Typically, as a treat after a long "hike"(I'm in Florida, so they aren't real hikes. It's so flat it's just a very long walk, lol), I like to give Tetra a little extra treat. That treat is typically ice cream because it's her favorite. I was wondering how you guys felt about giving dogs ice cream and how much is too much? Do you feed your pup(s) ice cream ever? Tetra's never has a negative reaction to the dairy, but I know dairy isn't overly great for dogs. I also just really wanted to share this photo of Tetra and her half brother, Merlin, sharing ice cream. It was his first time trying ice cream, and I think it's safe to say he loved it.

Hm.. where to begin.  A lot of soft "ice cream" isn't ice cream at all.  My favourite is actually a yogurt ... however McDonalds is actually made mostly from milk products (Milk, Sugar, Cream, Nonfat Milk Solids, Corn Syrup Solids, Mono- and Diglycerides, Guar Gum, Dextrose, Sodium Citrate, Artificial Vanilla Flavor, Sodium Phosphate, Carrageenan, Disodium Phosphate, Cellulose Gum, Vitamin A Palmitate.)

But to seriously answer your question - since most dogs lose their tolerance for lactose shortly after they're weaned, I'd bet that you'll know real quickly if you give them more than they can handle. The primary "evidence" is gas, followed by diarrhea followed by throwing up. If you let them have some ice cream and their stools are looser than normal, you might not want to let them have more than they just had.

On the other hand, some dogs can drink milk, eat cheese and ice cream with no perceptible effect - take your chances.

That I have found, there is no cumulative bad effect from letting them have milk products.

From what I've seen(and I've checked just to make sure she didn't have any issues with digesting it), every time I've given her ice cream, she's never had any diarrhea or loose stools. That's good to know that you haven't found that there's any negative long term effects from giving milk products. We mainly go to Twistee Treat or Dairy queen, but I never knew most weren't made out of milk I guess maybe I should look into that a little more before I give her too much more

Dairy Queen is a 5% low fat ice cream (ICE CREAM: MILKFAT AND NONFAT MILK, SUGAR, CORN SYRUP, WHEY, MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, GUAR GUM, POLYSORBATE 80, CARRAGEENAN, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, CAKE CONES, SMALL GENERAL INGREDIENT DECLARATION.)

and Twisty Treat won't even list their ingredients ... but a couple of quick reads suggest that isn't "Real" (or Ice cream for that matter.)

If she enjoys it - and I'd look for real(ish) ice cream, it's probably because it reduces her overall body temperature which is going to make them feel better (as well as the natural sweeteners) *I* would look at ingredients closely.  I don't know if it's used in "ice cream" at all but remember the artificial sweetener xylitol is poisonous to dogs, I'd be careful.
ETA: Xylitol is used in a couple of store brand low fat / diet ice creams, but not that I found in DQ, et al.

Interesting side note - carrageenan, found in both the sites that list their ingredients is said to be a carcinogen.  But falling where it does on the ingredient list it's probably not a problem in the quantities you or your dogs are ingesting.

@bluemoods explained the milk thing in my food sensitivities thread. If I understood it correctly, a dog that is given milk/milk products consistently after they are a puppy, don't experience the lactose intolerance issues.

My two get ice cream sometimes, but they will experience the diareah. So it's gotten rarer and rarer that they get any. Sometimes I can't resist those faces though.

We make a trip to the I've cream shop with the boys. We get a small vanilla, Wayne feeds to them with a spoon to prolong the joy. They are crazy about ice cream. Z'ev starts whining if we drive by and don't stop (yup, hubby changes his route now if we're not stopping so not too disappoint them)

Never noticed an issue with my guys and dairy.

I hear 0% yogurt is safe, but ice cream I wouldn't go there because of the sugars. Try Frosty Paws its ice cream for dogs and you can pick it up at mots pet stores or even the supermarket.

Heres their link

https://www.frostypawstreats.com/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Bing%20-%20Brand%20-%20SKAG%20-%20Frosty%20Paws%20%20-%20Exact%20-%202019&utm_term=frosty%20paws&utm_content=Frosty%20Paws&gclid=CM36z_ruo-ICFQaxswodpaUKFg&gclsrc=ds

Also something my husky likes is Primal Goats Milk. It's good for her and also all organic.