Can Dogs Eat Nuts?

Last Updated on March 9, 2023 by Woody Pet

Can Dogs Eat Nuts?

Imagine yourself in this situation. 

You’re sitting peacefully on your couch, your dog lying next to you, you’re there minding your own business while watching your favorite series on a popular streaming service on your television. You have a cool glass of your favorite juice placed neatly on a coaster on top of the side table beside you, adjacent to the couch you are sitting on. 

You crave something to munch and chew on, so you pause whatever it was you were watching and you decide to get up and go to the fridge to get yourself something to eat.

You opt for that small bowl of nuts that your friend gave you two nights prior. 

Perfect. 

As you go back to the couch, your dog pops its head up, curiously sniffing, eyeing you, trying to identify what it is you have brought.

Then you see those eyes. Those gleaming, pleading eyes. You know what that means. You are not going to have that small bowl of nuts alone, that’s for sure.

But wait, “Can dogs eat nuts?” You ask yourself. 

Even though the answer to that question is yes, there are some specifications that you need to keep note of because nuts, by their nature, have so many variations it is quite frankly hard to keep track of which ones are actually good for your pet, or which ones could potentially impose fatal risks in regards to the safety and well-being of your dog’s health.

dogs and nuts

Dogs and Nuts: Here’s What You Have To Know

Nuts come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. While most nuts are safe for human consumption, save for a rather particular population of humans, those of whom are actually allergic, the same statistic cannot be accurately said in regards to our canine pets. 

As to what nuts are safe for consumption, it is often best to provide your pet dog with the sort that does not have any salt in it. 

Cashews are safe for consumption. Most kinds of cashew nuts do not have any additives on them, although you must be extra cautious. Consult the label for any ingredients and ensure that additives, if any, should be to a minimum. 

Most types of peanuts are safe as well, just avoid feeding your pet the kinds of peanuts that have additives on them, such as butter, salt, or even garlic. 

Almonds are safe, too. But only almonds, nothing of the additive sort.

Despite the trifecta of nuts being safe for your pet dog, it is also worth noting that nuts are not exactly the healthiest sort of food out there. Not for us humans, and most especially not for our canine companions.

Nuts are so high in fat, all members of the World Health Organization have congregated and deemed it obese.

Jokes aside, nuts shouldn’t be fed in large quantities to your dog. Constipation, indigestion and a nauseating pet will result if you go overboard if you feed it nuts irresponsibly. 

What Nuts Can Dogs Eat?

You read that right. Not all nuts are safe for dogs to consume, after all.

Peanut butter is often a go-to snack for most dog owners for their pets, but did you know that not all types of peanut kinds of butter are safe?

Xylitol is something of an ingredient that you must look out for. For those of you who are unaware, it is an artificial additive as well as a preservative that enhances the flavor of most factory-processed spreads, including peanut butter.

Saying that this stuff is nasty is mildly putting it. So then, what happens if some of this xylitol-laced butter gets eaten by your dog?

Trouble. Lots of trouble.

Even just a pinch of the stuff will most certainly kill your pup or render it in so much pain, it would actually be better to have it euthanized than to let it suffer through the ordeal of living through your supposed negligence.

Hypoglycemia’s the least of your worries. 

Your dog would be lucky if it just suffered a stroke or a seizure, but where your dog would be straight out of luck is if it suffered cirrhosis of the liver, which is basically a death sentence; an ailment of a disease meant and reserved for alcoholics.

 Can Dogs Eat Nuts Safe From A Nutty Situation – Caveat Emptor!

Before purchasing any sort of peanut butter spread, always read its ingredients. You might find the ingredient in question to be present, so buyer beware. 

Forget about macadamias and black walnuts. They’re bad news.

The worst kind of nuts is the chocolate-covered ones. If you are not yet aware, theobromine is present in chocolate, the main ingredient that will not only poison your dog but kill it while it wreathes in pain while struggles to stay alive.

Internal hemorrhaging, arrhythmia, shaking of the muscles, and myocardial infarctions are one of the few effects of poisoning due to theobromine.

To save yourself the heartbreak of unsuspectingly killing your dog because you mistakenly fed it the wrong kind of nuts or you carelessly fed it a spoon of ordinary, over-the-shelf peanut butter, it is best that you must keep keen, critical notes of the kinds of nuts that you feed your dog and which kinds of nuts to avoid altogether.

what nuts can dogs eat

So then, with all that’s said and discussed, what is the final verdict of the argument “Can dogs eat nuts?”

As discussed in the previous subtopics, there are nuts that are safe for consumption for your pet dog, as well as nuts that are either going to induce harm towards your pet, or some that would unsuspectingly kill your pet without you even realizing it. 

Xylitol should not be present in any peanut butter you purchase.

Nuts are fatty, so they must be provided in scarcity. That is, nuts are to be treated as dog treats in terms of how frequently you must feed them to your pet.

Read the ingredients! This cannot be stressed enough. 

Avoid nuts with chocolate, salt, garlic, butter (or all of the above) in them!

 

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