When it comes to feeding your furry friends, it’s important to know what type of food is safe for them and the exact one which isn’t. Pistachios are popular snack food for humans, but are they safe for our dogs to eat as well?
In this article, we will be answering that question and many more such as exploring the nutritional facts of pistachios, the health implications of feeding them to our dogs, and some serving suggestions for those who want to share their snack with their dogs in the safest way.
Furthermore, pistachios are a good source of protein and healthy fats for humans, dogs on the other hand have different nutritional needs though harmful to them. We’ll also be discussing what you can do if your dog eats pistachios, and signs you should look out for to easily identify when your dog has ingested them.
What Are Pistachios?
Pistachios are those seeds from a tree called pistachio which originated from Western Asia. Archaeologists believe that pistachios became a food as early as 7,000 B.C.
These seeds are usually green and slightly sweet when tasted. Sometimes, they are mistaken for nuts instead of seeds. Humans have been eating them for thousands of years.
It has a kernel part which comes in different colours ranging from yellow to shades of green. They are usually about an inch long in height and half an inch in diameter. However, this seed is not only enjoyed by humans, it can also be tasted by animals or pets, precisely dogs. Though, it isn’t highly recommended for your dogs to feed on due to some of its components which are toxic to the health and well-being of your pets.
Pistachios Nutritional Profile
Below are the nutritional components that the pistachios seed contains. They include:
A. Protein
B. Carbohydrates
C. Fats
D. Fibre
E. Folate
F. Iron
G. Calcium
H. Zinc
I. Selenium
J. Thiamine
K. Manganese
L. Phosphorus
M. Copper
N. Vitamin B6
O. Vitamin K
Can Dogs Eat Pistachios?
Firstly, I will say “Yes”, your dog can eat pistachios because these seeds contain many important vitamins and minerals that benefit the dog’s immune system. Some of these minerals and vitamins include vitamin B6, which helps with the absorption of protein and fats as well as the synthesis of protein.
Thiamine is also an essential vitamin which helps the brain of the dog to function properly as well as its growth. Manganese is also another great mineral contained in the pistachios seed that helps to extract and digest the carbohydrates and proteins in the immune system.
Furthermore, they are also a good source of calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin E, vitamin K, phosphorus, and folate, and contain high levels of dietary fibre, protein, and fats. Looking at the dietary components of this seed, why can’t dogs eat pistachios?
To properly answer that question, three of all the vitamins and minerals that make this lovely snack so bad and wrong for your dog to eat. They are the high or large rate of fats and excessive salt content.
A. Fats
Pistachios like other nuts contain quite a lot of fat and calories. Though, fat isn’t a bad nutrient for dogs but not when it is at a high rate. It can cause some problems for your dog such as obesity and can contribute to pancreatitis in your dogs.
Signs that show that your dog has pancreatitis include:
a. Dehydration
b. Heart arrhythmias
c. Diarrhoea
d. Vomiting
e. Lack of appetite
f. Difficulty breathing
g. Weight loss
h. Fever
i. Lethargy
j. Swollen abdomen
k. Severe abdominal pain
l. Weakness
B. Salt
Another nutrition in pistachios which can be a problem is the excessive salt in the nuts plus other seasonings which is a turn-off in a good dietary diet for dogs. Dogs taking too much salt can cause some health problems such as diarrhoea, vomiting, lethargy, excessive thirst, and tremors.
It can also increase the fluid retention in your dog which can harm their kidneys and create some dangerous heart conditions for your pups.
C. High Phosphorus Content
Pistachios also contain very high phosphorus which can increase the likelihood of forming bladder stones which will limit the dog from excreting urine.
Other problems that might arise from your dog consuming pistachios are choking hazards as a result of swallowing the shell. However, it is important to keep a watch for any signs of choking such as
A. Panic
B. Pawing at their mouth
C. Coughing
D. Unresponsiveness
E. Becoming unconscious
If you should notice any of these signs while your dog is feeding or after feeding, then it shows that your dog has swallowed something bigger than it should have eaten. Contact your veterinarian right away stating the current situation. Your veterinarian will walk you through performing some procedures such as the Heimlich maneuver on your dog until their arrival.
In addition to choking and other factors proving that feeding your dog with pistachios is bad, the pistachios with or without the shell can also cause further intestinal blockage. Signs of this condition include
A. Vomiting
B. Loss of appetite
C. Abdominal pain
D. Weakness
E. Lethargy
F. Diarrhea
G.Constipation
H. Weight loss
If you should notice any of these symptoms or suspect that your dog has swallowed something that could cause an intestinal blockage, contact your veterinarian immediately.
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Health Benefits For Dogs
Among the possible health benefits of pistachios, the most beneficial are the vitamins and minerals found in the nuts which have been proven to be good for dogs. Some of the minerals and vitamins include:
1. Thiamine
This vitamin is essential for the brain functioning of your dog and proper growth. It helps with the digestion or the breakdown of carbohydrates and produces energy. This vitamin contained in your pistachios will also help in creating the building blocks called nucleotides of your dog’s DNA as well as the growth of its muscles while maintaining a healthy weight.
Lastly, it will help to maintain your dog’s brain, nervous system and motor skills sharp and agile.
2. Manganese
This mineral which is contained in pistachios will help to extract and digest proteins and carbohydrates. Dogs need manganese to produce energy and make fatty acids.
Also, it plays a role in the health and maintenance of bone and cartilage in joints. That’s what makes pistachios good as such can be found in grains like it.
3. Vitamin K
The vitamin is a fat-soluble vitamin that is very necessary for normal blood coagulation and control of calcium deposits in the bones and tissues of your dog. It also helps the blood to clot and function properly.
4. Vitamin B6
This is yet another great benefit of pistachios to your dog. This vitamin is responsible for the generation of glucose, absorption of protein and fats, red blood cell and nervous system function, hormone regulation, immune response, niacin synthesis and gene activation.
5. Copper
This mineral helps with the formulation of red blood cells, bones, and connective tissues. Similarly, it can function in hair pigmentation and act as a deficiency that can cause muscles.
This mineral helps with the formation of red blood cells, bones, and connective tissue. It also functions in the formation of skin and hair pigmentation and connective tissue. A deficiency, though rare, can cause muscular and skeletal problems, so we do need copper in our dogs’ food.
6. Phosphorus
This mineral helps with the formation of bones and teeth and supports the metabolism of energy and protein. phosphorus works with calcium to help provide homeostasis in your dog’s body. Phosphorus is also essential to help support healthy kidney function.
7. Iron
Iron is a mineral that is required by your dog’s body to perform important functions like carrying oxygen in the haemoglobin of red blood cells throughout the body so her cells can produce energy. Iron is also necessary for certain enzymes in the body to function normally.
8. Calcium
This mineral helps with the formation and maintenance of bones and teeth and supports muscle contraction and nerve function. Calcium is a mineral that helps with your dog’s growth, maintaining healthy bones and teeth, proper muscle building and function, heart health, and maintaining a healthy nervous system. Dogs cannot produce this mineral naturally, so they must obtain it from food.
9. Zinc
This mineral helps with wound healing, immune system function, and skin health. promotes healthy skin and coats. It also helps to assist in cell division, DNA and RNA replication. Improves the dog’s eyesight and boosts cognitive function, learning, and memory. It can further help produce a variety of hormones.
10. Selenium
This mineral helps with the protection of cells from oxidative damage and supports thyroid function. Selenium is a microelement whose intake is essential for the correct function of the metabolism. In a dog’s body, it is important, for example, for its antioxidant function, its role in thyroid metabolism, synthesis of DNA, or reproduction.
11. Folate
This vitamin helps with the production of red blood cells and DNA synthesis. Folate is needed for the synthesis of DNA, which in turn controls tissue growth and cell function.
Also, folic acid for pregnant dogs is needed, as folate deficiency in dog moms has been linked to birth defects. This is the reason many foods are now fortified with folate in the form of folic acid.
12. Vitamin E
This vitamin helps with the protection of cells from oxidative damage and supports immune system function to help as well as other nutrients. It helps to support healthy skin and coasts. It can also help to increase fertility, eyesight, and muscular eyes.
Having known about all these minerals and vitamins are obtainable through one snack, it is also important to further enlighten you that they can be obtainable through other sources which are quite more safer and suitable for dogs than pistachios. Therefore, it is best to avoid giving pistachios to your dog and consult your veterinarian for the best diet for your dog.
Risks And Precautions Of Pistachios For Dogs
Though it may feel safe for your dog to eat a couple of shelled pistachios, consuming larger quantities of pistachios will cause several damage and health risks to your dog. Some of these risks associated with feeding your dog pistachios include:
1. High-Fat Content
Just like other nuts such as macadamia nuts and cashew nuts which have a high-fat content so does pistachios also share in the same facts which is one of the problems of feeding your dogs with them. If there are too much fats in your dog’s diet, it will result to an internal inflammation of the pancreas which is caused pancreatitis. Also, it can contribute to some damage to the proper growth of your pup such as obesity.
Symptoms of pancreatitis include abdominal pain, loss of appetite, upset stomach, vomiting, diarrhoea, dehydration, and lethargy.
2. High Sodium Content
When your dog consumes salted and flavoured pistachios, it contain high levels of sodium and other seasonings which will cause some problems such as vomiting, diarrhoea, and lethargy.
It can also cause excessive thirst which can lead to increased urination and the increase of fluid retention which will harm their kidneys. This can be especially dangerous for pups with heart conditions.
3. High Phosphorus Content
Pistachios contain excessive phosphorus which is not good for their health. If further consumed, it will only lead to the formation of bladder stones.
4. Choking Hazard
When your dog accidentally swallows the pistachios shells while eating it, it can cause a serious blockage in the dog’s oesophagus. This is a result of the fact that dogs don’t have a strong crushing system to break down hard substances just like the human system.
This will cause low breathing or swallowing which may require an x-ray to assess the extent of the damage. However, for more safety and carefulness, always dispose of your pistachios shells properly after eating or removing them in the trashcan or compost bins far away from their access.
5. Intestinal Obstruction
Apart from causing damage to their breathing, the shell can also get lodged in your dog’s digestive tract thereby resulting in gastrointestinal distress. To fully access the level of what we are looking at, it must be done by a veterinarian. So contact your vet. immediately for physical examinations.
6. Harmful Compounds
Too much consumption of pistachios can also cause urushiol. This is a compound that’s found in poison ivy and can also cause some allergic reactions in dogs, especially around their mouth and face. Additionally, it also contains aflatoxin. This is a compound made of Aspergillus mould. Symptoms of pistachios poisoning by aflatoxin in dogs include
a. Loss of appetite
b. Vomiting
c. Orange-coloured urine
d. Lethargy
e. Jaundice
f. Liver Failure
After knowing the numerous potential risks of allowing your dog to consume too many quantities of pistachios, the next time that should be on your mind is, “What to do if your dog eats pistachios?”. However, let’s discuss the next steps to take in order to save your furry friend.
What To Do If Your Dog Eats Pistachios?
The best thing to do at this point is to contact your veterinarian immediately for medical assistance.
Typically, the veterinarian will go through previous illnesses and will ask to know what food was your pup fed on recently. General physical examinations and complete blood work and tests will be carried out. However, if your dog exhibited additional symptoms, then additional examinations such as an ultrasound of the chest and throat areas or X-ray will be recommended.
The level of treatment to be administrated will be dependent on how affected the pistachios must have damaged the system. Definitely, medications such as antibiotics, stomach and liver protectants, as well as pain management drugs can be prescribed to alleviate the symptoms.
Other supportive treatment including IV fluids can also be given to treat immediate symptoms like dehydration. However, due to aflatoxin poisoning which carries a serious risk of liver damage, vitamin K and hepatoprotective treatments are often recommended.
Furthermore, if your dog is vomiting persistently, it might be a symptom of pancreatitis. This condition can be life-threatening and a veterinarian might recommend a period of withholding food by mouth for several days. This is to allow the swollen pancreas to reduce my size.
You might be requested to put up your pup on a low-fat, low-protein, high-fibre diet to speed up the recovery process.
Serving Pistachios To Dogs
If you still want to serve pistachios to your dog, then you should follow some of these safety tip to avoid incurring another round of potential risks:
1. Serve Small Amount
Pistachios are high in fat and salt, which can cause gastrointestinal issues and pancreatitis in dogs if given too many. So instead of going through another phase, you should not remove it completely from it diet, rather you should serve them small quantity daily. Perferably the unshelled ones.
2. Remove The Shells
Pistachio shells can be a choking hazard for dogs and can also cause intestinal blockage if swallowed. So, ensure that you remove the shells before presenting them to your dog and dispose the shell far away from your home.
3. Check For Mould
Pistachios may contain aflatoxin, a toxin produced by mould that can cause liver damage, seizures, and death in dogs. So to avoid future reoccurrence, you should avoid feeding your dog with discoloured, shrivelled or smell.
4. Closely Monitor Your Dog
After giving pistachios to your dog, keep a close watch on any signs or allergic reactions. However, if it exhibits any signs, contact your veterinarian immediately.
However, it is best to avoid giving pistachios to your dog altogether, you can choose other healthy treats that are safer and more suitable for dogs. You can try out the Pistachio Ice Cream.
This is the process of adding the pistachios to your dog’s favourite ice cream flavour and creating a totally different treat. This shouldn’t be done daily no matter how much it flashes you with those adorable puppy eyes. It should be once or twice a week. However, if you are still confused, you can contact your veterinarian for a new dietary routine.
How Many Pistachios Can Your Dog Eat?
It is best to feed pistachios to your dogs occasionally, or special treat. However, any treat that you choose should only make up 10% of your dog’s overall diet. The remaining 90% should be a well-balanced dog food diet.
Having known that, let’s look at the how many pistachios you can feed your dog, based on his size:
a. Extra-small dog (2-20 pounds) should be fed one pistachio. Some of the species of dog includes yorkies, chihuahuas, pomeranians, and pugs.
b. Small dog (21-30 pounds) should be fed two pistachios. Some of the species of the dog include Basenjis, beagles, and miniature Australian shepherds.
c. Medium dog (31-50 pounds) should be fed three to four pistachios. Some of the species of dog include basset hounds, border collies, australian cattle dogs.
d. Large dog (51-90 pounds) should be fed five to six pistachios. Some of the species of dog include pit bulls, german shepherds, labrador retrievers, Australian shepherds
e. Extra-large dog (91+ pounds) should be fed a small handful of pistachios. Some species of the dog include Newfoundlands, bernese mountain dogs, st. bernards, great pyrenees.
Expert Opinions
Let’s look at the numerous reviews by experts and veterinarians about feeding your dogs with pistachios as well as many other views related to dog and pistachios.
Opinion 1:
According to the Federal Drug Administration, aflatoxins are toxins produced by a mould that can grow on corn, grains, and other foods including pistachios. These toxins can be present even if there’s no visible sign of mould and affect both humans and dogs.
Opinion 2:
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a single pistachio contains four calories, which can add up quickly and impact your dog’s health if frequently given.
Opinion 3:
Gabrielle Fadl, DVM and director of primary care at Bond Vet says it’s probably best for pistachios to remain a “once-in-a-while” treat for dogs rather than a consistent part of their diet. The faux nuts do contain several health benefits for dogs, but they also possess high amounts of calories and fats that can upset your pups’ digestive system.
Opinion 4:
The seeds, even without shells, can become lodged in a dog’s throat or intestine, Fadl says. That’s especially true for small dogs.
Opinion 5:
“Although the fats in nuts are considered ‘healthy fats,’ they can still contain more fat than is healthy for dogs to ingest,” Fadl says.
Opinion 6:
Fadl says giant breeds might be able to have up to 10 pistachios per day while small dogs should only eat one per day. It depends on the size of your dog.
Opinion 7
“How many pistachios they can eat largely depends on the size of the dog, but I wouldn’t recommend more than a few per day since they are fairly heavy in calorie density,” Shapard says. “Getting dogs used to eating non-dog food can lead to obesity and aversion to well-balanced commercial diets. If it’s given as an alternative to a typical high-value treat for training purposes, then I see no harm in it at all.”
Veterinary Insights
Below are a few insights about feeding your dogs with pistachios from veterinarians’ desks
Opinion 1:
Pistachios’ high-fat content makes them dangerous for dogs. “The nut is high in fat, and salt, and could cause gastrointestinal issues in some dogs,” explains Dr Klein. Consumption of fatty, salty snacks can lead to the development of pancreatitis.
Symptoms to watch for include diarrhoea, vomiting, and loss of appetite. Pancreatitis is a serious condition and can progress quickly. If your dog seems lethargic or has any gastrointestinal upset after eating pistachios, consult a veterinarian immediately.
Opinion 2:
“Though pistachios are not in themselves toxic to dogs, there are concerns with dogs eating large amounts of pistachios,” advises Dr Jerry Klein, Chief Veterinary Officer for the AKC. For your dog’s safety, it’s best to avoid feeding them pistachios. Pistachios can upset your dog’s stomach; when consumed in large quantities, pistachios can make them sick.
Opinion 3:
“Can Dogs Eat Pistachio Ice Cream?” According to Dr. Jerry Klein, AKC chief veterinary officer, dogs’ guts cannot process milk after weaning. They cannot process the lactose in the milk. Plus, the sugar levels make obesity a risk for dogs.
Opinion 4:
“Pistachios are not toxic to dogs, but ice cream contains dairy, which is one of the most common sources of allergies we see in dogs and can easily cause gastrointestinal issues, such as diarrhoea and vomiting,” says Yui Shapard, DVM, and educational director at Association of Asian Veterinary Medical Professionals. “So, we don’t condone giving dogs ice cream (or any dairy) in general.”
FAQs
1. What Is The Side Effect Of Pistachio?
Pistachios can lead to several side effects, including allergies, weight gain, increased cancer risk, kidney stones, digestive issues, and high blood pressure.
2. What Happens If My Dog Eats A Lot Of Pistachios?
If your dog eats a large number of pistachios, they may experience aflatoxin poisoning. However, symptoms include loss of appetite, vomiting, jaundice, and liver failure.
3. What Are The Benefits Of Pistachio For Dogs?
Pistachios are an excellent source of vitamin B6 which has many benefits for your dog’s overall health. Vitamin B6 is one of the essential vitamins and will help with growth and development, promoting healthy brain function, and heart health in dogs.
4. How Many Pistachios Can A Dog Eat?
Since they are not toxic in small quantities, it is safe for dogs to have an unsalted nut or two, just don’t incorporate it into your dog’s diet all the time.
Conclusion
Pistachios are not recommended for dogs due to their high-fat content and potential to cause digestive issues. While pistachios are not toxic to dogs, it’s important to monitor your dog closely if they accidentally ingest them and contact your veterinarian if any symptoms arise.
Stick to foods that are safe and healthy for them. If you’re unsure about whether or not a food is safe for your dog, it’s always best to consult with your veterinarian.
Remember to always put your dog’s health and safety first and with a little bit of knowledge and some careful planning, we can ensure that our dogs will get the nutrition they need to thrive.
