Can dogs eat stuffing?
In this article, we will answer the query, “Can dogs eat stuffing?” along with some other questions like is stuffing safe for your dog? What Thanksgiving foods are not safe for your dog? What can you do if your dog ate stuffing?
Can dogs eat stuffing?
No, dogs cannot eat stuffing. It is not safe for your dog to eat stuffing. Stuffing has high salt and seasonings like onion and garlic which are not healthy for your dog to consume. Garlic and onion are toxic for your dog and they shouldn’t be consumed even in small quantities at home.
What are the health hazards of stuffing?
Following are the health hazards of stuffing:
Diarrhea and vomiting
Stuffing has a high amount of salt content which is not healthy for your dog to consume. Too much salt intake can cause dehydration in the body.
Sodium controls the flow of water in the cells. When there is a high amount of salt content outside the cells, the water also moves outside the cells causing dehydration in body cells.
Too much salt can also lead to diarrhea and vomiting which also adds to the dehydration in the body. Your dog cannot digest the high salt content, which leads to gastrointestinal upset in the body.
Constipation
Stuffing has turkey meat which also has turkey bones. Turkey bones are not safe for your dog to consume. These turkey bones cause intentional blockage in the body. This intestinal blockage worsens when the sharp edges of turkey bones cause internal injuries in the body.
Toxicity
The last problem is the toxicity in the body. As we have discussed before, there are certain ingredients in stuffing that are not healthy for your dog. These ingredients are:
- Onion stuffing
- Mashed potatoes
- Leeks
- Chives
- Scallions
These ingredients cause toxicity in your dog which impairs the production of red blood cells in the body, leading to anemia.
If you are using commercial products then they might have xylitol in them which is an artificial sweetener. Xylitol is toxic for your dog.
What types of Thanksgiving foods are not safe for your dog?
Following thanksgiving foods are not safe for your dog:
Holiday bread
The first one on the list is holiday bread. Holiday bread is unhealthy for your dog to consume because it has raisins in it. Raisins are toxic for your dog to consume, even a small amount of raisins can cause kidney failure in your dog.
Spreads and Casseroles
Spreads and casserole are unhealthy for your dog because they have a high quantity of oils, fats, and seasonings like onion and garlic.
Many vegetables like green beans and sweet potatoes are healthy for your dog to consume but when they fall under the category of casseroles they become unhealthy for your dog.
It is not the vegetable that becomes toxic or unhealthy for your dog but the added ingredients in it.
You should also avoid giving your dog fatty dips and cheese balls because some dogs are intolerant to dairy products. Intolerance of dairy products leads to many issues.
Mashed potatoes and gravy
This one is extremely unhealthy for your dog to consume. It has dairy products like butter which is not healthy for intolerant dogs. You shouldn’t give this type of stuffing to your dog as it can cause adverse effects on your dog’s health.
The gravy is also equally unhealthy for your dogs. Gravy has high fat and salt content in it. The high salt content can cause dehydration in the body. High-fat content can lead to unhealthy weight gain in the body.
So far we have discussed the types of stuffing that are unhealthy for your dog to consume. Now let’s dive into the details of what you can do if your dog ate stuffing?
What can you do if your dog ate stuffing?
There are a few things you should keep in mind if your dog ate stuffing. Following are the things you should keep in mind:
- First, you need to be sure if your dog has eaten stuffing or not?
- Secondly, if you see your dog eating, you should take away the rest of the stuffing from your dog.
- If you are not sure whether your dog has eaten stuffing or not then wait for the symptoms to appear in your dog.
- If you see the signs of diarrhea, vomiting, and lack of appetite, immediately take your dog to the vet.
Your vet might perform some tests like x-ray and other types of tests, and then he will start the treatment.
Conclusion
In this article, we answered the query, “Can dogs eat stuffing?” We also discussed other questions like is stuffing safe for your dog? What are the health hazards of stuffing? What types of Thanksgiving foods are toxic for your dog? And what can you do if your dog ate stuffing?
References
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/can-dogs-eat-stuffing
https://www.petsbest.com/blog/thanksgiving-foods-pets-shouldnt-have/
