Cross Breeds

What causes a dog to chew obsessively on ice, snow, and frozen apples?

He's a Border Collie mix, approximately 2 years old. Nothing is known about his history. Should this behavior be stopped....and how? I'm not concerned so much with the ice and snow, but the apples are ROTTEN--on the ground for months. Those can't be good for him, can they?

Public Comments

1. there's nothing really harmful in it, but if you insist on stopping the behavior, try distracting him with toys
2. they like the texture of it. nothing wrong with it and ice and snow won't hurt them, and apples shouldn't hurt them but i would cut the core out so he won't choke on seeds which is not common but possible. better safe than sorry.
3. my puppy's favorite food is ice cubes and snow. I'm not really sure why dogs like it so much, they just do. No, I don't think behavior needs to be stopped unless it really bothers you. I mean it's just water and it can't hurt them. Apples are good for dogs too. I give my puppy ice cubes all the time because it makes him so happy. My puppy is an Australian shepherd which are very similar to border collies. Maybe it's just our dogs, but I'm pretty sure a lot of dogs like ice and snow. I'm not sure about frozen apples though, I'll have to think about that one.
4. I wouldn't let him have too many apples but a few is unlikely to bother him. He's probably doing it for entertainment as much as anything. Maybe you need more toys and to keep the dog too busy to bother with apples while he's outside. One of my dogs is a Border Collie cross and she loves to eat snow.