Can Dogs Eat Cheetos | Here's What Your Vet Might Say
15.12.2021.
Sharing a home with a dog means occasionally dealing with food begging. If you love a good snack while watching a movie, you probably noticed your dog looking at you and hoping you might drop a tiny bit of your food. Some snacks aren’t safe for dogs, but some can safely be shared.
One of our favorite things to snack on is Cheetos, and whenever we plan on having a quiet night in front of the TV, you can bet you will find a bowl of Cheetos in front of us. If you’re like us, you might have wondered at least once, “Can dogs eat Cheetos?” Some foods could potentially be harmful to our dog, but we wanted to know what might happen if we share some of these delicious snacks with our dog. Here’s what we found out.
Are Cheetos safe for dogs?
Technically speaking, dogs can eat Cheetos, but not all flavors. To be more exact, Cheetos will not cause any kind of toxicity. It doesn’t contain ingredients like chocolate, xylitol, garlic, or macadamia nuts, which are potentially very toxic to dogs. However, just because something is safe for dogs to eat doesn’t mean you should actively give it to them.
Cheetos and other snacks are not the best nutritional option for our dogs. In fact, they are not the healthiest option for us, as well. Eating large quantities of unhealthy snacks can lead to heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, and even cancer. According to Dr. Robert Cook, we should avoid eating such unhealthy things and kick them out of our diet.
Should I give Cheetos to my dog?
The biggest issue with Cheetos is that they offer no nutritional value to our dogs or us. However, dogs are more sensitive than us. They can quickly become obese and develop cardiovascular disease from overeating Cheetos. Your vet will probably advise you not to feed Cheetos to your dog.
However, if you decide to give your dog one or two pieces every not and then, they will be completely fine. In fact, your dog will be delighted they can share some food with you. They will appreciate you more and be pretty happy with a snack you gave them.
WORLD DOG FINDER TIP: We don’t advise sharing your food with your dog. Dogs might find it amusing and tasty, but the habit of giving your dog table scraps is not good nor safe. Dogs get all nutrients they need from high-quality dog food. They don’t need different foods as we do. However, if you decide to include something in their diet, talk to your vet about what is safe or beneficial for dogs. In the meantime, you can read more about it here - Healthiest Human Food Dogs Can Eat.
What kind of Cheetos can dogs eat?
Cheetos has a range of different flavors. Our favorite is the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, but that is something you should avoid giving your dog. Some flavors contain things like garlic or onion, and these things are toxic to dogs. They can cause kidney failure and destroy the dog’s red blood cells, which leads to poor oxygenation and anemia.
Hot and spicy flavors should also be avoided. You might enjoy the slight burning sensation and the sharp taste those types of Cheetos have, but your dog won’t. They don’t love spicy food, and it can lead to different health issues. You can read more about it here - Spicy food and dogs.
The only safe type of Cheetos your dog can eat is Original or plain. They don’t contain too much salt, garlic, onions, or xylitol. The ingredients in Original Cheetos are enriched corn meal, vegetable oil, cheese seasoning, maltodextrin, salt, whey protein concentrate, monosodium glutamate, lactic acid, citric acid, artificial color, and artificial and natural flavoring. As you can see, these aren’t the healthiest ingredients, but they are also not toxic.
How many Cheetos can my dog eat?
Again, we would advise you not to give your dog any Cheetos. However, if you are absolutely adamant about giving them some Cheetos while you’re eating them, give them no more than 5. Smaller breeds can safely eat 2-3, medium-sized dogs 4-6, and large dogs 10 max.
Can Cheetos be bad for dogs?
Your dog may get a bad reaction to Cheetos. Some foods will simply not agree with their stomach. If you notice your dog doesn’t feel well after eating Cheetos, you should stop giving them to your dog immediately. Your dog might vomit, get diarrhea, lose appetite, and have a painful abdomen.
What if my dog ate a lot of Cheetos?
Sometimes, despite our best effort, dogs get into trouble. It is entirely possible your dog got into a bag of Cheetos while you weren’t at home or watching them. If that happens, you should call your vet and ask them for advice. You should also see what type of Cheetos your dog ate. Check the ingredient list and look for things that are toxic to dogs. Notify your vet and let them know your dog might have eaten a lot of onion or garlic powder in Cheetos.
The good news is that most dogs will have some gastrointestinal issues, but they will pass as soon as your dog’s body expels the ingested Cheetos. Make sure you observe your dog, ensure it has plenty of water, and call your vet if the symptoms don’t go away. You can always play it safe and ask your vet if you can bring your dog for an examination, tests, and observation.
WORLD DOG FINDER TIP: Having a dog means making some changes in your home. We strongly advise you to keep things like snacks, cleaning products, drugs, and other potentially harmful things safely locked away from your dog. Dogs are nosey and curious, which means they will try to examine something that looks, smells, or feels interesting to them. Unfortunately, that is, sometimes, things that might hurt them.
World Dog Finder team
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