If you are a dog owner, you are the luckiest to have someone very loyal, who cannot even think to betray you, is beside you. To raise and train well- behaved dogs is not an easy task. The first thing you can teach them is about rights and wrongs; to make them have patience is also up to you. Your dog is your pet and your best friend at the same time. It will follow you everywhere, will protect you at any cost, and will not ask for much in return. Researches have shown that dog owners are less likely to be depressed, and they have a stress free life.
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Nutritional Requirements For Dogs
Tooth structure and intestinal tract of dogs have become adapted to an omnivorous diet because of dogs’ dietary needs. So dogs can meet their nutritional requirements by taking a combination of animal and plant foods. An all-meat diet for your dog will be unbalanced, and the dog’s nutritional requirements will not meet. Your dog needs carbohydrates for his primary energy sources. Enzymes that are produced by your dog’s digestive system show that these can digest sugars and starches. So, it proves that your dog is capable of digesting carbohydrates. However, if you want to give your dog grains, it must be cooked for easy digestion.
What Are Goldfish Crackers?
Goldfish crackers are fish-shaped crackers that are available in many flavors. Cheese flavored goldfish crackers are the most widely used and are one of the most selling snacks.
Are Goldfish Crackers Healthy?
The label on the packaging of the goldfish crackers shows to be a healthy snack by a phrase written on the packaging that “Baked with 100% real cheese” and “No Artificial flavors or preservatives.”
Let’s take a close look at how healthy are these goldfish crackers.
One serving of goldfish crackers, i.e., about 55 individual crackers, contains 140 Calories, 5 grams of fat, 1 g of saturated fat, 250 mg sodium, 20 grams total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, and 3 gram of protein.
One hundred forty calories by one serving seem fine, and also, no added sugar in it. Goldfish crackers being a better junkiest junk food than other snacks do not mean that it is healthy.
Can Dogs Eat Goldfish Crackers?
When you talk about animals who are not food selectors, then you must have thought about dogs. These furry creatures can eat everything and anything. The forms in which goldfish are present are goldfish crackers and one in their natural form.
You can give your friend (dog) goldfish crackers but in a minimal amount. These crackers are not that healthy for the dogs. However, the natural goldfish is not that bad for your dog; feeding your dog natural goldfish will allow it to tolerate crackers in the same measures. So, we can hope that you are not feeding these types of foods in large amounts.
What Ingredients Does Goldfish Crackers Contain?
When we look at the ingredients of goldfish crackers, the main ones are Artificial flavors, Cheese, Garlic, Salt, Onion powder, etc.
What Makes Goldfish Crackers Unsafe For Your Dog?
If we individually look at the ingredients, consuming these ingredients will affect your dogs as described.
Artificial flavors
Artificial flavors are horrible for your dog’s health. Many other snacks like sweets, candies, and cakes have artificial flavors too.
Cheese
Some dogs have no issues in the digestion of milk and other dairy products like cheese or ice cream, while some dogs will show severe reactions of stomach upset and vomiting or diarrhea.
While choosing cheese for your dog, you should make sure to choose the cheese which has less amount of fats in it. Most cheese available contains a large number of fats, which makes dogs gain excess weight.
Can Dogs Be Lactose Intolerant Like A Human?
Milk and other dairy products contain a type of sugar ‘Lactose”. To be broken apart in the digestive system, this sugar contains the enzyme “Lactase.” This enzyme will break down lactose and then help in the digestion of milk and other dairy products.
Like some people, dogs can also lack this enzyme, which makes them “Lactose intolerant,” so they cannot digest milk and dairy products like cheese and ice cream.
Can Our Dog Eat Cheese?
For your dog to eat cheese (like cheese in the goldfish crackers), you must know if your dog is able to tolerate lactose. There are many dogs who are lactose intolerant, so to see if your dog is lactose intolerant or not, you have to find out by seeing how your dog reacts to milk and dairy products.
Cheese content in the goldfish crackers is luckily very small. So, it might not be that harmful to your dog.
Salt
Salt is a regular part of your dog’s diet, like humans. Too much or too little salt is very harmful to your dog. If we fed them an appropriate amount of recommended Sodium each day, we do not have to worry much then
Which Salty Snack You Can Share With Your Dog?
For your dog, too much salt is big no. As you already know, goldfish crackers are very salty; then this means that too many goldfish crackers would be a significant amount of salt to your dog. So, it is not a good idea to share your salty snacks like chips, crisps, and salty popcorns with your dog. Cheese and processed meat like burgers and sausages are also included in salty foods. Too much salt will make your dog thirsty more and even will lead to dehydration. Dehydration is one of the leading causes of death for dogs during the summers. However, goldfish crackers or, at least, too much of them are not suitable for your dog.
How Do You Know That Your Dog Is Suffering From Salt Toxicity?
High salt levels in the goldfish crackers will cause your dog to have; Swellings, increased thirst, seizures, vomiting, diarrhea, and even frequent urination. If any of these symptoms are shown in your dog, you should immediately consult your veterinarian for assistance.
Onion powder
The most toxic ingredient from the list is onion for your dog. As goldfish crackers have onion powder in them, this makes it a terrible choice for the dog.
Why Are Onions Harmful To Your Dog?
Onion belongs to the allium family, and dogs are allergic to this family. This family includes onions, garlic, chives, shallots, and leeks. Goldfish crackers have onion and garlic both in it, which doubles the poison.
How Much Is Onion/ Onion Powder Toxic For Your Dog?
Onions are one of the main toxic ingredients for dogs. For every 20 kilograms of dogs’ weight, a hundred grams of onion can be toxic. If we talk about onion powder, it is just an onion from which water has been taken out, so, in terms of powder, one tablespoon of onion powder is enough to cause toxicity in dogs. For small dogs like pugs, one tablespoon of onion powder is enough to make them very sick and cause death.
So do not let your four-legged best friend get hold of a whole packet of goldfish crackers.
What Things Should You Consider When You Feel Like Feeding Your Dog On Some Little Goldfish Crackers?
As just mentioned, you can give a small number of goldfish crackers to your dog because it is difficult for it not to crave this cheesy thing when you are taking this. So if you have to feed your dog goldfish crackers, you need to give it plenty of clean and safe water with it, which will help your dog to get rid of excess salt from its body. You also need to keep the numbers of crackers it is taking as low as possible to prevent it from gaining excess weight. It is not easy to handle an obese dog.
Lastly, you should always check the ingredient list of goldfish crackers before giving it to your dog and seek a veterinarian about it because your dog might be allergic to some of the ingredients.
What Other Ingredients Are Harmful To Your Dog?
Many secret ingredients might harm your beloved furry friend. So, these are things you have to avoid giving, even when it begs. These ingredients include chocolate, coffee, tea, alcoholic beverages, tomato leaves, avocados, mixed nuts, grapes and raisins, and seeds from fruits like plums, cherries, and apricots.
Avocados might be your favorite, but unfortunately, it is not the right choice for your dog. Avocados contain persin, which can cause stomach upset in dogs. There are some avocados available, especially for dogs and cats without persin in it.
If we talk about nuts, macadamia nuts are poisonous, and almonds can damage your dog’s esophagus and stomach as these are too hard to digest. Raisins are a sweet addition to the bowl of cereal, but it is toxic for your best friend. Grapes and its products are among the most dangerous foods for dogs; its consumption will lead to kidney failure and may cause death.
Your dog loves to lick from your ice cream, but it should be in small quantities. A large amount of ice cream is a big no for dogs. Some people take it funny to offer a sip of beer to their dogs, but alcohol in any amount is dangerous for them. Even small amounts of alcohol will cause diarrhea, vomiting, difficulty breathing, coordination issues, and worse.
Suppose your dog ingests candy or gum accidentally, apart from choking hazards. In that case, xylitol (a sugar substitute) present in the sugar-free gums and candies can cause life-threatening hypoglycemia even in a small amount. It can cause severe symptoms of tremors, seizures, or coma. So, if you believe your dog has taken xylitol, you should consult a veterinarian immediately.
Which Human Foods Are Healthy For Your Dog?
Dogs can eat some human foods, so you both can enjoy eating these things together as a family. Here are some healthy human snacks like
- A spoon full of unsalted peanut butter is best to give to your dog, an excellent thing for your dog as it contains vitamins and nutrients. But you have to make sure that it must be unsalted.
- Pumpkins are suitable for your dog and will also make your dog’s coat shiny.
- Dogs love to eat green vegetables like green beans and broccoli. Green beans are a good source of iron for your dog.
- Popcorns are also okay but must have to be unsalted.
Are Carbohydrates Good For Your Dogs?
Dogs use proteins and fats to meet their energy requirements, as the primary source of energy. They can also use carbohydrates for this purpose. Carbohydrates account for 30-70% of the most commercial food dogs, but dogs require minimal carbohydrates in their diet. Many carbohydrates from refined wheat-like in the goldfish crackers will pack the pounds on your dog. You should always be cautious when feeding your dog processed food, and you should check out for whole wheat alternatives whenever possible.
Can You Give Your Dog Ritz Crackers?
Just like goldfish crackers, these crackers are also not safe to give in large quantities to your dog. It contains high concentrations of fats, salt, carbohydrates, and oil, and these ingredients are safe for your best friend only when these are present in minute amounts to your dog’s diet.
Can Dogs Eat Doritos?
Like other crackers, Doritos is the same in high salt contents. A large amount of salt intake can cause sodium-ion poisoning in dogs. You should prevent your dog from this condition at any cost as it can be fatal.
Conclusion
So far, we have discussed, goldfish crackers are a bit harmful to your dog. Therefore, it should be provided to dogs in regulated amounts. It would be best if you always remember that too much goldfish crackers’ consumption is not safe nor healthy for your dog. For your best friend your choice of foods for it must be best also. You should always try to reward your dog by giving them healthy snacks.
