With a chain of over 2,900 restaurants all over the globe, Chipotle has become a popular dining option that’s widely celebrated for its delicious Mexican-inspired dishes. Its popularity is in no small part due to its small yet customizable menu that allows customers to personalize every order, as well as its wide array of wholesome options for health-conscious patrons.
Here’s a bit of bad news for Chipotle lovers – it’s still not advisable to share your order with your dog, no matter how healthy it is. Meals from Chipotle come packed with spices, ingredients, and sauces that can harm your beloved pup, causing him to suffer a whole host of digestive problems and leading to serious health issues when consumed in large quantities.
Read on to find out the specific ingredients in Chipotle meals that are dangerous for dogs and why you should steer clear of sharing your Chipotle order with your pup. We’ll also explore alternatives you can give your dog when you want to give him a Chipotle-inspired treat!
Risks of Feeding Your Dog Chipotle
It’s no secret that fast food — even from fast-casual restaurants with fresh ingredients like Chipotle — is not the most nutritious choice for a healthy diet. Unfortunately, fast food is even less healthy for our furry friends. In fact, tacos, burritos, and other items from Chipotle’s menu can be downright dangerous to dogs and put their health at risk.
Here are a few of the risks of feeding your dog Chipotle:
Spices & Spicy Sauces
As per its namesake, Chipotle uses chipotle chili peppers, which are dried and smoked jalapeño, as the primary foundation of their food. The spicy flavor and intensity of these peppers are infused into their chicken, steak, beans, and many other ingredients, bringing on the heat that the restaurant chain is known for.
Chipotle also offers the tomatillo red chili salsa and green chili salsa that serve as dipping sauces or sides to their tacos and burritos.
Spicy food is generally not recommended for dogs. They don’t have the spice tolerance that we do, so eating spicy food can irritate their bowels and cause gastrointestinal upset.
Chili peppers contain capsaicin, the chemical responsible for their heat and spicy kick. This compound creates a burning sensation in your dog’s mouth and stomach when consumed, which can cause him pain and discomfort. It can also trigger adverse reactions in dogs, including:
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea or loose stools
- Gas
- Bloating
- Excessive thirst
Eating spicy food can also cause inflammation in the pancreas, leading to painful conditions like canine pancreatitis. If your dog has consumed a spicy Chipotle bowl or burrito, it’s best to take him to the vet right away. You can also give him plenty of water for several hours after the fact to relieve his discomfort.
Garlic & Onion
Generous amounts of garlic and onion contribute largely to the mouthwatering taste of most Chipotle meals, punching up the rich and delicious flavors of each dish.
However, garlic and onion are highly toxic to dogs, even in their powdered form. As members of the allium family, they both contain thiosulfate. This is an oxidizing agent that causes direct oxidative damage that makes dogs’ red blood cells break down, eventually leading them to burst.
When this happens, the dog becomes subject to Heinz body hemolytic anemia. Symptoms of this include:
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Loss of appetite
- Abdominal pain
- Depression
- Jaundice
- Weakness
- Lethargy
- Pale gums
- Discolored urine
- Rapid breathing
- Increased heart rate
If your dog has eaten a Chipotle burrito with garlic and onion and started showing any of these symptoms, take him to the vet or call Pet Poison Helpline immediately.
Guacamole
Chipotle’s world-famous guacamole is one of the reasons customers keep coming back to their restaurants. But delicious as it is, this dip is not quite suitable for our canine friends.
The main ingredient in guacamole is avocado, which contains a compound called persin that can be toxic to dogs. While other animals suffer more serious and adverse reactions to persin, dogs can still experience diarrhea, vomiting, and an upset stomach when they eat avocado.
This fruit is also high in fat, which is why even small amounts of it can induce pancreatitis in dogs.
Additionally, Chipotle’s guacamole recipe includes jalapeños and red onion, both of which are extremely harmful to dogs.
Cheese & Sour Cream
What truly completes a meal from Chipotle is cheese and sour cream, balancing out the meats and spices with a light yet rich flavor.
But these two ingredients are also not ideal foods for dogs. They’re both dairy products, meaning they contain lactose that most dogs find difficult to break down. Even small amounts of cheese and sour cream can make dogs with lactose intolerance or sensitive stomachs experience gastrointestinal upset.
Symptoms of lactose intolerance in dogs include:
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Gas
- Bloating
- Weakness
- Loss of appetite
High Sodium, Fat, & Calorie Content
Aside from all its harmful potentially toxic ingredients, food from Chipotle also offers little to no nutritional benefits to dogs. A typical Chipotle order has over 1,000 calories with around 2,400mg of salt. It’s also quite high in saturated fat.
High-calorie, high-fat, and high-sodium foods have been proven to be detrimental to dogs’ health. They can lead to a wide array of health conditions, including:
- Obesity or weight gain
- Acute pancreatitis
- Arthritis
- Heart disease
- Kidney disease
- Hypertension
One could argue that Chipotle offers health benefits from its vegetables and lean meats, but these are better sourced from higher-quality, canine-friendly options.
Safer Alternatives to Chipotle for Dogs
Don’t want to exclude your pup from Mexican night? Now that you know you can’t feed your dog food from Chipotle, you can make canine-friendly versions of your favorite foods from it so he doesn’t feel left out! These will also help keep him from stealing food off your plate and suffering the consequences.
Here are a few alternatives to Chipotle that you can whip up for your pup:
Dog-Friendly Homemade Burrito
Make your pup his own version of a Chipotle burrito! You can use a flour tortilla for this recipe since it’s safe for dogs to eat, as long as they don’t have gluten allergies.
Use chicken breast or steak pieces for protein, and add in a few veggies he loves. Peas, carrots, and broccoli are among the safe and healthy vegetables for dogs that you can include in this recipe.
For the sauce, you can use peanut butter or dog-safe gravy. Put in a few treats or some kibble for a bit of crunch, and wrap it all up in a nice and delicious burrito!
Take note that this shouldn’t be a regular meal for him and should only be given as a treat once in a while.
Dog-Friendly Homemade Tacos
There’s nothing cuter than tiny tacos for dogs! For this recipe, you can use corn tortillas since they’re gluten-free and safer for dogs with allergies.
Add in your cooked ground beef, with no salt or seasonings added. Top it off with a few tomatoes and some lettuce, and serve it to your pup warm!
Chicken, Rice, and Bean Bowl
Is your dog jealous of your burrito bowl? Make him his very own version of it with just a few ingredients! All you need is a cup of brown or white rice. Then, add in your ground chicken, turkey, or beef, cooked without salt or seasonings.
Top it off with cooked black beans or pinto beans. You can sprinkle a few cilantro leaves and some bell peppers on top for a more Mexican touch to the dish, then serve it to your pup in a bowl!
In Closing
Chipotle is among the more delicious and healthier meal options when you’re dining out. Sadly, it doesn’t offer the same health benefits to our pups as it does for us. Eating food from this fast-casual restaurant can give your dog an upset stomach and put him at risk for many other serious health conditions.
As such, it’s best to avoid giving him Chipotle altogether. What you can do is explore more dog-friendly alternatives to this food so you can spoil your pup with delicious, Chipotle-inspired meals while keeping him safe and healthy!