Can Dogs Eat Popcorn? A night on the couch, watching movies and sharing popcorn is one of those “little pleasures” that life offers us and that we love to share with those we love.
So, it’s perfectly normal to wonder if you can do that with your best friend and if dogs can eat popcorn, especially when the dog looks at you, right? However, we will explain why dogs cannot eat popcorn and what consequences excessive consumption can have on their health. Keep reading!
Are popcorn good for dogs?
Popcorn is not a suitable dog food because it does not offer beneficial nutrients to your body. In fact, when appreciating the inclusion of new foods in your diet, we need to consider whether they are parts of your dietary needs, such as quality protein, fat, and, fiber, minerals, or vitamins.
Other foods, like French fries, can also be compared to popcorn because they offer more calories and empty fats than nutrients. Does that mean we shouldn’t offer our dogs chips? Not necessarily, because they can eat one or two at a time, but it’s ideal to replace them with boiled potatoes, although they always offer them in a moderate way because they’re not part of their diet.
Why shouldn’t dogs eat popcorn?
To understand why we should not offer popcorn to our dog, we must first point out that corn is not an easily assimilated dog food, as other appropriate grains, such as oats, barley, or flax, could be. In addition, popcorn is a food that contains a lot of fat and salt, especially when we talk about industrial popcorn in the microwave.
In addition to causing digestive problems, excess fat can cause rapid weight gain and elevated cholesterol levels in dogs. Excessive LDL cholesterol (known as “bad cholesterol”) generally favors the accumulation of fatty plaques that are not soluble in the arteries, which favors the development of cardiovascular disease. Excess salt also adversely affects the heart health of dogs, which can lead to a case of canine hypertension.
We can think of the possibility of making homemade popcorn, made in a pan with a little oil or steam, without preservatives, and without salt. Obviously, this bite would be much less dangerous or harmful to our furry hair than industrial popcorn. But let’s have a real picture and assume that almost no one makes popcorn without oil and without salt and that the vast majority of people like popcorn bags in the microwave.
Therefore, while not always among the forbidden dog foods, popcorn is not a healthy food for your best friend. To please or reward your dog during his training, you can opt for natural and healthy dog rewards.
My dog ate popcorn, what should I do?
If your dog has eaten a very small dose of homemade popcorn, with little oil, no preservatives, and no salt, this intake can be harmless and have no harmful effects. In any case, it is advisable to offer the dog fresh and clean water.
However, if a dog has swallowed a large amount of industrial popcorn, it is very likely that they will have digestive problems, such as gas, vomiting, or diarrhea. It is very likely that you are also very thirsty and want to drink the water due to excessive salt intake.
In the most severe cases, intoxication could occur in the dog, in which case we would notice incoordination, dizziness, muscle stiffness, excessive saliva, bleeding, uncontrolled urine, and other abnormal signs. In these cases, we should urgently go to the vet for gastric lavage and/or hospitalization of the individual.
