Guest Post: It is possible for dogs to behave strangely at times. You, the pet parent, might worry about your pet eating ants. Check out these steps!
It is likely that you would never know your dog ate ants if you didn’t see him do it. The protein, vitamin, and mineral content of ants make them good little “vitamins” for dogs.
Ants are often included in dog food. Dog kibble can be enriched with ground-up ants as an added protein source. Take a moment to consider this. Ants are eaten by humans as well. In most cases, they’re a good source of protein and don’t cause harm.
Food With Ants On It Is Safe For Dogs To Eat?
Don’t be alarmed if you see ants crawling around in your dog’s food when you’re feeding him.
Seeing one or two crawling around is fairly common. They’re harmless, as we’ve already acknowledged.
For example, you might want to hold off on giving your dog the food if you notice red ants or fire ants, or if there are a bunch of them. Your dog’s food could be infested with ants because an ant colony could have moved in near it. Basically, you’ll need to get some new dog food and throw out the old food.
Throw out all food whenever you see fire ants or red ants! There can be problems with red ants (more on that later).
How Do I Treat My Dog If He Eats Fire Ants?
If you experience stinging or biting while watching for red or fire ants in your dog’s food, as mentioned above, take action immediately. Your dog will attack back if it attempts to eat one of these red ants. When threatened, black ants bite, although they do not often do so. If you notice that your dog has ant bites, be sure to take him to the vet to ensure he’s okay.
Dogs Can Be Killed By Ants?
Ant bites or stings can kill dogs more easily than humans. Their smaller size makes this possible. However, it would be extremely unlikely for this to happen.
As a consequence, if he is stung by a lot of ants while investigating their nest, his face and throat can swell to a degree that it may be difficult for him to breathe.You should take him to the vet immediately if you notice any swelling or excessive panting!
Ants are eaten by dogs for a variety of reasons
Why some dogs eat ants is because of one very important reason.
In other words, the ants are consumed accidentally since they are on their food or in their water bowls. In the next section I will discuss dog food bowls and ants.
Ants are also eaten by dogs for another reason. A few dogs simply eat ants for the sheer joy of it. Several people have argued that dogs eat ants because they are a source of protein, but I feel this is stretching the point because ants are so small.
Some will say that dogs that eat ants are prey-driven. Personally, I think this is overstepping the mark.
Are dogs really seeing ants as prey?
If your dog eats ants that it sees crawling on the kitchen floor while out on a walk or if it stops to eat an ant hill while out on a walk…
These dogs will eat any number of things – grass and dandelions, cat poop, and so on.
This kind of “see food diet” is common among puppies; they will eat anything they see.
How do you keep ants away from dog food?
To keep ants away from dog food, you never leave it outside.
The majority of us who keep our dogs indoors and feed them once or twice a day on an established schedule are fine with this.
Keeping our dog bowls clean after use and throwing away any “spoilt” food is all that is required.
But what about dog owners who let their dogs graze, eat all day long, and keep them in the open air?
Cleaning them would be difficult under these conditions.
In dogs on a grazing diet, kibble is generally consumed, which is much less likely to attract ants than canned or raw food.
Dry kibble gives off a stronger scent than wet kibble, so keep it as dry as possible.
But how should it be done?
Remove any wet kibble from the bowl 24/7 by hovering over it! Just kidding. You can keep your dog’s food as dry as possible by separating their water and food bowls, thus reducing the amount of water they dribble onto their food!