Grilled cheese has become a favorite among many because it’s easy to prepare and eat. As long as you have bread and at least one type of cheese, you can enjoy this filling snack anytime, anywhere. You can even ‘customize’ it by adding other ingredients, such as bacon, beef, chicken, steak, or mushroom — your options are limitless!
But when you’re a pet owner, enjoying grilled cheese at home can become a challenge. Your four-legged friends will usually sit in front of you once you have the snack in your hand. You will then think of sharing a piece with them when they start to paw at you. But should you?
Unfortunately, grilled cheese is one of those human foods you should never feed or share with your dogs. The snack is not toxic for canines, but its ingredients are unhealthy for them. Feeding even a small amount of grilled cheese to your dogs can lead to the following health risks:
Lactose Intolerance
As stated by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, canines don’t have enough lactase in their bodies. Lactase is the enzyme responsible for breaking down lactose present in milk. Because of this reason, dairy-based snacks, like grilled cheese, can trigger gastrointestinal symptoms in dogs, such as diarrhea and vomiting.
High-Fat Content in Cheese
Aside from the issue of lactose, feeding anything that contains cheese can adversely affect your dogs’ health. Cheese has high-fat content that can lead to obesity and diabetes among dogs.
High-Fat Content in Butter
Butter is an unhealthy ingredient for canines as it contains almost 80% of saturated fat. Butter doesn’t provide any additional nutritional value to your dogs’ diets; on the contrary, it only puts your dogs at risk of obesity and other digestive issues.
Pancreatitis
According to reports published by the American Kennel Club, dogs who regularly consume grilled cheese are at a higher risk of developing pancreatitis. This health condition can trigger several symptoms, such as nausea, lethargy, abdominal pain, and decreased appetite. When left untreated, pancreatitis can worsen and cause sudden death.
Cardiovascular Issues
The excessive amounts of fats found in cheese and butter can take a toll on your dogs’ heart health. These ingredients can cause heart diseases in dogs, accompanied by various symptoms, such as dry cough, shortness of breath, restlessness, and rapid weight loss.
Kidney-Related Problems
If your dogs are overweight, you should never feed them even a small portion or slice of grilled cheese. The high content of calories, fat, and salt of this snack can lead to kidney problems among canines.
Can Puppies Eat Grilled Cheese?
No, you should never feed grilled cheese to puppies. Your puppies’ bodies are still developing, and feeding them grilled cheese can have
Are There Any Dog-Friendly Snacks?
Yes, there are! In fact, you can choose from a wide variety of dog-friendly snacks to make and feed your pets. Some of the healthiest snacks you can give to your fur babies are small slices of fruits, like apples (make sure to remove the seeds and core), pineapples, strawberries, and bananas. You can also give them cantaloupes and oranges.
If you want to give your dogs something cold, mix non-fat yogurt with pureed fruit, and freeze them inside ice cube trays. This healthy snack will surely keep your dogs cool during the hot summer months!
How About Dog-Friendly Sandwiches?
Yes, there are. You can prepare dog-friendly sandwiches by spreading peanut butter on two slices of bread, placing thinly sliced apples on one side, and sprinkling a little bit of cinnamon.
Another dog-friendly sandwich recipe you can make is using cream cheese instead of peanut butter and cucumbers instead of apples. For added flavor, add a pinch of chopped mint leaves before closing the bread.
Can You Feed Bread to Dogs?
Yes, you can, but in moderation. As long as your dogs don’t have any allergies to wheat, your dogs can safely enjoy bread once in a while.
Is Cheese Toxic to Dogs?
Yes, some types of cheese are toxic to dogs. Besides its high-fat content, you should never feed your pets feta, brie, goat cheese, and blue-veined colored cheese (such as Roquefort, Stiltons, and Dutch blue cheese) as these are toxic to canines.
Choose Safer, Healthier Alternatives
The risks of feeding your dogs with grilled cheese aren’t worth it, so make sure never to give any to your pets. Regardless of how much they beg, you should never give in. Besides, there are plenty of dog-friendly snacks out there, so opt to give these to your pets instead!