One of life's little pleasures is a night on the couch watching a movie and eating popcorn. Made extra-special when in the company of loved ones if one such companion is your dog. It makes sense that you want to share popcorn with them especially when they give you that pleading face but is it good for them. Let us explain at animal whines.
How Is Popcorn Good For Dogs?
Popcorn is not a suitable food for dogs since it offers no nutritional benefit to their body in fact. Whenever thinking of incorporating any new food into a dog's diet, we need to consider if it is part of their nutritional requirements such as quality protein fats and to a lesser extent fiber minerals and vitamins.
So is it safe for dogs to eat popcorn?
To understand why we should not offer popcorn to our dog, we must first point out that it is not one which is easily assimilated into the dog's system. Unlike appropriate cereals such as oats barley or flax popcorn can also contain a lot of salt and fat, especially commercially produced microwave popcorn in addition to digestive problems excessive fat can lead to weight gain and elevated cholesterol levels and dogs excess salt is also harmful to a dog's heart health which can lead to canine hypertension.
Safe popcorn recipes for dogs
It's possible to make homemade popcorn which is made in a pan with little oil and steam, this means no preservatives and no salt. This type of homemade snack is much less harmful than industrially produced popcorn.
Dogs Eating Popcorn: The Verdict
If your dog has eaten a little popcorn even the kind of preservatives and salt it should be relatively harmless with no major adverse effects. However, if the dog ingests a large amount of industrial popcorn, it is possible they will develop digestive problems such as gas vomiting or diarrhea. They may also be very thirsty thanks to the excessive salt intake. In the most severe cases, intoxication could occur. If this happens, we could see uncoordinated dizziness muscle stiffness excessive salivation internal bleeding and continents or other abnormal signs. In these cases, we need to take the dog to a veterinarian in case they need a stomach pump or other treatment. Now you know popcorn is not ideal for dogs.
Why You Should Never Let Your Dog Eat Corn Cobs