Can Beagles Eat Peanut Butter?
Peanut butter is a common treat that owners feed their dogs. It is delicious and dogs love it! It’s like dessert for your dog, but is it safe for them to be consuming?
Can Beagles Eat Peanut Butter?
Yes, Your beagle can eat peanut butter, as long as it doesn’t have Xylitol! Xylitol is in a lot of products now and is super poisonous to dogs, so make sure you check the ingredients on your peanut butter jar before giving some to your dog.
Though peanut butter is a delicious and popular treat for pups, there are some necessary specifications and precautions that need to be taken in order for it to still be safe for your pup to snack on. Keep reading to figure out what precautions must be taken when buying peanut butter for your four-legged friend.
What Peanut Butters Are and Aren’t Safe for My Dog?
Some brands of peanut butter are not safe for dogs to eat because of the ingredients, specifically the xilitol, in the peanut butter. However, if you find certain brands of peanut butter that don’t contain this harmful ingredient, your dog is free to eat it.
Safe Peanut Butter Brands for Your Dog:
- Peanut Butter Co.
- Jif Natural
- Brad’s Natural’s
- Once Again
- Justin’s
- Smucker’s
- Great Value
Unsafe Brands of Peanut Butter for Your Dog:
- Go Nuts Go
- Krush Nutrition
- Nuts ‘N More
- P28
- No Cow
- Hank’s Protien Plus Peanut Butter
If you are unsure if a brand of peanut butter you are looking at has xylitol or not, I would suggest checking the ingredients list on the back of the jar.
If it does not list XYLITOL as an ingredient on the list, then you are probably safe to feed that peanut butter to your dog.
What is the best type of peanut butter to feed my dog?
Creamy or Crunchy?
It is safest to feed your dog creamy peanut butter. Though crunchy may seem fine to you, the little chunks of peanuts in the butter are a possible choking hazard for your pooch and, therefore, aren’t safe for it to eat. It is safest to stick to creamy to keep peanut butter a happy and safe treat for your four-legged friend.
Organic or Non-organic?
If you are not feeding your dog peanut butter consistently, it is safe to feed it normal (non-organic) peanut butter. Because you aren’t feeding it to them often it shouldn’t have any negative affects on your pup.
Organic creamy peanut butter is healthiest for your dog.
However, if you are consistently feeding your dog peanut butter, it is better for them that you get them organic peanut butter. This is because of the high sodium amounts in peanut butter. These excess amounts are unsafe to consume consistently by your dog.
If your pooch’s favorite treat happens to be peanut butter, keep things safe, happy, and healthy for them by getting them some organic peanut butter.
What is Xylitol?
Xylitol is a common sweetener used in tons of products nowadays. It is a natural sugar-replacement sweetener that is actually diabetes-friendly. It has even proven to be good for people’s teeth! Though it may be great for humans, it is actually very toxic for dogs.
Xylitol is super toxic to dogs and they should not ingest it ever. It is, in fact, more toxic to them than chocolate is! A small amount of, let’s say, 1.37 grams of this toxic sweetener can cause hypoglycemia resulting in disorientation, collapse, and seizures in a 30 lb. dog (New Findings On The Effects Of Xylitol Ingestion In Dogs from ASPCA-APCC 2006)
If even more is ingested it could possibly kill your pup! It would take a solid 150 grams of dark chocolate to have near the same effects on your dog as this small amount of toxic substance.
When a dog ingests this sweetener, it is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream. This causes a rapid and potent release of insulin into the bloodstream which can cause these awful side effects. These effects can show up as soon as 10 to 60 minutes after ingestion and can be life-threatening if not treated.
What are Some Ways I Can Give My Dog Peanut Butter?
There are a couple common ways to feed your dog peanut butter that are commonly seen in homes.
Note: Only give your dog a teaspoon or two of peanut butter. Consult a licensed veterinarian for a more specific and appropriate amount for your dog.
Off of a Spoon
You can get a small amount of peanut butter on a spoon and simply hold the spoon out for your dog to lick off of. This method is great because you can keep your dog close to you if needed or desired for whatever reason.
This method is great so that you don’t get sticky peanut butter all over your hands by feeding this to your dog and trying to avoid it getting all over the floor.
A Small Amount with to Administer Meds.
If your dog has to take medicine for whatever reason, a great way to get your pup to take them without fighting or separating a treat from the medicine is to hide it in a small dab of peanut butter and giving it to them as so.
By hiding the pill in the peanut butter, your dog will be too distracted by the delicious treat to try and get around eating the pill.
From a Kong
This is by far the most popular way to give your dog a peanut butter treat. A Kong is a hollow rubber cone toy that you can throw assorted treat, including peanut butter, into and it keeps the dog occupied with slowly getting the treats out for hours.
Just put a teaspoon or two of the creamy treat into the rubber toy, maybe even some dry treats behind it, and give it to your dog. This has even shown to help your dog cope with separation anxiety!
Related Questions:
Is it okay to give my dog peanut butter every day? It is not recommended to give your dog peanut butter every day because of the high salt content in peanut butter. If you choose to give peanut butter to your dog daily, however, it is best to feed them an organic, unsalted peanut butter to help avoid giving your dog too much sodium.
Is it safe for my dogs to eat apples? Your dogs are safe to eat apple slices as long as the seeds and core are removed before you give it to them. Apples are actually a great source of fiber, vitamin A, and vitamin C for your dog.