Although pecans are excellent for people, but can dogs eat pecans? No, pecans are very harmful for dogs and can even cause fatal outcomes. You should not let your dog sneak even a few pecans from your snack pack! This applies to most other nuts too, such as walnuts, pistachios and almonds. Although these nuts carry several health benefits for people, the situation is exactly the opposite when it comes to your dog.
Why Are Pecans Bad For Your Dog?
Pecans have small amounts of Aflatoxin, which is a poison that comes from the mold, Aspergillus. Dogs have sensitivity towards this and can get sick very easily on consuming it. Look out for symptoms like lethargy, low appetite, vomiting, orange colored urine and black stools. The vomit, urine and stool may even have traces of blood in them.
Eating pecans can cause critical issues to your dog’s intestinal tract and even cause an obstruction in the digestive tract as they are difficult for them to digest. Like many other nuts, pecans contain high levels of fats that can cause obesity in dogs. They also increase the possibility of the occurrence of pancreatitis in dogs.
Mold develops very easily and quickly on the shells of pecans. This mold contains tremorgenic mycotoxins that can cause tremors, seizures and even damage to the dog’s neurological system.
The high sodium content in pecans can be very harmful for dogs in large quantities. Additionally, this can lead to failure of the liver and the development of stones in the bladder.
What Should You Do If Your Dog Eats Pecans?
One or two pecans eaten accidentally by your dog are not to be worried about very seriously, as they are not sufficient to cause severe health issues to your dog.
However, if your dog has eaten an entire nut along with its shell, or a whole bag of pecans, there is a lot you need to be worried about. Additionally, if the pecans eaten by your dog were salted, the outcome could be worse.
Pecans also have the tendency to develop mold very quickly. Such pecans, if eaten by your dog, could also have severe consequences.
If any of these situations occur or if you even suspect that your dog has eaten a large quantity of pecans, pecan shells, salted pecans or moldy pecans, you must rush it to the vet or the nearest animal emergency service immediately. The urgency arises because if you delay too long and your dog has consumed a large enough quantity of pecans, it is sure to cause liver failure.
The longer that medical treatment is delayed, the greater the possibility that your dog may not be able to recover from pecan poisoning. The treatment is then likely to become much harder and may even require surgery.
The best precaution to avoid putting your dog’s life at risk is to keep your pecans as safely as possible in a place where your dog cannot reach them. As dogs love exploring all nooks and crannies, all cupboards and cabinets within your pet’s reach are surely unsafe. Store them in a place that is impossible for your dog to find. Additionally, you must resist the urge to toss one or two pecans to your dog no matter how sadly he looks at you while you’re eating them.
What About Other Nuts?
It is a fact that dogs appear to love eating nuts and your dog may go crazy to get some, however, there is absolutely no reason to give any nuts to your canine buddy. Just add them to the list of foods never to be fed to your dog! There may be a few nuts that do not cause harm to dogs, but even these can become very harmful if they are salted.
Almonds are often a favorite with dogs. Almonds are not poisonous for dogs, yet they may cause an upset stomach. This is because almonds are difficult for dogs to digest and eating them can cause distress to the intestines.
Black walnuts are not toxic for dogs but are still harmful. They contain juglone, a toxin that may lead to an intestinal obstruction or gastric issues to your dog. Furthermore, when moldy, walnuts can lead to neurological issues or seizures.
Hickory nuts also have juglone, which may lead to issues similar to those caused by black walnuts.
Macadamia nuts have high fat content that can lead to severe stomach problems and possibly pancreatitis. Macadamia nuts are also known to cause neurological issues due to other toxic content.
Pistachio nuts are not to be fed to your dog at all as they will also cause an upset stomach. Eating them frequently is very likely to lead to pancreatitis to your dog.
To conclude the discussion on the question that we started with, can dogs eat pecans; the answer is ‘absolutely not!’
References:
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/help-dog-ate-pecans/
http://mom.me/pets/dogs/19906-national-nut-day-what-nuts-are-safe-dogs-eat/
http://mom.me/pets/dogs/17952-nuts-are-unsafe-dogs-eat/
http://www.dogheirs.com/dogheirs/posts/
http://www.dogster.com/dog-health-care/can-dogs-eat-nuts-almonds-peanuts-dog-health-food-tips
https://www.petinsurance.com/healthzone/
http://www.wagthedoguk.com/2014/08/22/bad-nuts-for-dogs/
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