Can Dogs Eat Goldfish Crackers?

Goldfish crackers are a tasty treat we all love but can your dog eat them?

We all love sharing our snacks with our dogs. And dogs love human food too. Some dogs will even sneak up to the countertop to take our treats when we are not looking!

Dogs are pretty quick to get to crumbs when we drop them too.

We have to make sure that our dogs don’t get hold of all our treats…

The short answer is no, your dog can’t or at least shouldn’t eat goldfish crackers! They contain ingredients that aren’t good for your dog, and which can even be harmful.

goldfish crackers

Are all human snacks harmful to dogs?

While some snacks are pretty harmless (unless your dog has allergies), some snacks contain ingredients that are not good for them.

Also, it is important that our pooches have balanced diets. Proper dog food is always best so that dogs do not overload on things like sugars or lactose.

If you want to know more about why you shouldn’t throw your dog a goldfish cracker or two (instead of a bone), read on.

Beagle Dog

The ingredients in goldfish crackers

Let’s have a look at the ingredients in goldfish crackers first.  There is quite a long list, so we will pick out a few. The main ones are:

  • Cheese
  • Artificial flavours
  • Salt
  • Onion powder
  • Garlic

Cheese

Cheese is a tricky one. Some dogs have no issue digesting milk, ice cream or cheese. Other dogs can have very severe reactions, like an upset stomach or vomiting.

This is because some dogs are allegoric to lactose, which is found in milk.

Police Dog

Lactose intolerance in dogs and humans

Milk makes dairy products like butter and cheese. In all dairy products is a type of sugar called lactose. It has to be broken apart in two in the digestive system.

For the dog or human to break down the lactose in dairy products, they need to have a lactose-splitting enzyme called lactase.

This enzyme works to break down the lactase and helps most of us digest milk, cheese, ice cream.

Some humans are also allergic to lactose, which means cheese, milk and ice cream make you very ill! This is called being “lactose intolerant.”

Can dogs eat cheese?

For a dog to eat cheese (like the cheese in goldfish crackers), you need to know they are not lactose intolerant.

Many dogs are lactose intolerant. You have to see how your dog reacts to dairy products to find out.

Luckily, the cheese content of Goldfish crackers is very small, so it might not be the cheese that is harmful to dogs.

There are still quite a few ingredients left to go through…

goldfish crackers rainbow colors

Artificial flavours and colours

Goldfish crackers come in rainbow colours too. While dogs can only see shades of yellow and blue, they might still want one of your colourful crackers. But are they harmful to dogs?

Artificial flavours are really bad for dogs. Lots of sweeties, candy and cakes have artificial flavours. Luckily, rainbow goldfish crackers only contain natural colours.

Salt

Like humans, dogs have some salt as a regular part of their diet. Too much or too little is harmful.

We don’t need to worry about our dogs getting too little, however, as long as we feed them the recommended amount of appropriate dog food each day.

Vets and special dog dieticians check over the ingredients of dog food. A healthy amount of sodium (salt) in dog food is 0.25g/100g and 1.5g/100g.

Which salty snacks can you share with dogs?

Too much salt is a big no, no for dogs! Goldfish crackers are very salty, so this means that too many goldfish crackers would be a terrible idea for your dog!

It isn’t a good idea to share any of our salty snacks with dogs. This includes pretzels, chips, crisps and even salted popcorn when you are watching a movie together.

salt

It also includes cheese (see above) and processed meats, like sausages and burgers.

Salt can cause dogs to be too thirsty. This can lead to dehydration.

One of the key killers of dogs is dehydration in extreme heat, so be especially careful not to feed your dog with salty snacks like goldfish crackers.

So, goldfish crackers, or at least too many of them, are no good for your dog.

Onion powder

This the most toxic thing on the list for dogs is onion. Goldfish crackers contain onion powder so absolutely no way should your dog eat even one!

Which parts of the onion are harmful to dogs?

Every last bit of the onion is harmful to dogs, and this includes the leaves, the main vegetable and the juice. It also includes onion powder.

Onions are from the allium family. Dogs are allergic to all the allium family: garlic, leeks, chives and shallots. Goldfish crackers also contain garlic, so they are doubly poisonous.

What other foods is onion powder found in?

Onion powder and onion are in so many foods. We cook with onion in stews, casseroles, curries and pasta dishes.

Even lots of pizza has onion hidden in the tomato base! Onion powder is also found in baby food and other snacks, such as chips.

onion powder

How much onion powder/onion is toxic for dogs?

Onions are a toxic ingredient for dogs. One hundred grams of  onion can be toxic to a dog for every 20 kilograms of a dogs’ weight.

This means for a big dog, they only need to eat one medium chopped onion for it to have fatal consequences.

Onion powder is just onion with the water taken out of it (dehydrated). In onion-powder terms, 1 tablespoon of onion powder would be toxic.

For a small dog like a pug, it would take around one teaspoon or so of onion powder to cause them to be very sick or even die.

It’s best to hope your four-legged best friend doesn’t get hold of a full packet of those crackers.

goldfish-aquarium

Can my dog eat goldfish crackers?

So, overall, goldfish crackers are not great for dogs! You shouldn’t even give your dog one of those.

If your dog does accidently eat the crackers, you should consult your vet immediately if he is showing ill-effects.

What other ingredients are harmful to dogs?

It’s quite scary to think our beloved pups might be harmed by secret ingredients. To help you avoid giving your dog toxic snacks, even when they beg, here is a list of other toxic foods for dogs:

  • Chocolate (be warned…dogs love chocolate but they absolutely cannot have any foods that contain it!)
  • Coffee
  • Tea
  • Alcoholic beverages (especially hops which is found in beer)
  • Macadamia nuts
  • Grapes and raisins
  • Tomato leaves
  • Rhubarb leaves
  • Avocado tree bark
  • Pits and seeds from fruits like plums, apricots, cherries.

grapes-raisins

Which human foods are healthy for dogs?

So, what to do when your dog gives you the cutest eyes ever because it wants a tasty treat? Here are some alternative, healthy, human snacks for dogs.

Human snacks for dogs

Dogs can eat some human foods and it is nice to treat our companions like part of the family.

You can give you dog a tasty spoon of unsalted peanut butter. It is really good for dogs as it contains nutrients and vitamins. However, be sure to make sure it is unsalted.

Pumpkin is also really good for dogs and can make their coats shiny!

Dogs can also eat lots of green veg, like broccoli or green beans. Green beans are good for a dog’s iron. Popcorn is ok too….as long as it is unsalted!

Quiz Time!

fun-quiz-for-kids

What happens if my dog eats Goldfish crackers?

Can dogs eat crackers?

Can my dog it cheez Its?

Can my baby eat goldfish crackers?

What healthy snacks can I feed my dog?

Can dogs eat peanut butter?

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