Was there ever an instance your dog ate a cinnamon roll you offered them? We understand, you just can’t resist the puppy eyes they gave you, but have you ever wondered if cinnamon is safe to eat for your pups? If you’ve only realized the implication just now (read more), then you’re in luck. Cinnamon is, in fact, not toxic, poisonous, nor can it cause allergic reactions in your dogs.
So, What Does Cinnamon Do?
On the contrary, cinnamon has some significant benefits when taken in small quantities. Eating a dish with a healthy dose of the spice can impart some antibacterial properties to your dogs, as well as anti-inflammatory effects. This is a great choice for older dogs that suffer from joint problems, as this condition is very painful.
Another great effect cinnamon has on their body is its blood sugar-regulating. This can be both beneficial and preventive for dogs pre-diabetes or already suffering from the disease. It’s a great addition to their nutrition, but not very significant as to put it in daily. Some studies show there’s lower insulin resistance for dogs that have cinnamon in their diet, but this claim is yet to be validated with further research.
So, cinnamon is safe, but can we say the same for other foods and spices? Here are six examples of what you should avoid for your dog’s daily diet.
- Bread Dough
Cookie dough is a no-no for us humans because it causes salmonella, a stomach disease that can cause severe diarrhea and vomiting. In the same (well, almost) light, dogs are forbidden to eat raw bread dough. Though it can also cause salmonella, there’s another condition that’s more dire than that.
Yeast inside the dough can cause it to rise over time. If your dog eats the dough, the yeast will continue to make the dough rise, causing bloating and excess gas to distend the stomach and intestines. For your dogs, this will become less than a nightmare but very uncomfortable, to say the least.
The worst part is the by-product, which is ethanol. Eating said dough could cause the ethanol levels in your canine’s bloodstream to increase significantly, which causes symptoms such as coma, depression, and acidosis.
- Xylitol
This compound is found in sweeteners added to foods such as gum, candy, and baked pastries. Xylitol’s effect can be as drastic as a sudden plummet of the blood sugar, causing hypoglycemia and liver failure. It can also cause seizures, and if your dog can survive for long, liver cirrhosis is another dilemma. Therefore, avoid all pastries, candies, and anything you deem that has an artificial sweet flavor. You can never be too careful.
- Undercooked Or Raw Meat And Eggs
Raw meat and eggs can have bacteria such as E. Coli and salmonella (as mentioned above), which will give you and your dog the worst possible experience in the toilet. On top of that, raw eggs have an enzyme called Avidin (link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/Avidin), which binds with egg whites and hinder biotin absorption. A significant lack of Vitamin B7 can cause major changes in your canine’s body.
Some of these symptoms include flaky, dry skin, excessive itching and scratching all over the body, losing fur in large amounts over a short period of time, or fur that grows back dull and thin. Then it might be a Vitamin B7 deficiency. To this, owners are advised to chuck raw egg from the diet and reinforce it with biotin-rich foods, such as green, leafy vegetables.
- Grapes And Raisins
Ah, grapes. The most popular forbidden food (next to chocolate, at least) for dogs. It can cause severe vomiting and can even go as far as to induce kidney failure. Though further studies are needed to exactly pinpoint what grapes have to induce these extreme symptoms, it’s best to avoid them altogether. Nothing will be lost if you cross it out from your grocery list, as the vitamins found in the fruit can also be found in various others.
- Chocolate And Coffee
Speaking of chocolate, do you know what makes chocolate and coffee common with each other? It’s the amount of caffeine they have, which can be toxic to canines. Methylxanthine, a compound found in cacao seeds and in nuts used to make soda, is the one responsible for incapacitating and even killing a dog. It can cause irregular heart rhythms, excessive panting, thirst, urination, diarrhea and vomiting.
Dark chocolate is the most dangerous, while white chocolate has the least amount of caffeine. However, white chocolate is still able to harm your dog due to its toxic nature.
- Alcohol
You may be asking, who in their right mind would feed their pets alcohol? You might be surprised to know that a lot of irresponsible and cruel dog-owners have subjected their pets to ingesting alcohol more often than you thought. These alcoholic beverages are definitely harmful to your dogs for the same reason why the human body breaks down after long years of ingestion.
Your pup’s body is smaller than your own. Thus its capacity to take in alcohol and fight its harmful effects is also lesser. While you can last for a decade drinking beer to develop liver cirrhosis or kidney damage, it can only take months or even weeks for your dog to die.
- Milk Or Dairy
It may surprise you, but dogs, cats, and other mammals can’t eat dairy and milk because they lack an enzyme that processes these foods into usable compounds. This enzyme is called lactase, and it is responsible for breaking down lactose into usable sugar in the body.