Can Dogs Eat Butterscotch? Is Butterscotch Good or Bad for their Health?

Dogs love munching on Butterscotch and go wild for butterscotch-based edible items. However, as a dog owner, the onus of taking utmost care of your pooch is solely upon you.
Are you not sure whether dogs can consume butterscotch? Do you often tend to share your butterscotch cookies or puddings with your furry friend? 

If you are unsure about butterscotch and its association with your dog’s diet, then this article is the perfect place for you. Herein, we would share the ingredients, risks, and considerably safe butterscotch recipes for dogs.

Can your dog safely consume butterscotch?

Can your dog safely consume butterscotch

The answer to this question is two-pronged: Yes, your dog can eat butterscotch in little amounts and on rare occasions. However, despite butterscotch not being toxic to dogs, it has severe adverse effects if frequently consumed in large amounts.

Butterscotch is rich in sugar and preservatives, and your dog does not need either of these two components. Sugar has absolutely no nutritional benefits for your dog but can gradually lead to weight gain and diabetes in your pooch

If your dog accidentally consumes an excessive amount of butterscotch,  it would be best to rush to your vet. As a precautionary measure, it would be best to always take advice from your vet before adding things like butterscotch into your dog’s diet.

What are some ingredients of butterscotch considered unsuitable for dogs?

What are some ingredients of butterscotch considered unsuitable for dogs

Now you know whether or not and how much butterscotch is safe for dogs. So, let’s move on to discuss the ingredients present in butterscotch that are not deemed suitable for dogs: 

  1. Main ingredients:
  • Brown sugar
  • Butter
  1. Other commonly used ingredients in butterscotch-based recipes like shakes and ice creams:
  • Heavy cream
  • Salt
  • Vanilla extract

Your dog can tolerate each of the ingredients mentioned above in tiny amounts except for vanilla extract. In the next section, we will discuss the severe consequences of vanilla extract for your dog.

WARNING: The alcohol content present in concentrated vanilla beans is a guaranteed road to misery and pain for your dog. 

What are the risks of feeding butterscotch to dogs?

What are the risks of feeding butterscotch to dogs

You have gathered knowledge about the ingredients present in butterscotch. Thus, now it’s time to understand the risks attached with feeding butterscotch to your dogs:

  1. Obesity

Frequent consumption of treats like butterscotch will eventually cause weight gain in your dog and put him at the risk of obesity. And it is an undeniable fact that obesity gives rise to a whole new set of diseases in dogs. What’s worst is that in all likeliness, an obese dog suffers from the elbow or hip dysplasia (abnormal development of organs/cells).

  1. Diabetes

Diabetes is the next milepost if your dog is regularly devouring butterscotch. Being high in sugar, excessive consumption of butterscotch will surely make your dog diabetic apart from being obese. 

3.    Empty Calories

Butterscotch consists of empty calories like high concentrations of sugar and saturated fats with negligible amounts of vitamins and essential nutrients. 

Along with regular calorie consumption, dogs need significant minerals and vitamins. However, butterscotch is not of any use for your canine friend. 

ADVICE: As some butterscotch-based recipes contain vanilla beans, we suggest properly cooking vanilla extract. Once well-cooked, the alcohol content vanishes from the vanilla extract, and you can give it to your dog in moderate amounts. 

Is there any safe butterscotch-based recipe for dogs?

Is there any safe butterscotch-based recipe for dogs

Do you really want to give some amount of butterscotch to your dog? It would be best to look online for butterscotch treats that are deemed to be safe for pet dogs. However, the key to all such recipes is including little quantities of ingredients and excluding the harmful ones.

We would like to share one such recipe with you called “Nutter Butter Puppy Chow.” For making this, you will need the following ingredients:

  • 6 pieces of nutter butter cookies
  • Half a cup of peanut butter
  • One-fourth cup of butterscotch chips
  • 3 cups of rice-based cereal

After getting all of the ingredients mentioned above, you have got to follow the following steps:

  1. Put the nutter butter cookies in an air-tight bag. Grind them into small fine crumbs using a kitchen utensil. 
  1. Put the peanut butter and butterscotch chips into your microwave oven. You have to make sure there are no lumps remaining in it. Do this by mixing it thoroughly.
  1. Put the rice-based cereal into the peanut butter-butterscotch blend and stir it briskly. 
  1. At last, you have got to shake this entire mix with the nutter butter cookie crumbs until it is well-coated. 
  1. You can feed these nutter butter puppy chow to your dog anytime. Just make sure to keep them in an air-tight bag/packet.

FAQs

Q. Is Butterscotch pudding safe for dogs?

Yes and no. A little amount of butterscotch pudding would do no harm to your furry pooch. But overfeeding it to your dog can surely backfire. As butterscotch pudding contains a ton of sugar, it can contribute to dental issues, cardiac problems, and arthritis in your dog. 

Q. Why should you keep butterscotch candies away from your dog?

Apart from the zero nutritional benefits, butterscotch candies are extra harmful to dogs because they might end up consuming their plastic wrappers too. It can lead to intestinal obstruction and, subsequently, trouble their gut lining. And unfortunately, your doggo will have to undergo a surgical procedure to get the plastic wrapper(s) removed.

Conclusion

It is natural for dog owners to feel like sharing everything with their pet dogs. However, we must act with reason and logic rather than emotional impulse. The conclusion is simple: little consumption of butterscotch on an occasional basis is fine, but frequent and excessive consumption is definitely harmful

It would be best to go for healthier alternatives like pumpkin, carrots, meat, fish, and dog-friendly kibble instead of butterscotch. And if you just cannot help but give butterscotch to your dog, then cautiously surf through some dog-friendly butterscotch-based recipes. 

After reading this article, we hope that you might have come to a sensible decision regarding feeding butterscotch to your furry friend. You can share your experiences, opinions, and further queries in the comments section below!

Leave a Comment