Can Dogs Eat Cake?

If we’re about the actual locking of jaws in the science of mastication, then yes – dogs can eat cake. However, the experts’ aggregate opinion and non-experts online are that dogs should not be given cake. While it may be okay to bring the dog to a birthday party and throw it a piece of cake, you should not make it a habit. The reason dogs should eat cakes goes down to the constituent elements – the ingredients used to bake and bring the cake to its final form.

The ingredients and the items used in the icing may be harmful to the dog, including chocolate and macadamia nuts. So, the best thing is to keep the dog away from parties, especially those where you are unfamiliar with the ingredients making up the cake.

Beneficial Or Not?

Cakes usually have fruity content, but it is not always enough to benefit the canine. The fruit may be candied, dried, or fresh, but it won’t add anything to the dog. So, giving a piece of cake to a canine on the pretext of it being beneficial puts the dog in a risky position. If you keep feeding your dog with cake regularly, it could develop serious problems.

If there’s another snack option apart from cake, take it. Some of the ingredients used in preparing cakes are toxic enough to cause death to the pup.

What Could Happen If A Dog Eats Cake?

Here are some reasons why your dog should not overeat cake:

1. Obesity And Weight Gain

Most of the ingredients used in baking a cake are either sugary or sugar-like. When a dog eats a lot of sugar, its health deteriorates. If the cake-eating business goes on for a long time, the dog will soon gain weight. In the end, the canine will become obese. This will not only change its look but also invite some weight-related problems like diabetes, arthritis, and heart disease.

2. Canine Dental Problems

Sugar has the same effect on the dog’s teeth as it has on ours. Although you may be brushing the dog’s teeth every day, the sugary items will still have a significant impact on the dog’s oral health. Issues like rotting teeth, bacterial infections, and bad breath are likely to come up.

The bacteria coming from the sugar and infecting the mouth can get into the dog’s bloodstream, meaning that it will get a blood infection. The infection can damage the liver, kidneys, lungs, brains, and the heart of the canine. In other extreme situations, the dog could even die.

3. Toppings And Ingredients Are Dangerous

This has been reiterated up to this point, and now, it is time you get some examples. Here are the items – mainly used in cake baking – that may lead to health issues: coffee, nutmeg, candy, vanilla extract, chocolate, macadamia nuts, grapes, and raisins.

4. Say No To Sugar-Free Cake

Many people who want to feed cake to their dogs will embrace the idea of going for the sugar-free kind. Just because a cake doesn’t have added sugars doesn’t make it better; it actually worsens the situation.

Many bakers who prepare cake without sugar use a sweetener called xylitol – it is a sugar alcohol that serves as an excellent substitute for natural sugar. It is very popular in sugar-free foods that are low in calories. Unfortunately, feeding xylitol to dogs is like injecting the canine with poison. A little xylitol will cause a lot of harm.

Xylitol usually acts on the insulin levels. When the dog ingests it, insulin is released in high amounts, and thus, blood sugar drops. When this happens, the dog may experience seizures, general body weakness, lack of coordination, coma – and all these may build up to death.

Dogs And Cake Icing

If you do some little research online, you will find many sources defining dogs as carnivores, yet they have omnivorous tendencies. You and I know that dogs eat more than meat – sometimes they eat things that we wouldn’t expect them to go for. A dog may get to a frosting container, empty it, and pull off yet another surprise right before your eyes. The idea is always to be careful with what the dog eats by keeping an eye on it.

While dogs can eat cake icing, they should not have it for the same reasons they don’t eat cake itself. Icing and cake frosting is the best definition of good-looking sugar, and you should always opt for healthier treats.

The Basics On Dogs And Cake Icing

Superficially speaking, it may seem completely harmless to give your dog slices of birthday cake that have icing on them. Actually, you may go to the extent of baking your dog a cake for its birthday. Sadly, I have to burst your bubble and keep you away from doing so.

As already mentioned, cakes are likely to make the dog obese, give it diabetes, and deteriorate its dental health. Out in the wild, dogs and dog-like creatures do not meet such sugary foods like cake. A dog may go its whole life without having to eat processed sugar.

Your Dog And How It Relates With Sugary Frosting

As you may already know, the homemade frosting has in it a massive sugar amount, just like the many you find in stores. It is not a good plan to let your dog develop and form an addiction to sugar. Apart from the health problems that have already been mentioned, the dog will surely experience acute gastrointestinal infections.

Many pet owners (who have sweet teeth) will argue that they only give a cake to their dogs occasionally, which is not bad if you look at the odds. While a little sugar frosting won’t get your dog admitted to the vet clinic, it is, altogether, not the best idea.

For The Most Part, Frosting Is A Cake Topping

On top of the sugar found in the frosting, the dog may be getting underneath it and eating cake. This means that the dog will have more sugar. Also, you should know that most of the cake is baked from wheat flour – a component that is not ideal for your dog’s bowels.

You may argue that many commercial foods have grains and wheat as their common ingredients. However, the dog’s bowels are not naturally wired to break down these items.

If you give frosting to your dog, you are opening the canine up to things more than wheat flour. Things like baking soda, yeast, and baking powder are incredibly toxic for dogs. Like leavening agents, they may make your dog’s stomach swell because of the excess gas.

The other thing that should make you avoid giving your dog cake in all forms is the buildup of issues. The dog may seem fine at first, but things could be going on under its skin. Apart from experiencing tummy troubles, the dog may get spasms and heart problems because you chose to give it the wrong treats.

For anyone who wishes to spoil their dog rotten without having to tamper with its health, I suggest that you go for grain-free brands of food. 

The Poisonous Element Of Frosting

You’ve probably met a pet parent who told you about how his or her pets ate chocolate frosting and are doing just fine. They will swear and try to convince you how you can also try it. Firstly, unless a vet checked the dog well, it could be that the man or woman is just guessing. The second thing is that the resilience of the dog’s digestive system cannot be matched with that of humans because their stomachs have high acidic content. These reasons should prevent you from listening to such persons as they could land your dog in the vet’s clinic.

Some ingredients used in cake frosting and decoration can mess up with the health system of your dog. Some of them can go to the extent of taking your dog’s life. So, it is not a brilliant idea to slide even the littlest of cakes.

If you’re buying food that is out of the dog’s regular diet, you need to check the labels. Look at all the listed ingredients and then research any effects they may have on the dog. By erring on the good side of caution, you will give yourself time to determine how the dog will react when giving it a specific type of food.

Some Ingredients Used In Frosting That May Poison Your Dog

If you are reading the printed labels on treats and frostings, you have a better chance to know what you are looking for. Many of the foods put in icing can wreak a lot of havoc in the dog’s life. While some like milk may be okay in small amounts, others, such as macadamia nuts, can cause vomiting, weakness, hypothermia, and depression. So, it is best to look the other way when you see frosting and icing. Here is a table showing the ingredients that may compromise the health of your dog:

Cake And Icing Ingredients That Will Leave Your Dog Hurting
Alcohol	Caffeine	Chocolate
Citrus	Coconut	Coconut oil
Coffee	Grapes	Raisins
Dairy Products	Nuts	Yeast Dough

By no means is the table a comprehensive list. To get the best information, you can look at the ASPCA website to get current data. If you’re in doubt about a specific type of food, you should just trust your gut and put the food away. 

If you, as they say, err on the side of caution, you will end up saving a lot in terms of vet bills. Also, you will protect yourself from any heartbreaks that may come. What you should take home is that however much they say that it is sugar-free, it is not dog-safe.

How To Help Your Dog After It Ingests Frosting

If you think your dog took some frosting that may be containing some dangerous ingredients, you need to intervene early. Since there is not much you can do, make it a concern for your vet. Manifestations like diarrhea and vomiting should motivate you to seek professional assistance.

If you feel a little too scared, you can contact poison control for them to give you emergency help. They will provide you with guidelines that you can apply, and if you are at home, they will give you guidelines. After making their assessment, they will tell you whether you need to go to the vet.

The point here is that you should be concerned about the dog’s welfare. As a pet parent, you are solely responsible for the health and wellbeing of your dog.

Pretty Healthy Frosting Alternatives

Instead of going for cake icing or frosting, you can prepare healthier options quickly. You can use cauliflower, natural unsweetened peanut butter, and pumpkin puree (un-spiced and unsweetened) will help you make fantastic icing for the dog.

Also, you can get many excellent recipes for dog cakes, biscuits, and treats. Leave alone unhealthy options such as candies and decorative gum paste; go for options that your dog takes naturally. You just need to be creatively innovative with the dog’s regular meals, and voila – you will have the best alternative to frosting.

Go for natural snacks that have some little sweetness, like dental dog treats. Such will give them the sweetness you desire and keep their teeth intact.

In terms of precaution, you need to ensure that frosted cakes and cookies are kept away. They should be in a distant place where the pet cannot reach them.

If your countertop is always full of sweets, you need to put them in a container and seal it tightly. A curious dog may even open the lid. Other things like candy and cookie jars should be kept away in the pantry.

Using Good Feeding Habits To Keep Dogs Away from Frosting

Sometimes, the dog may make you fall for its begging eyes. When that happens, you become inclined to giving it the frosted treats you have. Any responsible owner and pet parent should say no. Although it feels okay to eat everything, you shouldn’t give your dog food from your plate. Also, the dog should not be under the table trying to eat from your scraps.

The one rule to building good feeding habits is by first finishing your meal. Once you do, you can then feed the dog. Do not eat your food and feed the dog at the same time.

If you’re training the dog, you should not give your food. You can use treats to motivate and reinforce the behavior that you are teaching it. If you keep your food and the dog snacks/treats separate, you will develop a culture of not getting any human food mixed up with the dog’s food. In the long run, the dog will learn that the garbage bin is not a food source. The only thing the canine should be looking forward to is treats from your hand and meals in its bowls.

Bonus Section: When A Dog Eats Chocolate Cake, Or Chocolate Itself, What Do You Do?

This section gives particular focus to chocolate, which is highly toxic to dogs. Chocolate contains theobromine, a chemical that can trigger seizures, increase blood pressure, and faster heartbeats in the dog. If your dog eats chocolate, they certainly require immediate attention. The level of urgency should be heightened if the dog ate a larger chocolate amount.

This section will open you to some tips you can follow when your pet suddenly eats chocolate cake or plain chocolate itself.

Method A: Vet Care

1. You Will First Need To Know The Type And Chocolate Quantity That Your Dog Ate.

When you get talking to the vet, they will ask you to give some info on the type and amount of chocolate ingested. The vet will then use that information to provide you with the best advice.

Of all the chocolate types, the least toxic is milk chocolate, while the most harmful is the Baker’s chocolate (the one used for baking). The dark and semi-sweet types of chocolate fall somewhere therebetween. The toxicity range given for theobromine is in the 9-18 mg per chocolate pound. Averagely speaking, each ounce of the Baker’s chocolate has something close to 390 mg of theobromine, the semi-sweet one has 150 mg (same per-ounce measurement), and milk chocolate has 44mg.

2. Contact The Vet With The Info You Have

Get on the phone with your vet and give them the info you have. There won’t be a problem if you only provide estimates. A good vet will tell you all the steps you need to take. They may either ask you to bring the dog to their clinic (if the chocolate consumed was the most toxic and in high amounts). Alternatively, they may guide you through some home treatment.

If the vet asks you to get to their clinic, use the quickest means possible. The vet’s clinic has the staff, drugs, knowledge, and equipment to deal with an overdose of chocolate.

If your regular vet is not open, you can get an emergency vet. The accident may have happened off-hours, which does not mean that the pet shouldn’t get medical attention.

Method B: Getting The Dog To Vomit

1. Only Induce Vomiting If The Vet Tells You To Do So

If you’re not making a trip to the vet, it means that you are dealing with the chocolate issue at home.

You should know about inducing vomiting because it should be done within the hour after the chocolate is eaten. Also, the dog should not have shown any neurological symptoms like seizures and tremors. Always have it in mind that inducing vomiting may bring about lethal complications.

The product that should be used in making the dog vomit is hydrogen peroxide, which you can get at a drug store. Give the dog about 3% hydrogen peroxide (about a teaspoonful). You should give it when it is mixed with water in the same portions. Instead of using a spoon (which may create a mess all over, I advise that you use a syringe.

2. Take Some Time To Monitor The Dog

For about 15 or so minutes, you should give the dog your undivided attention. The dog should be outside so that it doesn’t vomit in the house when that happens. If 15 minutes go without anything happening, you should dose the dog again.

3. Stop With The Hydrogen Peroxide Solution 

If the waiting time lasts for about 30 minutes and the dog has not vomited, you should stop. Do not dose it again as it could lead to severe problems.

Ingesting too much hydrogen peroxide for the dog may cause esophagus and stomach inflammation or irritation. Also, aspiration may occur if the solution gets into the blood. The solution may create deadly solutions in the bloodstream, where bubbles will start to form.

4. The Last-Ditch Effort Should Be Activated Charcoal

Activated charcoal will try and prevent the absorption of theobromine into the intestines. A charcoal dose is typically a gram of charcoal powder mixed with a teaspoon of water. That is given per 2.2 pounds of the dog’s body weight. Here are some further guidelines in bullets:

a) If you can, ensure that you have a medical expert to help you with the procedure.

b) This should not be an option to go for if the dog has seizures or tremors. If the charcoal powder gets to the lungs, the dog may die.

c) As you administer the product, you will need to take care not to strain your carpet or fabric. The stains it creates are sometimes permanent.

d) Do not use Sorbitol and charcoal since it may make the dog dehydrate and diarrhea follow.

e) You should know about any side effects that may come up. The one worthy of nothing is sodium level elevations. When the dog has a lot of sodium in its body, it will start to exhibit neurological symptoms.

f) If the dog is not down for eating the charcoal, you can either use a syringe or mix it with some canned food. As you take those alternative options, you should know that they have risks – the powder may end up in the dog’s lungs.