Is Vanilla Cake Bad for Dogs & Puppies to Have?
For humans, Cakes is symbolic with a season or event of happiness. They are of several flavors and usually present at our family get together, birthday celebrations, wedding ceremonies, etc. Dieticians usually warn us to take cakes moderately and only occasionally due to their high sugar content. Therefore, even for humans, cakes are not to be considered as nutritious food but desserts that should only be consumed in moderate proportions.
In case you’ve been wondering if you can feed your dog with cake, the very straightforward answer is NO. Cake is made from different ingredients, ranging from sugar, flour, eggs, etc. Some of these might be harmful to your dog. So, it is advisable not to feed your dog with any type of cake.
In this article, we will be reviewing the suitability of cakes for dogs- is it ok or not.
Cakes
Cakes are of different types, but they are all baked desserts that humans find delicious to eat. They are usually made from various ingredients such as baking soda, eggs, sugar, flour, margarine, and many more.
Usually, cakes are made with preservatives, cocoa, nuts, Icing, chocolate, fresh or dried fruits. These items could be inside the cake or outside as decorations. They are usually added to the sugar and flour mixture before baking or added after baking.
Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed to eat cakes, not even in small quantities. This is because the nutritional value of cake is not worth the health risk that it can lose to them. Although they can have some cake occasionally and it won’t harm them, it is better that you do not start at all.
Also, ingredients like chocolate and even macadamia used in preparing cakes are considered very harmful. So, keeping your dogs away from cake during parties or at any other time is most paramount because you might not know the ingredients or items used in making or baking the cake.
Do dogs benefit from Eating cakes?
Your dog does not benefit at all from eating cake but rather, it causes more harm than good. The effect that cakes have on dogs is more than the merits, that is, even if there are any at all.
Sugar is one of the most important ingredients in the making of cakes, and therefore, consuming cakes will automatically increase the sugar level of your dog.
Sugar is not a part of dogs’ natural food, and they only started eating sugar when humans domesticated them. No wonder Cakes are classified as unhealthy food for dogs. More so, cakes do not contain a balanced nutritional requirement for your dog’s daily wellbeing. Therefore, feeding your dog with cake every time is not healthy. Apart from sugar, there are other ingredients in cake that are not only harmful to the wellbeing of your dog but could also kill it.
Effect of cakes on dogs
It causes overweight or obesity
Since cakes are heavily loaded with sugar (which is a form of carbohydrate), when given to your dog continuously, it could lead to excessive weight gain also called obesity, which can make your dog prone to other complicated diseases such as diabetes, arthritis or even heart disease.
It can damage the teeth of your dog:
Feeding your dog with cake can end up damaging their teeth. Even if you wash the teeth of your dog every day, there might still be particles that were not removed completely. This can further lead to rotting of the teeth, bad breath, rotten cavities, and infection. It could even be worse. When bacteria enter into your dog’s bloodstream from the mouth, it starts spreading to the kidneys, lungs, heart, lungs, and brain, thereby causing a lot of damage to your dog’s entire system. In worse cases, it can lead to death.
There are some ingredients used in preparing cakes that are dangerous to dogs. Below are some of them,
- Chocolate
- Grapes
- Nutmeg
- Coffee
- Raisins
- Macadamia nuts
- Candy
- Vanilla extract
For example, chocolates are harmful to dogs and even a little bite of it can result in dire consequences. Therefore, Considering the health hazard that these cake ingredients cause to your dog, would you consider it a good risk to take? If you ask me, I’d say it is best for you not to feed your dog with cakes at all.
Are sugar-free Cakes healthy for Dogs?
Since sugar is known to be harmful to dogs, some dog owners may think a sugar free cake is the solution. Although the removal of sugar from the recipe is quite good, the danger is in the ingredient used in place of the sugar.
The common supplement for sugar in cakes is Xylitol, which is a natural form of sugar and a type of alcohol at the same time. Sugars are bad for dogs and alcohol are very toxic to them, which means Xylitol exposes them to double risk. This substance is very therefore considered toxic to dogs as even a little faction of it in their diet can cause grave medical consequences.
Furthermore, when xylitol is ingested, even if it is in a small quantity, it can stimulate the release of insulin in your dog and lead to hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia can further lead to weakness, seizures, lack of coordination, coma and even death.
Can Cake Be Eaten by Dogs?
In conclusion, cakes are not considered healthy for humans much less dogs. Feeding your dog with a small quantity of cake occasionally may not harm it. However, dogs have a different biological system from humans, plus their intestines are smaller and sensitive to many foods we enjoy, it is better not to feed them with cakes to avoid the aftermath effects.
If you must feed your dogs with cake, Instead of giving them cakes that are prepared for human consumption , it is better to buy or bake those that are dog friendly, where the ingredients are in their appropriate proportions and the cake making process is considered healthy for dogs.
