I want to woof yes so badly, but I am a Good Boy and must tell the truth. No, us canines can’t eat candy, which is such a shame.
It comes in so many bright colors! How are we supposed to resist? Humans love it, and we love humans!
Anyway, there are a bunch of ingredients in candy that are very bag for our tummies, including xylitol (I’m not sure what this is, but my mom says it makes things sweeter) chocolate and raisins.
Even a very small amount of one of those could be toxic!
Awoooooooooooo. Sorry, I shouldn’t sigh so mournfully. I’m just thinking about how boring our treats are…even though they are very delicious… and I would really like one… look I’m sitting down! Do you want my paw? I could roll over? No? Anyway…
It’s primarily the fault of sugar – if we eat too much, our tummies start to fill with water and bloat. This can make us drink less water and end up dehydrated, and my mom says it also messes with our electrolytes, particularly sodium, whatever that means.
What Happens If A Dog Eats Candy?
If I could use my paws to cover my eyes, I would! The side effects of crunching on some candy for your pup include a drop in blood sugar, puking, tiredness or acting lazier than normal, and issues with coordination. No, I don’t mean tail chasing.
Those are just the beginning *sad whimper* …too much of those toxic ingredients and your furry friend might end up with liver failure, seizures, or even end up crossing over the rainbow bridge to that big doggy door in the sky!
Other common symptoms can involve a really fast heart, like when we’ve been running and chasing squirrels at the park — wait, there are no squirrels here right now, right? — runny or more frequent poops, tremors or general restlessness.
Depending on the size of your dog and how much they ate, you’ll need to react with differing levels of concern. That said, much as I hate to advise this (grrrrrr) you should always consult your vet no matter how small the amount, just in case.
My mom said you should check out this handy toxicity meter from PetMD, where they show you just how much even the tiniest piece of chocolate could have devastating effects. I don’t see what the big deal is, I’m tough! It’s just a snack…
She also says I need to make one thing perfectly clear: if your canine companion eats anything with raisins, chocolate or xylitol in (check the ingredients list!) you need to get them to a vet ASAP. And we don’t say that lightly.
Can Dogs Have A Sweet Tooth?
I certainly do! Woof woof! Even though we only have approximately one sixth of the tastebuds you two-leggers do, we can still detect sweet, salty, sour and bitter flavors. That means we can also have a preference for one of them, too!
Much like with humans, your furry friend’s favorite snacks will vary depending on their personal tastes. However, given our excellent smelling skills, we also use our noses to decide whether we want to eat something or not.
If it smells good – and yes, we’re including animal poop in this, we have no shame – then it’s probably going in our mouths. We are happy to try new things, but we also have our preferences. We’re not picky eaters in any sense of the word!
What Candies Can Dogs Eat?
Much as I would love to say “all of ‘em!” so we dogs get to enjoy some tasty snacks, you really should avoid feeding us any candy whatsoever. Worried about leaving us out? Me too! I highly recommend finding some suitable snacks for sharing.
Though it’s not like you can pass the gummy bears back and forth — and actually, I feel a little conflicted about eating bears… aren’t we kinda related? — there are plenty of recipes around that make “human” foods in a dog friendly way.
I have also heard tell of ‘sweet’ treats, which really made my ears prick up! They are just like our regular, meaty treats, but flavored with sweet and dog safe ingredients, like peanut butter. Mmmmm, peanut butter… anypup got a spoon I can lick?
My mom likes to give me alternatives to my usual snacks that are sweet and cold in the summertime. I love watermelon and apples and bananas on hot days! Frozen yogurt and peanut butter pops also make delicious alternatives to ice cream.
Plus, there are a bunch of recipes on what my mom calls the internet, though she often spends a lot of time yelling at her electronic rectangle when she tries to make them herself. Maybe you could check there for sweets for your doggo?
Is Chocolate Poisonous To Dogs?
Yes. I don’t really know much about chocolate, because I’m not allowed to have it, and hearing about all of the amazing sounding flavors just makes me sad. However, mom says it’s all about something called theobromine.
We can’t metabolize it properly, which I think means our tummy barks at it and stops it from coming in? Either way, your pup will show symptoms like we described above after eating a certain amount of chocolate, which is determined by their weight.
Although chocolate is a delicious human treat and in no way contains any human poison – you guys have all the fun! – us dogs simply can’t handle it. I like to think that the chocolate can’t handle us. Grrrrrrrrr.
Okay, so if your pup eats chocolate (and you should really try and prevent that from happening, but don’t feel bad if it does, we’re very clever creatures) then it’s very important you call your vet if they start showing any signs of illness or distress.
However, in the case of super young or pregnant pups, you should get in touch with the dog doctor right away, as it’s more important to protect them. You should have had me around – I’m a fantastic guard dog!
Nothing bad happens on my watch!
