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Have you ever wondered whether your dog can eat butter? Most dog owners usually ask, can dogs eat butter? How safe is it to give your dog butter? Despite questions about the consumption of butter by dogs, it is inevitable to avoid dogs from eating butter since it is a staple ingredient in many classic recipes. As with common foods, butter is often offered to or stolen by dogs. As a dog owner, you may probably wonder if dogs have health benefits from butter consumption. How dangerous is butter for your dog’s diet? This article will closely look at what butter is and whether it is a safe product to give to our dogs.
Types of Butter that your dog can eat
There are two main varieties of butter found on the shelves of most grocery stores: salted and unsalted. Salted butter has a large amount of salt, which adds too much sodium to your dog’s diet. Therefore, unsalted butter is a much safer option for your dog. Cultured butter, commonly known as natural butter, has more vitamins and minerals, becoming the better choice for your dog’s health.
How to feed butter to dogs?
Butter should not be given to dogs as a treat. Licking butter occasionally from your dog is not a cause for alarm. Yet, as a dog owner, you should avoid the dog feeding itself with butter. Moreover, dogs should not be fed foods cooked using butter. These foods include meats sautéed in butter, pastries cooked with a ton of butter and sugar, and foods given to dogs.
Is Butter Bad for Dogs?
Butter is not particularly bad for dogs but should not be taken in large amounts. Butter is high in calories; therefore, the dog will gain weight and become obese if taken in large amounts. Obesity is a growing epidemic in pet dogs; too many calories in the diet causes weight gain that predisposes dogs to be diabetic and arthritic. Additionally, most dogs are lactose intolerant, and large amounts of dairy products cause stomach upsets and diarrhea.
Can Butter Kill my Dog?
It is unlikely for butter to kill a dog because it is not as toxic as grapes or different nuts. Dogs are fine after small portions of butter. Nevertheless, large amounts of butter consumption can lead to pancreatitis, which is occasionally fatal. It is rare and unlikely for it to happen to your dog. Pancreatitis has several symptoms: stomach pain, vomiting, and loss of appetite. Pancreatitis is diagnosed in dogs that consistently consume a fatty meal, for instance, chowing a full stick of butter. Hence, owners are recommended to contact a veterinarian if the dog eats a considerable amount.
Why dogs love butter
Dogs like high calories foods. Recently, most food going around have excess calories and is becoming popular. The food was essential with high energy and was considered best for consumption. For example, butter is salty, making it delicious. So whatever butter has been spread on becomes delicious, making dogs love butter, particularly butter bread, which is a favorite to most dogs.
Quantity of butter to be consumed by a dog
Dogs are naturally attracted to the flavor of butter despite its potential health risks. Butter should always be covered and kept out of reach from your dog as mischievous dogs are known to eat a whole butter stick left on the table. Butter is rich in fat content, packed into 12 grams of fat that fit a tablespoon. A dog that weighs 30 pounds only needs 12grams per day to maintain a healthy diet. Therefore, dogs should be offered a small portion of butter to maintain an edge in the daily fat content. If you consider feeding butter to your dog, it should be occasional and portioned carefully to avoid gaining weight.
