Can dogs eat goldfish crackers? The goldfish is a freshwater fish in the family of Cyprinidae. The fish, which belongs to Cypriniformes, is a popular aquarium fish. Many people keep it as a pet in the indoor aquarium, and you might find it in businesses like restaurants and bars.
Besides their numerous colors, the fish is mainly characterized by large eyes and a great sense of smell and hearing. Humans can consume goldfish like any other fish.
However, you may inquire whether dogs can eat goldfish crackers, and the simple answer is no. This article discusses why you should not feed your dog goldfish crackers.
Too much sodium
Can dogs eat goldfish crackers? Goldfish crackers contain too much salt, which is not healthy for your dog. Unlike humans, who can break down a significant amount of sodium, too much of it can poison dogs.
Dogs are attracted to the crackers due to their scent and not their taste. This explains the fact that dogs are not fans of salty grabs. Sodium is essential to the carnivores as they need it to create and convey nerve impulses in their canines and balance their pH.
A large amount of sodium in the diet of dogs may lead to a rise in heart rate, restlessness, and an increase in water intake. A lot of sodium is fatal, so you should be careful about how much salt you feed your dogs.
Dehydration
Salt is a dehydrating agent; therefore, if your dogs consume much of the product, they can be highly thirsty and deprived of the optimum amount of water in their bodies.
You can know that your dog is dehydrated by testing its skin elasticity. If you gently pull its skin and it doesn’t return to its normal state fast, you might consider dehydration an issue.
Dehydration can also lead to vomiting, loss of appetite, thick saliva, dry nose, and sunken eyes. Dehydration is one reason that answers the question,” can dogs eat goldfish crackers?” and you will agree that you should not feed your dog goldfish crackers.
Presence of onions
Keeping onions, whether cooked, powdered, raw, or dehydrated, away from your dogs` diet would be best. Goldfish crackers contain onion powder; consuming much of them can cause poisoning as they damage red blood cells and cause anemia. The allium family, which includes onions, is harmful to dogs from their leaves, fresh juice, and processed powders.
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Onion powder present in goldfish crackers is even more harmful than raw onions. Some side effects of excessive consumption of onions by dogs are pale gums, fainting, reddish urine, overall weakness, and decreased appetite. If you notice some of these symptoms in your dog, rush it to the veterinarian soon.
Empty calories
The wheat floor takes a large percentage of goldfish crackers. Some dogs are susceptible to wheat flour, and you might as well consider your dog among them. Wheat flour contains little to negligible nutrients, and this is due to the refining process that does away with all the vitamins and minerals.
If you want to feed your dog wheat, consider feeding them with some carbs, whole wheat, bran corn, or even sweet potatoes. These feeds are high in fiber which helps control blood sugar, maintain an ideal weight, and keep their colon healthy.
It may lead to obesity.
Can dogs eat goldfish crackers? If your dog consumes too many goldfish crackers, it might suffer from obesity if you don’t regulate the amount soon. Goldfish crackers contain excessive carbs that have been refined from flour. Carbohydrates are healthy for dogs, but extreme is the issue.
The sugars in goldfish crackers, alongside other ingredients, may cause obesity in your fido. A heavyweight is harmful to dogs, especially older dogs, as it can add more pain to those suffering from osteoarthritis, and this will cause them to grunt. Furthermore, older canines need fewer carbohydrates to keep them fit and healthy.
Diabetes
Can dogs eat goldfish crackers? Goldfish crackers contain a lot of sugar, leading to diseases other than obesity. The body of dogs digests the refined carbohydrates quickly, leading to a significant and instant rise in blood sugar levels leading to diabetes.
Diabetes is not friendly to your fidos, and optimum healthcare is highly recommended. Canines suffering from diabetes must be treated for a lifetime and regularly receive insulin injections. Female dogs also need to be spayed; their hormone progesterone may hinder a good flow of insulin.
Finally, after highlighting some reasons why you should not feed your dog goldfish crackers, you can take a further step to research more on the side effects of the meal. Goldfish crackers may be very appealing and savory, but incorporating them into your dog’s diet is of little help and may prove more harmful.
