Dogs and hush puppies seem like they would be two great things to eat together, but is that the case? Can dogs eat hush puppies without any problems, or are there risks involved? In this post, we’ll examine whether it’s safe for dogs to eat hush puppies and what you need to know if you’re thinking about giving them some. Read on for all the details.
Are hush puppies good for dogs?
Hushpuppies are essentially deep-fried balls of cornmeal batter, meaning that they’re not exactly packed with nutritional value. Let’s look at the facts to see if hush puppies are safe for dogs (or not).
Can dogs eat hush puppies safely? Are hush puppies bad for dogs? The simple answer here is that, in most cases, it’s probably best to keep your dog away from hush pups. Whether you like them or not (and whether your dog likes them), there’s no real benefit to letting your dog indulge in this treat. To understand why, let’s look at what these little balls are made out of and look at their nutritional value.
What are hush puppies made of?
The main ingredient in most hush puppy recipes is cornmeal, which provides dogs with very limited nutritional value. Cornmeal is essentially just ground-up dried corn kernels, making it a source of carbohydrates but not much else. These little balls also often include sugar and eggs (two ingredients that aren’t usually considered all that harmful), but even when this isn’t the case, there’s nothing in them that has any benefits for your dog.
Are hush puppies bad for dogs?
Though most hush puppy recipes wouldn’t exactly earn any points in a canine nutrition competition, research has shown that deep-fried foods are generally very high in fat, which can be particularly damaging for overweight or senior dogs. This is even true of relatively low-fat foods like hush puppies; fried items are simply much higher-calorie than their non-fried counterparts. Because of this, it’s best to feed your dog these treats sparingly (and perhaps not at all).
What about hush puppies’ carbs?
You often hear that carbohydrates are bad dogs, but the truth isn’t quite that straightforward. On the one hand, there’s some merit to the “no carbs” approach – many dogs do better without them – but on the other hand, we also recognize that not all carbohydrates are equally bad for dogs.
The more important factor here is what kind of carbs a food contains and how it affects your dog overall. When you look at this question regarding hush puppies, cornmeal (which makes up most of these treats) isn’t exactly known as an especially healthy ingredient, making it reasonable to avoid feeding dogs foods containing large amounts.
What about dogs who like hush puppies?
Some people like giving their dogs these little fried balls because they enjoy watching their pups get excited when they hear rustling in the bag. If your dog is one of these dogs, you might wonder if it’s ever okay to give him a hush puppy as a special treat.
In general, we recommend that dogs stick to food-related activities for fun – eating should be reserved for mealtimes – but in some cases, giving dogs a small amount of human food on occasion isn’t going to hurt them.
However, this doesn’t mean that letting your dog have a hush puppy now and then won’t compromise his health. That’s because there are so many other ways to entertain dogs without feeding them stuff that provides no nutritional value; most pet owners simply don’t have enough time or energy to provide their pups with all of the enrichment they need by giving them hush puppies to play with.
Top Reasons Why Hush Puppies aren’t for Dogs
Too Many Calories
Hush puppies tend to be dense and calorie-dense foods – which is fine if you want to give your dog a high-calorie treat every once in a while – but it’s not great for them regularly.
Of course, the calories won’t do your dog any harm (don’t worry about that), but they also won’t provide him with any nutritional benefits.
When you compare this to the nourishment dogs can get from other foods, hush puppies’ status as “empty calories” becomes more obvious, making it much harder to look past their downsides. Of course, there are plenty of other things around the house that are just as chock full of energy as hush puppies without being quite so much work.
Too Much Fat
Fat is another issue that makes hush puppies a much less attractive choice for your dog. For starters, they’re fried – but even if you bake them at home rather than getting them from the store, their high oil content means they’ll still be fatty treats.
Even worse than the fat itself is that it’s unlikely to be good fat; while we’re told that saturated fat isn’t quite as bad for dogs as we once thought, it still contributes to obesity and can lead to several other health issues. This is yet another way in which hush puppies’ nutritional value falls short because there are so many better options out there that can help your dog stay healthy.
Too Much Salt
Hushpuppies are salty, which means that they’ll do more than just take the edge off of your dog’s appetite; they may also lead to health problems associated with high blood pressure. There’s some debate over how much salt is too much for dogs, but even if hush puppies’ sodium content isn’t a risk factor on its own, it contributes to their generally low quality.
After all, there are so many other treats available that have significantly less sodium – or none at all – making them better choices for your dog without any of the downsides of hush puppies.
Not Enough Nutrients
As we’ve mentioned before, responsible dog owners like you need to understand why hush puppies are so bad for your pup. This includes knowing about their nutritional value, which is surprisingly low for all of the work they take to make. Even feeding your dog with hush puppies once or twice will benefit him more than giving them to him regularly.
For example, even though cornmeal contains nutrients of its own, it’s lacking in some key areas. Still worse yet is that because hushpuppies are made with so many different ingredients, they tend not to be nutritionally diverse – and this means that feeding them regularly won’t provide your dog with the key vitamins and minerals he needs.
Not only does this ensure your dog doesn’t get everything he needs from his hush puppy treats, but it also means that giving him a lot of this food won’t be as beneficial as it would be for other foods – which is yet another example of why hush puppies are a bad choice.
Risks of Feeding your Dog Hush Puppies
Dog owners should be aware of these risks before feeding their dogs with hush puppies.
Your dog might turn lethargic or lie down often
When it comes to the symptoms, they are easy to spot. You will notice that your dog is becoming lethargic because he has become very lazy.
He will not be as enthusiastic as before about going for walks or chewing toys left around the home. You’ll notice that your dog lies down or sits more often than usual.
This means that his appetite will reduce since hush puppies usually contain lots of sugar and fat content, which slows down how food travels through their digestive tract.
Your dog’s weight gains rapidly even though you have been restricting how many hush puppies you give him every day by completely cutting out one daily serving!
Generally, dogs can regulate their appetite. However, this is not the case if your dog has been gorging on hush puppies as a snack.
As much as it’s nice to see your dog enjoying life and eating well, you need to restrict his diet if he starts gaining weight rapidly even after you have reduced the amount of daily serving of hush puppies to one or half servings.
He could develop gas
This usually happens because, at times, there are ingredients in the hush puppy mix that contain lots of fiber which can make their digestive system run less smoothly, resulting in flatulence!
Also, some dogs just have naturally gassy bodies, but giving them too many treats can result in more excessive amounts of farting from their bottoms!
Your dog is throwing up and having diarrhea more often than usual.
You need to take note that dogs usually throw up or have diarrhea when they eat something that’s not good for them.
Let’s say your dog has been eating too many hush puppies, and you might observe this behavior as a way of his body getting rid of the excess fat and sugar he has consumed from those treats. You also observe excessive licking around his lips, which means your dog is experiencing difficulty swallowing.
If your dog is experiencing these symptoms after consuming hush puppies, it means he requires medical attention as soon as possible! It goes without saying that if you notice anything different about your pet, whether it’s an unusual amount of flatulence or vomiting, or even diarrhea, take him to the vet as soon as possible.
Conclusion
Hushpuppies are bad for your dogs in more ways than one. Not only are they high in fat and sugar, but they also lack the necessary vitamins and minerals that your pet needs.
It doesn’t help that hush puppies aren’t nutritionally diverse – meaning that if you give your dog too many of these threats, it’s likely he won’t get all of the key vitamins and minerals he needs either!
Plus, feeding dogs hush puppies regularly can lead to severe symptoms like lethargy (which makes your dog lie down often), excessive weight gain (even if their daily serving has been cut out completely!), and flatulence!
If you want to make sure your dog eats well without putting his health at risk, try making other types of snacks for him instead. Don’t risk your best friend’s health; pick another option for treats!