Most types of chips are bad for dogs, but can dogs eat sun chips? Do they contain garlic and onion, the two ingredients toxic to dogs? How much can I give to my pooch? Answers to these questions coming right up.
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Let’s settle this once and for all: can dogs eat Sunchips?
The answer to this question is a bit of a yes, but also a no. In other words yes, your dog can definitely enjoy the occasional treat of a few pieces of Sunchips and savor every bite. But no, he can’t go gaga over them and eat a lot.
Sunchips are generally okay for dogs in moderation because they are mostly made of whole grains, which are safe for dogs to eat. However, they also contain several ingredients, which should be given to pets only sparingly.
Let’s take a closer look at Sunchips, especially what components they are made of, so that we know what we are feeding to our beloved pups before it’s too late.
What Ingredients Are Sunchips Made Of?
As everyone knows, Sunchips are people’s favorite whole grain chips. And, as everyone knows, there is a lot of healthy stuff in those Sunchips. Here is what ingredients make everybody’s favorite Original Sunchips:
Sunflower/canola oil, Whole oat flour, Brown rice flour, Whole wheat, Whole corn, Sugar, Salt, natural flavor, and Maltodextrin.
Now, let’s talk about Sunchips’ two distinct flavors Brown Sugar and Sweet Potato flavor. Apart from the ingredients covered above, they additionally contain brown sugar, dried sweet potato, honey, and butter, which undoubtedly add a significant portion of calories. However, despite a sizeable calorie rise, they are not too concerned on their own.
But if we look at the other three flavors (Garden Salsa, French Onion, Harvest Cheddar), they all come with onion and garlic powder as added flavoring agents.
Now, conventional wisdom says onions and garlic are toxic to pets. So, the question arises – are they really? Does a bag of Sunchip include enough of them to make your dog sick? Let’s find out.
Does the Garlic and Onion Flavoring Found in Sunchips Harmful to Your Dog?
Onion and garlic plants are members of the Allium family. They contain a compound called thiosulphate, which is toxic to dogs and can cause hemolytic anemia in them. This is a condition where your pet’s red blood cells break down, leading to weakness, lethargy, anemia, and sometimes even death.
The effects of thiosulfate poisoning can be mild or severe, depending on how much was ingested. If you suspect your dog has eaten garlic or onions, call your vet immediately!
So, it’s true that both garlic and onions are toxic for dogs, and both of these two ingredients are no-nos when it comes to feeding your four-legged friend. But here’s the catch – they can cause any health issue only when eaten in larger quantities.
Luckily, the amounts of garlic and onion powder added to Sunchips are extremely negligible. Even if you really want your dog to get sick from eating Sunchips, it would be impossible for you to force-feed them enough bags worth to make that happen.
What About Salt and Fat in Sunchips?
Does your dog love Sunchips? We know they are super-tasty, and they taste equally delicious to your pets as well.
But considering the fact that every Sunchips bag comes with seven servings, where each serving of 28 grams offers 140 calories, including 140 mg of salt and 6 grams of fat, it’s easy to accumulate lots of unhealthy calories and a significant amount of fat and sodium content if your dog starts gulping them like there is no tomorrow.
And that begs the question: is the salt and fat in Sunchips safe for dogs?
Does Fat in Sunchips Pose Any Health Risk for Dogs?
Let’s get one thing straight fats are a crucial part of a dog’s diet. Fat is a macronutrient that helps keep a dog’s body healthy when consumed in moderation.
And here is what constitutes moderate as per a study conducted by the National Academy of Sciences; a dog with an average body weight of 33-pound should intake 14 grams of fat every day to stay active and happy. If your dog is smaller or larger than that, you might want to adjust accordingly.
However, snacks like Sunchips are notorious for having insanely high amounts of fat content in their products. While this fat is obviously bad for humans, it poses a much more serious threat to our furry companions than it does to us.
This is because dogs don’t have an inner digestion mechanism designed to break down fat in large amounts as efficiently as we do. Where humans would often be able to deal with the high levels of fat found in Sunchips, our dogs will struggle to manage or even expel them from their bodies efficiently.
In fact, too much fat in a dog’s diet can lead to weight gain, which can bring on other health problems, including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
Moreover, there will be a higher chance of your dog getting acute pancreatitis from eating too much fat, which can be life-threatening if not treated and taken care of at the earliest.
Pancreatitis, or inflammation of the pancreas, occurs when your dog consumes an excessive amount of fat, causing its pancreas to be overwhelmed.
It triggers a condition where the pancreas’ enzymes responsible for breaking down fat start attacking the organ itself. Your pet can feel excruciating abdominal pain while exhibiting other symptoms like lethargy, vomiting, and fever at the same time.
What Does Salt in Sunchips Do to Your Dog?
It is understandable if you are a little confused about whether or not Sunchips are good for your dog. After all, with all the different diets and restrictions we place on ourselves, it is hard to keep track of what is okay and what is not for our dogs.
Let’s start with the good news: in small quantities, Sunchips are not necessarily bad for your dog. Now let’s get to the bad news: Sunchips are packed with Sodium, which can be harmful to your dog if consumed in huge quantities.
Pets need some salt in their diet to maintain normal body function. As an essential electrolyte, Sodium helps your dog to
- Absorb nutrients
- Control blood pressure
- Keep the nervous system and body muscles functioning properly, and
- Ensure that the right cells receive the right amount of water while keeping others from becoming dehydrated or inflamed.
But it is also crucial for them to maintain a balance of nutrients. By giving them salty snacks like Sunchips in excess, you can throw off that balance and make your pup sick. Sodium in high doses can cause some very nasty side effects in dogs, and it can even kill them!
In a nutshell, Sodium can cause a whole host of problems for your pooch from nervous system damage to gastrointestinal issues and can even develop severe heat conditions. The most common consequence of overeating salt is dehydration, as it causes the body to lose water through frequent urination.
Aged dogs or those with existing kidney, heart, or liver conditions are especially prone to ailments caused by excess sodium. Their organs are already compromised and can’t handle the extra burden of this mineral in their systems.
As mentioned already, each Sunchips serving gives a hefty 140 mg of salt. Considering the maximum daily salt intake limit is 100mg for a dog of 30 pounds weight, you are feeding your pet 1.4 times more salt than the recommended limit if you let it eat even a single serving of Sunchips.
Now, if you just fed your dog a few Sunchips and they seem fine, don’t freak out; they will probably be okay. But if your dog starts showing any of the obvious symptoms such as: dizziness,
- Poor appetite,
- Vomiting,
- Elevated blood pressure,
- Rapid heartbeat,
- Severe diarrhea,
- Feeling confused, and
- Uncontrolled motor responses
after eating Sunchips (or anything else with a lot of salt in it), call your vet immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
#1. What chips are toxic to dogs?
Most kinds of chips, including tortilla chips, Doritos, Cheetos, Pringles, and Sunchips, can be toxic to your pets if they have a lot of them. Look for ingredients like onion, garlic, salt, and fat, as they are the key components dogs are specifically sensitive about.
#2. Can dogs eat flavored chips?
Flavored chips are often worse than their regular versions. Onions and garlic are the two most common flavoring agents manufacturers use.
If consumed more than the recommended amount, they can lead to several serious conditions like hemolytic anemia and GI tract inflammation, to name just a few.
Fortunately, chips that come with onion and garlic flavoring have them in a minuscule amount that is usually unable to cause any major issue.
#3. Are Hot Chips okay for dogs?
Hot chips are a form of chips that are fried in oil at very high temperatures, making them piping hot when served. Since dogs directly swallow their food without chewing, eating Hot chips can pose some serious health risks to your four-legged friends. Your pooch may burn its mouth, tongue, or throat by eating the chips that are still very hot.
Also, the high level of sodium present in the Hot chips can cause salt poisoning, which can be lethal to your pet if untreated. Dogs who regularly eat Hot chips can become obese, too, as they will tend to consume more calories than they burn.
A Few Final words
If you are like us, you can’t resist the temptation to give in to your dog’s begging. They are so cute, and sometimes you just have to share a little taste of what you are eating with them. But when it comes to Sunchips, don’t let your heart melt over their pleading eyes.
You might think that garlic and onion are the main things to watch out for when feeding your dog human food, but that is not quite true.
Though they can be toxic for dogs, a bag of Sunchips does not contain an adequate amount of these two alliums to make your pup fall sick even if it eats an entire pack!
However, the reason Sunchips are not suitable for your dog is that they have a high concentration of Sodium and fat, which can cause life-threatening conditions if left untreated. They also contain a lot of calories, leading to obesity, joint problems, and other health issues.
So can dogs have Sunchips? Yes! But be careful: always regulate how many Sunchip snacks you give your dog and remember that it should not be more than only one or two pieces (max) in a day.
Thank you for reading. We hope you got the answers that you were looking for. You might also be interested in knowing about other things that are dangerous for your dogs such as Shredded Wheat and Hamburger Buns
