Dogs Archives - Page 5 of 10

Waffles are like the super fancy and super delicious siblings of pancakes that none of us can resist! With an easy-to-cook recipe and an extremely pleasant taste, waffles are the popular breakfast choice in most households. The best part of waffles is its flexibility; it can be made in any flavor and goes well with all kinds of toppings and syrups. You can never really go wrong with waffles. However, if you have a pet dog at home, is it okay to share it with them? Can dogs eat waffles? Yes, they can eat waffles occasionally. Although waffles contain large quantities of sugar, they will not affect your canine friend's health when fed in moderation. Moreover, while waffles themselves are not outright lethal to dogs, the store-bought ones might contain ingredients that aren’t safe for them. Therefore, you should check the ingredients of a waffle thoroughly before feeding it to your pet. Do you know which ingredients you should look out for to see if waffles are okay for your pet to eat? Are you confused about which kind of waffle is better for your pet friend: store-bought or home-made? Don’t worry; we’ve got you. In this article, you will find the answers to all the questions you might have about feeding waffles to your dog. Do dogs like eating waffles? If you are a dog owner, you must already know how dogs are suckers for anything sweet. Although too much sugar can be detrimental to their health, dogs hardly seem to realize it. Waffles have the same effect on them as any other sweet treat. If you feed your dog a little of your waffle every day, they will enjoy it immensely. However, since you know they are not suitable for their health in excess, it is your job to keep them away from it. What is a waffle made of? If you want to understand how any food is good or bad for you, the best way is to go through its ingredients one by one. That is exactly what we are going to do today. Let’s take a look at the ingredients used in making a waffle. Flour Flour is the basic ingredient of waffles. Different kinds of flour can be used to make waffles. While most store-bought waffles are made of refined flour, some brands use whole wheat flour, a healthier alternative. The same is true of dogs; whole wheat flour is healthy for their digestive system, whereas refined flour has no nutritional value. Salt Salt, when fed in moderation, is healthy for dogs. However, too much salt can lead to dehydration. Waffles are basically sweet treats. Therefore, the amount of salt added in waffles is very small and poses no threat to your pet. Sugar As we discussed earlier, too much sugar is not good for the canine. Moreover, using refined or brown sugar in waffles can make them very unhealthy for your pet. If you buy waffles from the market, check the wrapper for sugar ingredients. However, if you are making them at home, it is best to use white sugar in moderation. Eggs Eggs are another essential ingredient in waffles. A waffle contains about 2-3 eggs on average. Eggs are rich in protein and healthy for dogs unless your dog is allergic to them. It is best to consult your veterinarian before feeding your pet anything that has eggs in it. Milk Waffles contain milk in a small quantity. Therefore, it shouldn’t harm your dog unless they are highly lactose intolerant. Even if your lactose intolerant dog takes a bite of a waffle, all they will experience is mild diarrhea. Butter or oil Your dog can only digest a very small quantity of oil or butter. Waffles have far too much oil or butter than they can take. Most people have a habit of buttering their waffles as well. Keep in mind that you should never feed your dog a buttered waffle, for it has way too much oil and can cause gastrointestinal issues in them. Calorie count The home-made waffles have a higher calorie count than the frozen store-bought ones. Too many calories are certainly not good for your canine friend. This begs the question: are store-bought waffles are better for your dogs? We will discuss this in the next section. Store-bought or home-made: which waffle is better for your dog? Since store-bought waffles have lesser calories than the home-made ones, you might be thinking that store-bought waffles are better for your dogs. This, however, is not the case. Although store-bought waffles are low in calories, they are more likely to contain a number of chemical preservatives that might be lethal for your dogs. On the other hand, home-made waffles might have calories but are much safer in terms of chemicals. Therefore, if you want to feed your dog waffles, it is always better to go with home-made ones. Beware of xylitol You must know that people who are diabetic patients try to avoid buying food rich in sugar. In order to stop this from creating a drop in sales, some food manufacturing brands use xylitol in them as the sweetening agent as opposed to sugar. Xylitol is an alcohol that occurs naturally in several plants, such as corn and plum. It works as a great artificial sweetener in human foods and doesn’t affect our blood sugar levels. But did you know that xylitol is toxic to dogs? If your dog consumes even a small amount of xylitol by accident, it can trigger hypoglycemia in them, which can, in turn, lead to liver failure and even death. Store-bought waffles could contain xylitol, which is why you should check the label thoroughly before buying wafflers for your dog. Other diseases your dog can suffer from by eating too many waffles Aside from xylitol toxicity, there are several diseases your dog could suffer from if you continue to feed them waffles on a regular basis: Diabetes Dental problems Obesity Too much sugar is also believed to reduce your pet's lifespan, so you should think twice before offering too many of these sweet treats. Can puppies eat waffles? If you have a little pup at home and are wondering if you can give them an occasional treat of waffle, you should probably not. Unlike an adult dog, puppies have a fragile digestive system. This is why feeding them anything that has too much sugar can be detrimental to their health. Can dogs eat waffles with maple syrup? Maple syrup doesn’t contain anything that can be particularly toxic to your pet. However, it is rich in sugar. The combination of maple syrup and waffles, both of which have high sugar content, is bad. Therefore, it is best to refrain from feeding your dog waffles with maple syrup. Which waffle toppings can you safely feed your dog? Although waffles are delicious on their own, most of us just love to add a little topping on it to give it more flavor. However, not all these toppings are safe for your dog. Read to find out which toppings are safe for your pet and which can prove to be dangerous. Whipped cream - It is okay if you add a small amount of whipped cream to your dog’s waffle. However, you should look for fat-free and sugar-free whipped cream in your store. Also, if your dog is highly lactose intolerant, it is best not to feed it any. Raisins - Both raisins, as well as grapes, are toxic to dogs. Berries - Berries are perfect for your dogs when fed in moderation. Chocolate chip or chocolate syrup - Methylxanthines in chocolate is toxic to dogs. Bananas - Bananas are okay for dogs. Avocado - Both avocado skin and pit contain persin, which is toxic to dogs. Caramel - Although caramel is not toxic for dogs, it contains high sugar content, which is bad for their health. Apples - Apples are okay to be used as waffle toppings for dogs. Final thoughts: Can Dogs Eat Waffles? To sum it up, dogs can eat waffles if you feed them these treats in moderation. Because of their high sugar content, too many waffles can cause several health problems in your dog, such as obesity, diabetes, oral health issues, etc. If you need to choose between store-bought and home-made waffles, you should go with home-made ones because they contain no chemicals or preservatives. Can Dogs Eat Twizzlers? Can Dogs Eat Graham Crackers? Can Dogs Eat Granola?