For us, potato chips are a tasty snack that we always enjoy in our free time, and sometimes we might want to share it with our pets. But can dogs eat potato chips? Is it safe for their health? Check out this article to see what happens when dogs eat potato chips.
Can Dogs Eat Potato Chips?
Sometimes you may have fed your dogs the potato chips you’re enjoying in your free time, or sometimes they sneakily eat it off the floor when you don’t pay attention. If that situation has happened, make sure your dogs won’t go near potato chips any time soon.
Even though a few bites won’t hurt them, potato chips are not healthy for dogs at all. Not only do potato chips contain no nutritional value for your pets, but they also include a lot of ingredients that could lead to some health issues in dogs in the long term. Moreover, you could consider some fruits have a variety of nutrition for them, such as pineapple or strawberry yogurt.
Why Are Potato Chips Unhealthy for Dogs?
You may ask what could be so serious about a piece of a tasty snack. First of all, potato chips have a high level of processed oil and fat. When dogs consume unhealthy fats for a long time, it’ll be harmful to their hearts’ health and even lead to obesity.
Secondly, potato chips contain a lot of sodium, which is extremely bad for the dogs’ health. Excessive consumption of salt can damage their hearts and kidneys.
Potato chips in a bowl and fresh potato
Other artificial flavors and seasonings in potato chips are toxic for dogs as well. If your dogs eat too many onions and garlic for a long time, they might be at risk of having anaemia. In some cases, the dogs could be allergic to some ingredients in potato chips, causing even more serious health issues if the signs go unnoticed.
If your dogs have consumed potato chips or other foods that could have potential risks to their health, please look out for the following symptoms:
- Nausea
- Fatigue
- Stomach aches
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
In case you notice your dogs have shown such symptoms, please keep them away from food for a day and let them drink a lot of water, or contact the nearest veterinarian for appropriate treatment.
What Are the Healthier Alternatives to Potato Chips for Dogs?
There are a lot of healthier alternatives for your dogs that are still tasty and easy to make. If your dogs have shown a certain liking to potato chips, you can make a healthy version of chips to share with your pets. Besides diet, you should make them do more activities such as running or swimming to enhance their health. Moreover, to make them for the best training you should buy them some suitable items.
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To diversify the source of vitamins, you should prepare sweet potatoes, which provide a lot of vitamin A, vitamin C, and dietary fibre for the dogs. You can bake the sweet potatoes instead of frying them to minimize the excessive oils.
You can slice the sweet potatoes, putting them in the oven at 250℉ for approximately 3 hours, and you’ll have extra crispy and tasty snacks for your dogs. There are also pre-made healthy chips for dogs you can purchase if you don’t have enough time to bake them yourself.
Hot buttered jacket baked potatoes close up with steam
For the main courses, you should prepare commercial dog foods that meet the standard for nutritional requirements based on the dog’s life stage. To provide adequate protein and other nutrients, you can add natural foods to their meals, like raw meaty bones, to provide more nutrients and improve their immune system. Besides, if you feed sausage to your dogs, you should know how to maintain a balanced diet for them.
Conclusion
Although dogs shouldn’t eat potato chips, there are still other healthier alternatives, like baked sweet potato chips, to protect your furry friends from harm. Now that you’ve known “Can dogs eat potato chips?”, stay tuned for our next sharing about other common questions, such as “Can dogs eat lemon?” “Can dogs eat nectarines?” or “Can dogs eat hot dogs?”. Thank you for reading.
