Can Dogs Eat Spicy Food?

Many people absolutely love spicy food. It can be so good, that you might be tempted to share the hot deliciousness with your dog. But have you wondered if dogs can eat spicy foods or if they even like it?

Veterinarians share the opinion that dogs shouldn’t eat spicy food as it can cause gastrointestinal irritations. Dogs have fewer taste buds than humans: 1,700 instead of 9,000 to be exact. So, when they eat spicy food, they don’t even taste the flavor at its fullest potential. But their stomach still feels the consequences of that food.

Because they can’t enjoy the flavor, all they can feel is how hot the food is. Most dogs don’t enjoy spicy foods because it burns their tongue. That is just an unpleasant sensation for them, with no advantages to counterbalance it.

Even though most spicy food is nontoxic, it still causes irritation in the mouth and stomach. This can lead to gastroenteritis, which causes vomiting and diarrhea. Some spicy foods can even be toxic. Foods that contain onion or garlic are poisonous to dogs. These two ingredients can’t be ingested by them. Other ingredients that create harm are nutmeg, which affects the nervous system, and salt, which can lead to salt poisoning.

If your dog accidentally eats spicy foods, give them some milk to soothe potential burns and irritations. After that, contact your veterinarian to see if the dog needs other interventions. This can come in the form of pills for vomiting and diarrhea, and IV for dehydration.

The bottom line is: you shouldn’t give your dog spicy food. They won’t like it and you risk putting them in danger.