Are you wondering if hot sauce will harm your dog? What about just a tiny taste?
Here’s the deal:
While your dog may enjoy a spicy or tangy kick, anything smothered in a spicy sauce should be avoided. So sharing this condiment is questionable at best.
The fact is hot-tasting foods are all wrong for pets — even in modest amounts.
Do Not Feed Your Dog Hot Sauce
While your canine may appear to consume it without incident, most pets do not handle spiciness all that well.
Taste buds often take a liking to hot sauce, while the stomach says otherwise. Why not avoid making your dog susceptible to tummy upset!
Besides, there is really no valid reason to give your dog hot sauce.
Consider that such spicy concoctions typically contain chili which, in itself, is unusual for dogs to eat. Yet that doesn’t even begin to cover all the ingredients and preservatives in a bottle of hot sauce.
Fiery foods, fortunately, do not usually cause lasting damage — unless we are talking about a particularly intense recipe.
Regardless, consumption of hot sauce raises some real concerns. Keep reading to learn more…
Digestive System Myth
There is a common misconception about dogs and their seemingly invincible digestive systems. Their willingness to try just about anything does not mean they don’t suffer from poor choices.
If you do share some hot sauce, enforce a strict policy of moderation.
Hot Sauce Accidentally
There are situations where your dog may knock over a bowl of chili, or perhaps a bottle of hot sauce, causing it to spill.
The good news:
Digestive symptoms, after such a mishap, will likely pass. Of course, you can expect a bit of indigestion or diarrhea.
Don’t worry yourself as your dog should be fine. It’s just that regularly feeding hot sauce is something you should steer clear of doing.
Avoiding Poor Feeding Habits
There is no denying that giving your dog hot sauce is a bad feeding habit.
Dinner scraps, more often than not, are a dog’s favorite meal. We’re all guilty of it.
Occasionally feeding your dog a bell pepper is fine, but those which are spicy should be off limits.
While your typical hot sauce may not do direct damage to your dog’s long-term health, it could contribute to undesirable learned behavior in the form of begging.
Sure, some pet owners feed it because it seems to bring pleasure. Not smart!
Extremely Hot Sauce Effects
Super wicked fiery hot sauce can lead to an irritable bowel, and perhaps internal damage. This means big trouble for both you and your dog since vet visits may be inevitable.
Another thing to watch for:
Messy eaters that are prone to getting hot sauce in or around the eyes. Such a situation could be quite painful.
The Bottom Line
We do not recommend that you feed your dog anything that has hot sauce.
That includes foods like home-made chili. And obviously the more spicy the hot sauce, the worse the situation could be.
Play it safe. Keep this condiment out of your dog’s reach.