea to give pistachio ice cream to your husky. The high sugar and fat content can lead to digestive problems. If your husky licked a bit from your pistachio ice cream you don’t need to alarm, except if the pistachio ice cream contains xylitol. You should immediately call your veterinarian or go to the veterinarian clinic if your husky ate pistachio ice cream sweetened with xylitol.
Sugar-free ice cream is not good for your dog
Sugar-free ice cream or ice cream labeled as no sugar ice cream usually may contain xylitol or other sweeteners. Your husky can’t eat sugar-free ice cream that contains xylitol because xylitol is highly toxic to dogs. Sucralose, saccharin, erythritol, sorbitol, and stevia are pretty safe only in small amounts.
Can my husky eat chocolate ice cream?
No, your husky shouldn’t eat chocolate ice cream because chocolate is not healthy for dogs. Chocolate has theobromine and your husky can’t metabolize theobromine effectively. The darker the chocolate the higher levels of theobromines. Besides theobromine, chocolate contains methylxanthines that are also bad for your husky. Small amounts of methylxanthines ingested by your dog will lead to his or her hyperactivity, vomiting, panting, abnormal heart rhythm, seizure, and even death. 100mg of theobromines /kg is the average toxic dose for dogs but some dogs can experience side effects from just 20mg/kg.
Even if you want to share some chocolate ice cream with your furry friend the best decision is not to share it with him or her. Your husky will want chocolate ice cream because you eat it, but is bad for your husky’s health. You have to make the right decision and not feed chocolate ice cream to your dog. We all want to give a long and healthy life to our huskies so we need to feed them only dog-safe foods.
Can my husky eat coffee ice cream?
No, your husky can’t eat coffee ice cream due to the high caffeine levels. Coffee is bad for dogs because it contains methylxanthines that can cause vomiting, panting, hyperactivity, abnormal heart rhythm, excessive thirst, excessive urination, seizures, and even death. The toxic dose of caffeine for your husky is about 140mg/kg. Keep coffee or caffeine far away from your husky.
Can my husky green tea ice cream?
No, your husky can’t eat green tea ice cream. Green tea has high caffeine levels that will cause health problems for your husky.
Can my husky eat ice cream with raisins?
No, your husky can’t eat ice cream with raisins because raisins are bad for your husky and it can cause kidney failure. The toxic dose of raisins to dogs is about 2.84 grams per kg of dog’s body size. Grapes are also highly toxic to dogs.
Can my husky eat ice cream with macadamia nuts?
No, your husky can’t eat ice cream with macadamia nuts. As I mentioned already when I wrote about chocolate-dipped cones and cones with macadamia nuts, macadamia nuts are toxic to dogs, even in small amounts.
Choose healthy alternatives to the store-bought ice cream for your husky
Your husky doesn’t need ice cream in his or her diet to be happy or healthy. Even if your husky will beg while you are eating ice cream that doesn’t mean he or she wants it because is so good. Your husky will want to eat what you eat because he or she sees you eating it.
Before you even think about sharing ice cream with your husky look at the label and make sure it doesn’t contain xylitol, caffeine, green tee, raisins, macadamia nuts, or other ingredients that can make your husky sick. Besides the toxic ingredients, you must be sure that your husky isn’t lactose intolerant. If he or she is lactose intolerant and ingests ice cream there will result in problems such as loose stool, vomiting, gas, and diarrhea.
Frozen vegetable purees and fruits purees are perfect alternatives to ice cream for dogs
Do you want to spoil your husky with some frozen or cold treats this summer? As I mentioned earlier, you can blend some safe for dogs’ fruits or vegetables with some Greek yogurt – if your dog can handle yogurt. If your dog is lactose intolerant replace Greek yogurt with unsweetened and organic coconut milk. You can even use water if you don’t want to use yogurt or unsweetened coconut milk. Pour the mix into a safe freezer container, let it freeze for 2-3 hours, and let it soften a bit before you feed it to your husky. This is a much safer for dogs alternative to ice cream.
Frozen treats for dogs
Ingredients
- 1 cup of safe for dog fruits or vegetables
- 1 cup of plain Greek yogurt/ organic and unsweetened coconut milk / water
Method
- Blend it, put it in a freezer container, and let it freeze for 1-3 hours or more.
- Get it out and let it soften a little bit before you feed it to your husky.
As you can see, you can use even cucumber. There are many options that are safe for dogs such as watermelon, raspberries, strawberries, and even apples. You can eat some too, it’s a simpler and healthier alternative to the store-bought ice cream.
I chose to write what to avoid before you give a bite of ice cream to your dog because ice cream can contain ingredients that are highly toxic to dogs. Hopefully, you find this article interesting and I managed to answer your questions. Let me know what kind of frozen treats you use to spoil your dog and if you have any questions regarding this article.
