We often share leftover foods and snacks with our dogs without thinking about the ingredients they contain and the effects these foods may have on the health and well-being of our favorite canine companions.
While some foods like chocolate are widely known to be unhealthy for dogs to consume, many others remain much more mysterious when it comes to the affects that they may have on our pets.
In particular, things get significantly more blurry when we begin to look at condiments and other ingredients that may be topping the food that we are offering to our dogs.
For instance, is butter a safe ingredient to be sharing with your pet?
The short answer is no. Unfortunately dairy is particularly difficult for dogs to digest and consumed in larger quantities dairy can cause irritation and agitation in a dog's digestive tract, making it difficult for them to process the foods they are consuming and leaving them upset and uncomfortable.
Because of the risk of irritation that comes with consuming dairy products, butter is largely considered to not be recommended for dog’s consumption.
Why Is Butter Bad For Dogs?
Additionally, butter can lead to increased cholesterol levels in dogs which can have a number of adverse affects on their health.
For instance, if your canine friend is already suffering from diabetes or a pancreatic condition, then offering them butter can actually worsen the effects of these conditions. This is especially true if your dog is pregnant with a litter of puppies as dog’s cholesterol rates are already naturally elevated during the pregnancy period.
Furthermore, butter is high in fat providing yet another reason it is not optimal for the health of your dog. High fat foods can not only lead to clogged arteries but they can lead to weight gain causing your dog to become overweight and unhealthy.
The Importance Of healthy Snacks For Dogs
In order to avoid this and keeping your dog in a safe and healthy weight category, its recommended that you stick to rewarding them with healthier snack options like vegetables, peanut butter, or scraps of leftover chicken and other meats that have been prepared cleanly without the use of fatty ingredients like butter.
It can be easy to share foods with our dogs without giving a second thought to whether or not the same foods that are safe for us to consume are safe for their consumption as well.
But its extremely important that we take the time to understand exactly what we are feeding our dogs before we are letting them eat our leftovers. While butter in small portions is known not to be toxic to dogs it should be avoided for a number of reasons.
Not only is dairy difficult for dogs to consume but the high cholesterol butter can promote paired with its high fat content make this a riskier food for canine consumption.
On the whole, its recommended to try and stick to healthier and natural foods when feeding your dogs leftovers and scraps and always make sure to research what you are feeding your canine companion before sharing.