Chips are a popular snack for many people, but what about dogs? Can dogs eat chips? The answer is no, they can’t. Chips are unhealthy and potentially dangerous for dogs, as they contain high amounts of salt, fat, and calories.
In this article, we will explain why chips are bad for dogs, what to do if your dog eats chips, and how to make homemade chips for your dog.
Key Takeaways
- Chips are unhealthy and potentially dangerous for dogs, as they contain high amounts of salt, fat, and calories.
- Chips can cause dehydration, salt poisoning, pancreatitis, and weight gain in dogs, and may also contain harmful ingredients, such as onion, garlic, or xylitol.
- If your dog eats chips, you should give them water, monitor them for symptoms, and contact a vet if needed.
- You can make homemade chips from sweet potatoes as a safer alternative for your dog
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Can Dogs Eat Chips?
Dogs can eat the chips if you let them. They’ll eat them without any hesitation if left out in open. The majority of the chips contain harmful ingredients and retain no nutritional value. They can lead to health issues such as diarrhoea, vomiting, and in some cases severe medical conditions. In addition, chips are unhealthy for humans as well.
From a dog’s health perspective, they do need salt and fats in their diet. However, chips contain a high proportion of salt, carbohydrates and fats, so, the distribution needs to be minimal. In addition, the mix of onion and garlic in the ingredients is also toxic for the dogs.
Dogs don’t need many carbs and at some point, you were probably wondering- Can dogs eat potato chips? Let’s find out.
Can Dogs have Potato Chips?
Potato chips can really make your dog sick. So, it’s not recommended. Still, If you give them the potato chips, they are most probably going to show symptoms such as stomach ache, diarrhoea, vomiting, and dehydration. In fact, if exposure to potato chips results in salt poisoning, dogs suffer seizures, muscle tremors, dizziness, coma and possibly death.
If potato chips are that fatal it does beg a question- Can dogs have potatoes?
Can Dogs have Potatoes?
Dogs can have potatoes as long as they are cooked, also, they belong to the nightshade family and contain solanine. Once cooked, the level of solanine decreases which makes it safe for dogs. Whereas, raw potatoes may cause weakness, gastrointestinal distress, lethargy, and confusion in dogs. However, sweet potato is a healthy snack only if taken proportionally.
Some dog owners might question whether they can feed their puppies other types of root vegetables, such as turnips. But it’s crucial to see your veterinarian first to find out can dogs have turnip?
Let’s elaborate on why chips are bad for dogs.
Are Chips Bad For Dogs: Reasons
If dogs have chips, they can suffer from different health issues. Here are some of the main reasons they are bad for their health,
- Adds no nutritional value to the dog’s health.
- Retains a high proportion of salt, carbohydrates and fats.
- A dog needs approximately needs close to 0.2g-1.5g/100g of salt per day, excessive salt intake can result in dehydration, low blood pressure, or sodium poisoning.
- Many dogs are sensitive to fats and consuming chips can unsettle their stomach causing gastrointestinal issues which eventually result in vomiting and diarrhoea.
- Pancreatitis issue: Intake of lots of chips at once will cause issues such as Acute pancreatitis. It is so painful for the dog and is almost life-threatening. In fact, if your dog does have a pancreatitis episode you’ll have to make sure that it doesn’t eat fatty foods for a lifetime.
- Gain Weight: The regular calorie requirement for your canine friend is low. A small number of chips can exceed that limit and cause them to gain weight.
Now, if your dog manages to get themselves, some chips, what will you do?
Things To Do If Your Dog Eats Chips
In a situation where your dog does get their hands on a packet of chips and have them, don’t panic. Check out the ingredients first, if you find the presence of onion or garlic, then, you can follow these instructions to help your dog:
- Takeaway the chips from the dog and give them water to drink. This will help in releasing any toxins they consumed.
- The bags of chips contain an excessive amount of salt, keep an eye out for signs indicating salt poisoning (lack of coordination, seizures, collapse, muscle tremors etc.)
- Monitor the dog for the next 24 Hrs. Make sure the dog doesn’t develop any severe symptoms.
- See to it that they have excreted the chips within the next few days
- In case of emergency, visit your nearest local vet doctor in the UK or call Animal Poison Helpline.
Till now we have observed plenty of reasons why dogs should not eat chips, but, if you are still hell bound on offering them a crunch on a chip then, making them yourselves is the best option.
In a situation where your dog eats chips with onion or garlic, it’s important to monitor them closely. Onions and garlic can be toxic to dogs. For a safer human food option, you may wonder – can dogs eat mint?
How to Make Chips For Your Dog?
You can make the chips using sweet potatoes, as they are considered good for dogs. Here is a rough guide on how you can make the chips :
- Start with washing and slicing some medium-sized sweet potatoes
- Bake these sweet potatoes in the oven for roughly 4 hours until they get crisp (if the dog prefers a chewy treat, bake for about 3 hours)
- Let the chips cool down
Now, after offering the chips treat you can store them in the freezer. Yes, they are dry but still need preserving. You can store this chip treat for approximately 4 months.
FAQs
Can dogs eat Tortilla chips?
Generally, Tortilla chips are made from a corn base and can cause allergies in the dog. These chips are deep-fried and salt is added for flavour. Also, Tortilla chips are flavoured with onion or garlic which can harm dogs. Hence, these chips are unhealthy and potentially dangerous, so, dogs should not eat them.
Can dogs eat Pringles?
Offering pringles to dogs is not a good idea. Pringle tube retains high-fat content, salt, and plenty of dangerous spices. In fact, plain pringles contain more salt, fat, and saturated than a similar-sized bag of crisps.
Can dogs eat Doritos?
Doritos contain a high amount of salt and fat. In addition, it has cheese flavour is mixed with onion powder and garlic. This means Doritos can be toxic for dogs and should definitely be avoided.
What should I do if my dog ate potato chips?
According to David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS, even if your dog does eat a full bag of chips, it isn’t that toxic. The Vet from the UK suggests withholding food for 12 hours, leaving the water available as the dog might throw up afterwards. There will be some diarrhoea but, nothing to be serious about.
Can Dogs Eat Chips Or Not? – Final Take
The majority of chips and crisps contain high salt, fat, onion or garlic ingredients. These ingredients can cause different types of problems for dogs. From dehydration to sodium poisoning, and acute pancreatitis these potential health issues can prove fatal for the dog.
While most chips are unhealthy for dogs, some may wonder about potato-based foods like hash browns. Click here to find out are dogs allowed hash browns?
