Can Dogs Eat Animal Crackers?
Animal crackers, seem harmless, right? So can you feed your dog animal crackers for dog treats without negative repercussions?
Despite the fact that there are tons of dog food and dog treat options out there, it’s common that we want to share our human foods with them. Animal crackers are simple and it can be tempting to just toss one to the dog when you are enjoying them.
So can dogs eat animal crackers or not? It’s fine to feed your dog animal crackers as long as you don’t overdo it.
It’s also important to only feed them plain animal crackers and never frosted or iced animal crackers.
For a more in-depth look at how animal crackers affect dogs, read our guide below.
What to Know About Dogs and Animal Crackers
Here’s the thing. Plain animal crackers are almost like a piece of bread or a biscuit. If your dog isn’t sensitive to things like flour or gluten, then eating animal crackers that are plain likely won’t hurt.
However, there are things that can make animal crackers bad.
For example, if your dog is eating animal crackers several times a day, this is not healthy. You should avoid chocolate animal crackers as well. The additional ingredients and the chocolate could cause an upset stomach or worse.
The other thing is to avoid frosted animal crackers. Each animal cracker in these packages is covered with frosting. It’s way too much sugar to use as dog treats. These are loaded with high fructose corn syrup and high levels of sugar. Frosted animal crackers are a no-no for sure and could have ramifications beyond just weight gain.
Are animal crackers healthy? Well, not really. There are no health benefits to allowing your dog to eat animal crackers. These are probably unhealthy snacks for your dog’s diet. In fact, most human snacks are not really great for your pet to eat regularly.
They are much better off with quality pet food and treats. However, as a pet owner, knowing what you can give your dog for the occasional treat is nice.
You can give your dogs animal crackers and enjoy the fun animal shapes with them. Just make it a rare treat and remember not to use frosted animal crackers or chocolate varieties.
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Are Animal Crackers Bad for Dogs?
Animal crackers aren’t really good for dogs. That being said, if you are just giving them one cracker here and there, then they also aren’t really bad for dogs either. When dogs eat animal crackers, they are taking in unhealthy ingredients.
Animal crackers are made with things like flour, salt, a bit of sugar, tons of preservatives, and high fructose corn syrup. It’s not too much sugar unless you give your furry friend too many snacks of this variety. There also isn’t enough salt to lead to sodium poisoning unless your dog eats way too much.
The corn syrup could potentially cause an upset stomach when you feed dogs animal crackers but again this depends on how many animal crackers you let your dog eat. Remember that the best animal cracker to use is a plain one. Be mindful of things like weight gain from human snacks and keep it to a minimum.
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Can Dogs Eat Chocolate Animal Crackers
We recommend sticking to the plain animal cracker variety. Those have the least amount of ingredients in them. The thing about a chocolate animal crackers is that they really do have chocolate in them.
One single chocolate cracker probably won’t give your dog health issues but you should be very careful. It’s best to avoid chocolate animal crackers if at all possible when you give your dog animal crackers. Just remember that plain is always better.
Can Dogs Have Organic Animal Crackers?
Much like plain animal crackers, organic animal crackers are acceptable. These are going to have better overall ingredients than other animal crackers. The real question is whether or not these animal crackers still have loads of sugar in them.
They might be organic as animal crackers but these animal crackers might still have just as much bad stuff to think about when dogs eat animal crackers.
For that reason, we recommend still using caution and not overdoing it with these animal crackers. Always give any animal crackers to your furry friends minimally. Dog owners are better sticking to healthy snacks but one animal cracker here and there for your dogs to eat should be ok as a tasty treat.
Animal Crackers Alternatives
If you’re looking for healthy snacks to give your dog instead of animal crackers, there are tons of options out there. Remember that animal crackers are really only ok as an occasional treat. Healthy treats are much better.
Here are a few tasty treats that you could use instead of the sugary snacks and animal crackers you’ve been using.
- Vegetables like carrots, celery, sweet potatoes, or cucumbers
- Fruits like apples, strawberries, or blueberries
- Regular dog food
- Tasty snacks for dogs with valuable nutrients
Can dogs eat animal crackers? Sure but dog food and dog treats are much better than animal crackers in the long run.
Can Dogs Eat Animal Crackers?
Animal crackers were not made for dogs. It’s not the healthiest snack and has no nutritional benefit. You can get away with one animal cracker on occasion. However, dog owners are better off looking for alternative treats for dogs to eat. Use things like this only on rare occasions as occasional treats and make better choices for your dog the majority of the time.
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