Can Dogs Eat Salt And Vinegar Chips? – Read Before You Feed

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Being a dog parent can be difficult as it can be hard to resist the temptations of feeding your dog your own food when they look at you with those big pleading eyes. Dogs will usually eat whatever they are given, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that this is the healthiest option for them. Make sure you read the following blog before you give your dog any more salt and vinegar chips!

Crispy Potato Chips i

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What Happens If Dogs Eat Salt And Vinegar Chips?

Dogs should not eat salt and vinegar chips. They can cause your dog to become quite dehydrated due to their high salt content. This can cause adverse effects in dogs, such as dehydration or even vomiting!

While you can feed your dog the occasional salt and vinegar chip, it is important to make sure that you do not overdo it. Sometimes, even small volumes of the wrong foods can lead to health complications.

Why Dogs Shouldn’t Eat Salt And Vinegar Chips

The following is a list of different reasons why your dog should not be given salt and vinegar chips. Even though it feels good to share your snacks with your dog, and it can be difficult to resist their pleading eyes, it is important that you do not indulge them too often with your salt and vinegar chips.

Excess Sodium Can Have An Impact on Dogs’ Internal Organs

Too much salt in foods is not good for dogs and can lead to a series of health problems.

Just like humans, the average dog also has a recommended daily salt intake of 200 mg (0.007 oz), and a bag of chips has 170 mg (0.006 oz) of salt.

Excessive salt intake can cause sodium ion poisoning in your dog. It can also cause dehydration, forcing their kidneys to work overtime. Most pet owners know that dehydration can damage a dog’s kidneys in the long run.

Excessive intake of salt can also lead to severe neurological damage. This occurs when the cells in dogs’ bodies begin to release water to lower the salt levels. When this happens, their brain cells start to deteriorate, causing them to dry out due to the lack of water.

Consequently, their muscles will also begin to lose moisture. Experts have said that moistless muscles will stiffen and shrivel out.

Some of the most prevalant symptoms of sodium ion posioning include the following;

  • Diarrhea
  • Vomiting
  • Lethargy
  • Seizures
  • Abnormal fluid accumulation
  • Loss of appetite
  • Brain swelling
bowl of salt

Excessive Vinegar Exposes Dogs to High-Level Acids

While vinegar is usually safe when consumed in small quantities, you should check your dog’s reaction to vinegar the first time that you give it to them.

You can do this by mixing a small amount of vinegar into their food. Alternatively, you could just try them with one chip. Watch out for any negative reaction they may have.

If they have no adverse reaction, you can gradually increase the volume until you are satisfied by the volume of vinegar that your dog is getting.

Some veterinarians even recommend using apple cider vinegar in moderation. This can be beneficial to your dog’s skin and fur, and even overall health. If you are unsure of the volume of apple cider vinegar your dog should be getting, you can just ask your veterinarian.

On the other hand, there can also be the overconsumption of vinegar which can also lead to other health complications. This is caused by the high-level acids which are found in vinegar.

When consumed in high levels, vinegar can lead to adverse symptoms, such as:

  • Bleeding
  • Excessive bleeding
  • Diarrhea
  • Heartburn
  • Skin itching
  • Vomiting
vinegar for dogs

Can Dogs Eat Salt And Vinegar Chips in Moderation?

So far, we have gathered that the individual ingredients of salt and vinegar are not generally healthy for your dog. It is not surprising that combining the two ingredients into one meal is not very healthy for your dog either.

That being said, any of the symptoms I have previously mentioned are worst case scenario.

Dogs are able to eat some salt and vinegar chips if eaten in moderation. It would be safer for your dog to avoid eating salt and vinegar chips altogether. If you practice careful moderation, then they can enjoy the occasional salt and vinegar chip every now and again.

Tips To Ensure You Are Practicing Careful Moderation

The following is a list of tips and tricks which you can follow to ensure that you are not overfeeding your dog a particular food like salt and vinegar chips:

Practice Feeding in Moderation

Firstly, it is important to know what is suitable for your dog to consume in moderation.

As previously mentioned, a couple of chips every once in a while will not hurt them, but any issues would really arise if you were to feed them salt and vinegar chips quite regularly.

Make sure that you don’t always give into their begging and so that they don’t get too much.

Enforce Training Techniques

Dogs are easily trained animals and are good to follow routines and obey instructions.

If you are having chips at snack time and notice your dog pleading for more, you can train them so that they can have one chip, and so that they know that that is all that they are getting.

Over time, they will become accustomed to this and not beg for any more after they have had one chip. You could also train your dog so that they will avoid eating foods like chips from the floor and other random locations.

Pay Attention to Your Dog’s Reaction

Did you manage to train your dog to only eat one chip and not beg after? It is quite important to pay close attention to see whether their reaction to the chip changes over time.

If you notice any symptoms I have previously mentioned – such as vomiting diarrhea, nausea, excessive urination, etc., – then I recommend that you stop feeding them any salt and vinegar chips for a couple of weeks at least. Should the symptom you previously saw stop occurring, then you know for sure that it is the salt and vinegar chips that are the cause of the horrible symptoms.

dog begging for treats

If A Dog Eats Vinegar Chips with No Problem, What Is The Best Way To Continue?

If you have previously given your dog salt and vinegar chips, you might find yourself getting carried away. You might lose count of how many you have given them. Or, you might find yourself worrying whether you have given them too much.

If this has occurred and you don’t see your dog had any visible signs of illness, then they should be absolutely fine. An occasion or two of overeating one food won’t have detrimental effects on your dog.

Make sure To Actually Enforce Your Training

Are you struggling to get your dog to listen to you when you are telling them no? Are you struggling to get them to stop eating any bit of food which can be seen on the ground, even if you are yelling no?

Another trick to this is to use their toys and treats to help defer their attention from the food that falls on the ground. If you find these don’t help to keep their attention, this may be because they need to be able to follow these commands without the crutch of a treat or toy. It can take a bit of time to train your canine companion, and these things should become cemented into their habits as their brain develops. Male sure that you do not overuse toys and treats when you are trying to train them.

salt and vinegar chips for dogs

Can Dogs Eat Salt And Vinegar Chips – Answered!

Like dogs eating cake, you may think about whether or not it’s safe for dogs to eat chips.

By now, you will hopefully agree that giving your dog too many salt and vinegar chips is not a good idea. And if you are going to give them any chips, it should be given in moderation. One or two chips is not too bad for your dog but if your dog suffers from a weak stomach already, it may not be a good idea to give them any at all.

The salt and vinegar chips may just make them feel much sicker, so make sure you monitor their reaction to the chips after you give them to them. If you enjoyed this post, make sure to check out some of my other blog posts, and if you have any queries or questions, let me know in the comments.

FAQs

What Are Good Dog-Safe Alternatives to Chips?

Plain popcorn, Plain potato chips, homemade banana chips, or homemade apple chips are great alternatives to salt and vinegar chips. You can give your dog other types of chips that do not have as strong and acidic ingredients such as cheese and onion, or prawn cocktail.

Why Shouldn’t I Feed My Dog Salt And Vinegar Chips?

The high levels of salt in the chips are bad for your dog, along with the acidic properties of vinegar. The two ingredients can cause diarrhea, excessive urination, vomiting, itchy skin, lethargy, etc.