If you have a piece of candy or sugar in any form, it could cause a wonderful surge of pleasure in you sometimes. Usually, instead of having white sugar, you might think of choosing other alternatives to sugar that seem a bit healthier than it. Jaggery is one among them.
You might use jaggery in many foods in many forms in order to satisfy the sweet cravings in you.
Similarly, you might be thinking of feeding the same jaggery to your doggy friend. While talking about the positives of jaggery, it contains iron, magnesium, potassium, and even other nutrients. Your dog might even like the taste of jaggery. So, you might think why not feed jaggery to my dog?
So here come the basic questions, Can dogs eat jaggery? Is jaggery good for dogs?
Jaggery for dogs
I have heard people asking questions like, can i give jaggery to my dog? Can puppies eat jaggery?
If you want me to answer the question straight. I would say a simple “No”
Even though the jaggery contains some nutrients like iron, magnesium, etc, it does not mean that you feed jaggery to your dog. Even if your dog loves its taste, feeding jaggery for dogs is not a good idea.
To make it more clear i even say that feeding jaggery can be harmful to your dog.
So, Is jaggery toxic to dogs?
Although jaggery is not toxic to your dog. It could be harmful. Here, harm may not mean, immediate danger, but i mean that jaggery is one kind of food that could make your pooch vulnerable to many health issues.
Firstly what is jaggery?
Jaggery is nothing but unrefined sugar. It is also known as non-centrifugal cane sugar which includes the nutritional molasses during its manufacturing process.
It is usually made from sugar cane and sometimes even date palms. It mostly contains 70 percent of sucrose. So strictly speaking, it is nothing but sugar in an unrefined form.
Why is jaggery not suitable for dogs?
Dogs have become a part of our family and we think of feeding them everything that we eat, at least a treat. I have seen people feeding small pieces of candies to their dogs and enjoying eating along with them.
But it is important to remember that your furry friend is a dog and its dietary habits and bodily systems are completely different from yours.
Have you observed your dog’s sharp teeth? and did you notice that it is very different from yours?
Dogs mainly survive on proteins and fats and they have very little requirement for dietary carbohydrates. When i talk about simple carbohydrates like jaggery and other sugars. Your dog doesn’t need them at all.
It is not even the point of need. These kinds of foods do not suit your dog’s digestive system.
What happens when you feed it to your dog?
Feeding jaggery or other kinds of sugars can cause all kinds of unwanted health issues in your dog.
This happens simply because you are feeding the wrong diet which is not suitable for its digestive system.
Health issues can begin from your dog’s mouth itself. Sugars can damage your dog’s teeth, enter its digestive system and disturb its metabolic processes. It can also induce inflammation throughout its body and can finally lead to health issues like obesity and diabetes.
Health issues due to foods like jaggery
Like you, your dog even has taste buds and it uses its taste buds to choose its food while eating. This is one of the reasons your dog is naturally attracted to sweet and sugary foods like jaggery. Because of the sweet tooth.
Feeding jaggery or other kinds of sugary foods to your dog on a regular basis opens the gateway to a list of health problems for your dog. Your dog might face issues like…
1. Cavities
Do you know that the oral health of your dog is very important and it can have an overall impact on your dog’s health?
Feeding foods like jaggery can cause health issues like tooth decay and dental cavities that could lead to painful oral infections and other infections throughout your dog’s system.
2. Weight gain
According to petobesityprevention.org almost 56 percent of the dogs in the USA are overweight or obese.
Feeding sugars to your dog could have a serious impact on its metabolic activity and could easily make your dog become overweight. Its overweight could lead to various other problems such as arthritis and type 2 diabetes.
3. Diabetes
If you feed sugars to your dog, there is a greater risk of making him/her diabetic. It could further lead to even heart problems.
4. Gut bacteria imbalance
Your dog’s digestive tract contains hundreds of microorganisms that live in harmony with your dog’s body systems. Keeping the gut microbiome in balance is very important to maintain your dog’s overall physical and mental health.
Feeding foods like sugar could result in the overpopulation of bad bacteria and could finally lead to your dog’s gut imbalance. A dog with gut imbalance invites all kinds of health issues such as digestive issues, immune system issues, and even issues that affect your dog’s mental health.
5. Inflammation throughout the body
Inflammation is one of the root causes of the occurrence of various diseases. Feeding your dog sugar could be a contributing factor to chronic inflammation.
A high sugar diet could cause all kinds of health complications for you. Imagine what could it do to your dog.
6. Urinary tract infections
Your dog also has an increased risk of urinary tract infections if it consumes sugar. UTI’s are not easy to deal with. They could be even painful causing your dog to suffer.
What to do? Choose alternatives to jaggery
Feeding some kind of sweet or jaggery or any candy to their dog is a habit many owners have while giving their dog a reward. Many dog owners feed their dogs some sort of candy or for that sake jaggery as a reward for their dog. Or consider a day as a cheat day and feed it to their dogs.
But with all the health complications involved, it is better to stop feeding jaggery or any form of sugar to your dog even as a treat or reward.
Instead, choose some better alternatives that are most suitable to your dog’s digestive system.
Give your dog some good quality pet treats or give him a piece of fruit that could satisfy his sugar cravings and even improve his health.
Although fruits are healthy, they contain natural sugars. So remember to feed them in moderation.