Every pet needs a balanced diet. To ensure your dog stays healthy and energetic, it's important to avoid giving them unhealthy foods. A veterinarian has answers to questions about why dogs shouldn't eat sweets and how this can impact their health.
Why aren't dogs given sweets?
When people say sweets, they usually mean confectionery: candies, chocolates, waffles and other delicacies. However, for animals, sweets are anything that contains carbohydrates in large quantities. These foods include not only treats, but also white bread, pasta, cookies, potatoes and other high-carbohydrate foods.
The dog's liver cannot cope with the load of processing carbohydrates
After digestion, carbohydrates are absorbed in the small intestine and transported via the bloodstream to the liver, where they are processed. Some of the energy is converted into glycogen. However, the dog's organs cannot cope with the increased load, so what cannot be processed causes allergic reactions.
What happens if you feed your pet high-carbohydrate food?
As a result of consuming sweets and foods high in carbohydrates, four-legged pets experience the following health problems:
- redness and watery eyes;
- inflammation of the mucous membrane of the ears;
- skin itching;
- overexcitation, inappropriate behavior.
Regular consumption of high-carbohydrate foods by dogs can lead to liver cirrhosis.
To ensure your pet feels well and is healthy, you need to scrupulously follow a feeding regimen and avoid high-carbohydrate foods in its diet.
