Don't give your dogs too much ice water

Dr. Adesola Odunayo, a board-certified specialist in veterinary emergency and critical care at the UT College of Veterinary Medicine in Knoxville, says it's okay to give your dogs ice or ice water, but don't let them drink too much at once.

Sandra Harbison, sharbiso@utk.edu
A story is being circulated on several social media websites about the dangers of giving dogs ice and ice water. The story claims that giving a dog ice water may cause the animal to die from bloat and spasm. A faculty member with the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine says this claim is false and not based on scientific evidence.

"Many scientific studies have been done evaluating bloat or gastric dilation and volvulus (GDV) in dogs. GDV is an acute, life-threatening condition that primarily affects large dogs," said Dr. Adesola Odunayo, a board-certified specialist in veterinary emergency and critical care at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine in Knoxville. "There are many factors that have been associated with bloat, including genetics, feeding large amounts of food, anxiety and eating too quickly, but there has never been an association between ice water and bloat."
Dr. Odunayo goes on to point out that many dogs live outside in cold climates and drink icy water due to frozen water bowls. These dogs do not have an increased incidence of bloat relative to dogs that drink room temperature water.

Dr. Odunayo says bloat is best prevented by not allowing your dog to drink large amounts of water quickly, regardless of the water's temperature. "Dogs should be fed small amounts of food more frequently and should not be allowed to exercise right before or right after a meal." The veterinarian added that it is especially important, now that outside temperatures are beginning to rise, that dogs are provided plenty of fresh water to keep them from overheating.

"It is perfectly acceptable to put some ice in the water as some dogs actually prefer cool water in the summer and are more likely to drink. If there is concern that your dog may be overheated, as may happen after exercise, cool your dog down with tepid tap water," said Dr. Odunayo.
The veterinarian also notes that ice water should not be applied directly on the skin to cool an overheated dog as it may actually prevent heat from dissipating. "See a veterinarian immediately if you suspect your dog may have been overheated, as heat stress can be fatal in dogs," Dr. Odunayo recommended.
One of 28 accredited veterinary colleges in the United States, the UT College of Veterinary Medicine educates students in the art and science of veterinary medicine and related biomedical sciences, promotes scientific research and enhances human and animal well-being.
In addition to the programs of the College of Veterinary Medicine, the UT Institute of Agriculture also provides instruction, research and public service through the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, the UT AgResearch system of 10 research and education centers and UT Extension offices in every county in the state.

Updates to Tennessee's laws and regulations concerning pesticide applicators
Changes apply to commercial and private applicators

Certification requirements for pesticide applicators have changed. Contact your local county UT Extension Office for more information.

Tennessee has modified state laws and regulations concerning the use of pesticides, and applicators need to be aware of how those changes might affect their certifications. To apply restricted-use pesticides, an applicator must be certified or working in the direct supervision of a certified applicator. There are two types of certified pesticide applicators: the private applicator and the commercial applicator.

A private applicator is an individual who uses, supervises the use of, or buys any restricted-use pesticide for the purpose of producing an agricultural commodity on property owned or rented by him or his employer or, if applied without compensation other than trading of personal services between producers of agricultural commodities, on the property of another person.

Private applicators must successfully complete a specialized training session provided by University of Tennessee Extension. Training reviews the proper use of restricted-use pesticides. Private applicator certification expires on October 21, of the third year of the certification period. October 21, 2014, will mark the end of the current certification cycle.

If a private applicator wishes to maintain certification, the applicator should attend a recertification training session offered by the UT Extension. Recertification training sessions are commonly held at various county extension offices, so please contact your local county extension office to obtain more information concerning training sessions.
Online training options are also available. Visit http://extol.tennessee.edu/ to find out more concerning initial certification for private applicators or recertification.

A commercial applicator is defined as an individual who uses, supervises the use of, sells or buys restricted-use pesticides for any purpose other than outlined for private applicators. Commercial applicators must successfully pass a certification exam in the category of work they conduct. Currently, Tennessee has 14 different certification categories. To maintain certification, all commercial pesticide applicators must obtain the required continuing education credits (CEUs) in the category of their certification or retest in the same category. Each certification category has different CEU/point requirements.

Many county extension offices offer training commercial applicator CEUs, so applicators may want to contact the Cannon County Extension Office for more information concerning pesticide certification. They may also visit the Pesticide Safety Education Program website: http://psep.utk.edu

Due to recent regulation changes, the commercial applicator certification period has been extended. Previously, October 21, was designated as the end of the certification period. However, the new regulations have changed this date to December 31 of each year.
If commercial applicators would like to maintain their certification, they should attend enough recertification training sessions to obtain credit in the required time frame as directed by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture regulations. Commercial applicators need to remember that CEUs differ for each certification category and have to be accrued throughout the certification cycle.