Can dogs eat butter? Maybe you’ve started to wonder this while reaching for the butter to prepare a meal for yourself in the kitchen that you want to share with your pooch. If humans can eat butter, can dogs safely eat it too?
There is no short yes or no answer to whether dogs can eat butter safely. Technically, butter is not toxic to dogs; although, as butter is made from milk, there’s a chance that it could upset a dog who suffers from a lactose intolerance.
Additionally, eating butter does not confer any positive health benefits to your dog and may end up leading to a case of canine obesity.
As always, you must ask your regular vet before sharing any human food with your canine friend. Here’s what you need to know about butter and dogs.
When Is Butter Okay For Dogs To Eat?
Butter itself is not toxic to dogs, so if you notice that your dog sneaks in a bite of butter or scarfs down some human food that happens to have butter on it, there’s a good chance that your dog will be fine.
Even if your dog eats a slightly larger amount of butter, side effects will most likely be limited to some toilet problems and maybe a little bit of an upset stomach.
When Is Butter Bad For Dogs?
First of all, if your dog is lactose intolerant, then butter will not agree with them at all. So if you’ve adopted a lactose intolerant dog, make sure to keep butter — and other dairy products — well away from them.
In general, due to the high levels of saturated fat in butter, it won’t confer any positive health benefits to your dog. Eating too much butter or consuming butter on a regular basis could bring on a case of canine obesity.
Additionally, certain commercial brands of butter might have extra preservatives added, which in turn might upset or harm your dog. Salted butter also contains a level of sodium that will not be beneficial to your dog’s health.
So while you don’t really have to worry if you notice your dog has sneaked in a bite of butter, it’s not a food that has any place in your dog’s regular diet.
Does your dog ever try to sneak in a taste of your butter? How do you make sure your dog sticks to healthier snacks? Tell us all about it in the comments section below!
