If you have a dog that loves your cinnamon treats or if they are constantly sniffing out your spices, then you may be wondering if cinnamon is good for your dog to eat. It is widely known that grapes and other human food should not be given, which makes sense for you to find out if cinnamon falls in the same category so that poisoning does not occur.
Is Cinnamon Bad For Dogs?
You will be happy to know that your dog will be perfectly fine if they eat cinnamon. They will not experience any abnormal or fatal effects from it. However, this does not mean they should be eating it all throughout the day, every day. It is advised that a dog could experience sensitization or irritation of the digestive tract when a large amount is eaten by both people and pets.
No matter what form the cinnamon is in, whether its ground, oil, or sticks, it needs to be digested. This irritation could occur while your dog chews on a cinnamon stick or licks the cinnamon oil, and if your dog breathes in the cinnamon as a powder, then your dog may choke, cough, or develop other breathing problems.
So, how do we know when a dog has eaten too much cinnamon? Many sources suggest that problems could occur if the dog ingests over a teaspoon. However, the oil-based cinnamon may cause problems at a much lower amount.
Plus, you need to take into consideration the size of your dog and its breed. If your dog has overdosed, then you can expect them to experience diarrhea and vomiting shortly after.
Do You Know?
Lots of snacks are safe for dogs, but some snacks you should just not give your pet. We sat down and did some research and our vet has verified it: Can Dogs Eat Celery?
Can Dogs Eat Cinnamon in Pastries or Sweet Breads?
Many pastries and sweetbreads may involve cinnamon in their recipes. Most of them will only involve a small amount of cinnamon, so your dog will be fine. That does not mean you should be feeding them cinnamon rolls every morning. This is because other factors may affect your dog´s health besides the cinnamon, like diabetes from too many calories or diabetes from too much fat.
Deciding to have your dog eat any cinnamon-based sweets should be done in a controlled manner and sporadically throughout the week or month. This is because you may not know exactly what other ingredients your dog may be toxic to such as raisins, which are often within cinnamon rolls.
The Combination of Cinnamon and Nutmeg
When it comes to baking, many combine cinnamon and nutmeg in their pastry goods. But the scary part is that nutmeg is another spice that can be toxic to your dog. Nutmeg has a toxin known as myristicin and can cause your dog to hallucinate, develop abdominal pain, become disorientated, and even have seizures.
Any of these can last as long as 2 days. But this is only if a significant amount of nutmeg is ingested. So, in small amounts, nutmeg is safe to consume by your dog.
Cinnamon Benefits for your Dog
There are many benefits that your dog will enjoy if they consume cinnamon. However, there is no evidence to back up the benefit claims. Although it is great to have a significant amount available, we need to ensure that we do not think the same for our furry loved ones.
You should be in contact with your veterinarian if you plan to provide cinnamon as a supplement so you will have complete information regarding its use. You can also investigate other relatable supplements that provide similar benefits.
Whichever way you go about it, the good thing is that cinnamon can be ingested by your dog in reasonable amounts.
