If you’re anything like me, dogs play a significant role in your daily life. Their love and loyalty are constant, and they are always there to be with us.
Sometimes, however, dogs show too much curiosity for their own good, and end up eating things like candy canes.
Dogs, like humans, can experience health problems from eating too much sugar, so it’s important to know which candies are safe to give your pet and which ones you should leave on the shelf.
Can Dogs Eat Candy Canes?
Do not give your dog any type of candy cane, including sugar-free varieties. Because of their lack of nutritional value and potential to harm your dog in other ways, candy canes should never be given to a dog as a treat.
Candy in general poses a risk to dogs, but candy canes are particularly hazardous due to their curved shape, plastic wrapping, and high levels of xylitol and peppermint oil. Toxic and choking hazards exist when these materials are introduced to a dog’s environment.
What Are Candy Canes?
Peppermint candies are traditionally J-shaped, and their red and white stripes are instantly recognizable. These sweets are at their peak in popularity during the winter holidays, when they are used not only as candies but also to adorn Christmas trees and wreaths.
Are Candy Canes Safe For Dogs?
While dogs can safely eat candy canes, giving them too many at once can cause stomach upset and even vomiting. Dogs with diabetes or other blood sugar issues should also be wary of the candy cane due to its high sugar content.
While candy canes are safe for most dogs, they could have a negative impact on dogs with diabetes or other blood sugar issues. Get in touch with your vet right away if you have any doubts about the safety of what your dog ate.
Have them check their stomach contents and undergo some blood work to determine whether this was an accidental or deliberate poisoning.
They’ll need to know when it happened so they can figure out if it’s too late to offer assistance or if the damage was done recently.
Had it been too long, rendering any treatment futile? Or has this just recently started occurring (in terms of ingestion), suggesting that treatment is still an option?
Contact your vet immediately if you think your dog has ingested something harmful.
Do Candy Canes Have Any Health Benefits?
Sorry, but candy canes don’t add anything good to your diet. We occasionally indulge in them for the flavor, but dogs should never be given them, even as treats, because of the risk of poisoning.
Dangerous Ingredients Found In Candy Canes
Candy canes are toxic to dogs and should never be given to them. Dogs may be enticed by the scent of peppermint oil because of its potent flavor.
Instead of risking their dog’s health by giving it candy canes or anything else that could make them sick, many people instead give their dogs dog treats like biscuits.
Sugar and corn syrup are used to make the cane or candy stick, which is safe for dogs to eat in moderation. The red stripes, however, are made with a petroleum-based dye called Red 40.
This dye has been linked to cancer in laboratory animals; therefore, you should not let your dog lick it off its paws if it comes into contact with the outside.
Dogs should never eat hard candies containing the artificial sweetener xylitol, which can cause toxic liver damage and, in extreme cases, death in just one teaspoon.
Dogs’ digestive systems may be able to handle sugar just fine, but some dogs, especially those with a weaker constitution, may have trouble digesting xylitol.
Copper chlorophyllin, used to create the green coloring in candy canes, is also toxic to dogs.
Dogs with sensitivities to citric acid (which can cause pancreatitis) should also avoid citrus oils, which can be found in fruit flavors like orange and lemon.
The citral in lemongrass essential oil is also known to trigger nausea, dizziness, and stomach cramps.
Risks Candy Canes Pose to Dogs
If your dog exhibits any of these symptoms, it may be because it ate a candy cane.
If your pet accidentally eats candy canes, you should seek medical advice as soon as possible by calling either your vet or the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center. These are the four bad things that could happen if dogs ate candy canes:
1.Constipation: The shape, hardness, and packaging of a candy cane can cause a blockage in your pet’s esophagus or digestive tract if it is eaten.
2.For dogs, the sugar and xylitol in candy canes can cause a fatally rapid heart rate. Your dog’s heart rate or palpitations may increase if it has hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. The onset of these symptoms is often the first sign of xylitol poisoning, which can progress to more serious complications like seizures or liver failure.
3.Toxic gastrointestinal reaction: Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea are the most common side effects of xylitol consumption in dogs.
4.Weakness, loss of appetite, and a sluggish metabolism are common symptoms of xylitol poisoning or an allergic reaction to the essential oil or peppermint extract in candy canes.
Why Do Dogs Like Candy Canes?
Dogs enjoy the sweet taste of sugar, so they eat them. Dogs might treat candy canes like playthings and enjoy gnawing on them or tossing them around the house.
Whenever a dog is feeling anxious or stressed out, it often chews on a bone to calm itself down. Because chewing is an instinctive behavior that serves multiple purposes (including the cleaning of teeth and the exercise of mouth muscles), a dog may seek out and chew on anything he comes across.
When people leave candy canes out for guests at Christmas, dogs often assume that they belong to them, too.
Some canines lick at their food, leaving behind traces that convince them it’s safe to eat and perhaps even delicious.
If their owner has a candy cane, they know it’s time to either give them something or throw it for them.
Dogs may mistake the practice for a treat and continue to indulge in it even though they are aware that a diet high in sugar is harmful over the long run, but they may not realize this because it has been done to them before.
Dogs have a sweet tooth, so if he has to choose between a candy cane and water, he might go for the former.
Although it may seem harmless at first, one dog can easily consume more than your daily allowance of hard candy.
Can Dogs Eat Candy Canes Without Getting Sick?
Candy canes are safe for dogs to eat. However, canines shouldn’t consume excessive amounts of sugar.
In addition, some dogs may have allergies to the cane’s ingredients, so it’s best to avoid giving them any if they exhibit any signs of discomfort.
Treats should be given to dogs under close supervision, and dogs should have access to clean water at all times.
Learn what treats and activities are off-limits for your dog during the holidays with his or her favorite people with these helpful hints. Owners should keep a close eye on their dogs if they are given treats at this time of year.
My Dog Stole Candy Canes – What Do I Do?
This is debatable.
To a small extent, it is probably fine if your dog ate some sugary candy canes.
Even if they have too much energy and do a few too many zoomie circuits, it shouldn’t do any permanent harm. It’s a good idea to keep an eye on them for a few days if they eat a lot of candy canes at once, as this could cause gastrointestinal distress.
Small, consistent portions of rice and chicken can help settle an upset dog’s stomach and firm up loose stools if they’ve been exposed to illegal candy canes.
You should also look for signs of mouth injury. Infection is more likely to set in if a mouth wound is left untreated for too long. Infections in the mouth are notoriously difficult to treat, and the costs can quickly add up.
The candy canes sweetened with xylitol are the real source of the problem. As a sugar substitute, xylitol has become increasingly popular. Find out what’s in yours by reading the label. Due to the severe danger posed by xylitol, a trip to the veterinarian is required.
Will Candy Canes Poison My Dog?
If your dog eats a candy cane that contains xylitol, it could be fatal, and the candy’s hard pieces could puncture his mouth.
Avoid giving your dog any kind of candy cane because it is impossible to tell the difference between sugared and xylitol filled ones without checking the label. You should take them to the vet immediately if they steal one and start acting sick after doing so.
Signs of Xylitol Poisoning
Numerous reports of xylitol being fatal to dogs can be found in the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. Sugar-free gum is the main offender, but skinny ice cream has also been linked to a death.
Xylitol poisoning symptoms include:
- Decreasing levels of activity
- Convulsions of fainting
- Staggering
- Swallowing saliva and gasping for air
- Seizures
- Collapse
Unfortunately, it’s not just candy canes that contain xylitol; you can find it in many other foods as well. Sugar-free baked goods, biscuits, Jell-o, breath mints, and gum are common examples, but other examples include peanut butter, toothpaste, mouthwash, and even over-the-counter vitamins.
What Other Foods Are Toxic to Dogs?
Even though omnivorous dogs can eat a wide variety of human-made foods, including fruits, vegetables, starches, and even some toxic plants, there are a few foods they should never get their paws on.
The following is a list of things that dogs should never eat or drink.
Alcohol. Alcohol, which contains ethanol that can’t be metabolized by dogs, can quickly cause organ failure. Spirits, beer, ale, wine, and cocktails are just as harmful as any other alcoholic beverage. Another possible risk is alcoholic candy.
Those two ingredients together are delicious. Indigestible compounds in all alliums lead to oxidative damage in red blood cells, making the entire family toxic. Hemolytic anemia is a possible result of this.
Chocolate. Dogs may be tempted by chocolate, but the indigestible stimulants theobromine and caffeine can lead to organ failure. Even chocolate might have xylitol in it.
Ingredients: macadamia nuts. Despite their appeal to canines, these nuts are extremely poisonous to them. Within ten minutes, they can cause complete collapse. In most cases, shaky hind legs are the first warning sign. Keep an eye out for macadamia nut cakes.
Walnuts, black. These nuts not only grow a mold that is poisonous to dogs, but also contain compounds that are indigestible to humans.
Nutmeg. Myristicin, which is found in nutmeg, has been linked to hallucinations, a racing heart rate, and convulsions.
Dough for baking that has not yet been baked. Raw dough causes painful gas and bloating in a dog’s stomach because it rises as it digests. And if that weren’t bad enough, it also gives off toxic ethanol, which is just as poisonous to a dog as alcohol is to a human.
The blue cheese. Roquefort C, a fungus found in bleu cheeses like Stilton, is toxic to dogs and can cause them to collapse. Since most dogs enjoy cheese, it makes for an excellent counter-surfing prize. Always return unused cheese to its storage cabinet.
Grapes. It is believed that the tartaric acids in grapes are to blame for the negative effects of grapes on canines. Organ failure can be brought on by consuming grapes, raisins, sultanas, grape juice, or wine.
Garlic bread, hot chocolate, pizza, salad, and Christmas cake are all off-limits to canines because they contain ingredients that are toxic to dogs.