How often do you squirt mustard onto your hamburgers, hot dogs, and sandwiches, mix it into a wide variety of dips and sauces or cook it into various dishes?
Mayonnaise and ketchup are two condiments that you will most likely run into and even the most kid-friendly ones in the United States, but we have to admit, mustard is not far behind. It has been hyped as a diet-friendly condiment since mustard regularly shows up on our plates in addition to its low sugar and calorie content.
No matter how you love to smother mustard to your food, but when your dog comes sniffing along, do you ever wonder if it is safe to share your favorite condiment? Would it be fine if your furry friend would lick the mustard you left on your plate? Can dogs eat mustard?
Well, if you want to find out the answer, then please keep on reading below.
Is it Safe for Your Dogs to Eat Mustard?
So onto the big question: can dogs eat mustard?
Well, to give you a straight answer, it would be NO!
In general, most of the condiments are considered to be unhealthy for your four-legged friends since they are loaded with sugar, salt, fat, and calories.
But mustard is not just like any other condiment; it can be downright dangerous. This is because the main ingredient in all types of mustard, the mustard seed, contains compounds that can be toxic to dogs and will likely induce heavy vomiting.
If your dog has eaten a bit of mustard, don’t worry too much. A little of it won’t have any serious ill effects on his health; however, if you think he had a good amount of mustard, it will be best to contact a veterinarian immediately.
He can get sick, so make sure that you pay close attention to him. Remember that prolong vomiting can result in serious problems like dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, and other serious digestive issues that can cause permanent damage or, worse, kill your pet.
But mustard might have some use for dogs after all! Whenever a dog eats something that he should not have, a veterinarian may induce vomiting to take the poisonous substance of your dog’s body. The doctor may allow you to administer this by yourself since the procedure is very easy.
You have to mix a couple of teaspoons of mustard with water, then feed it to your dog. But just a little reminder, never try to induce vomiting without the advice or permission from your dog’s vet.
How About Mustard Greens?
There’s one exception for mustards and dogs, and these are mustard greens; they are not as harmful as the mustard seeds are. You can offer mustard greens to your dog, as well as other cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage, once in a while when they are cooked.
Mustard greens can even provide some health benefits to your dog. It has a good phosphorus and potassium content, including moderate dietary fiber, which may help in doggy digestion.
Fiber can help your dog absorb water, which means there will be more fluid into the colon that will help soften hard or impacted stool while soaking up extra water in the intestine to help the stool become firmer.
So one thing is for sure, adding more leafy greens that are high-fiber into your dog’s diet, like mustard greens, will help them have healthier, fuller, more regular bowel movements.
Of course, they don’t need as much dietary fiber as humans do, but still, many of them could probably benefit from a small boost in fiber intake.
But you should never feed these into your dog in raw form! Remember that our dogs don’t chew their food the same way we do, so this means that they don’t appropriately break down the cell walls of the plants before swallowing.
This is another thing that we should take seriously! When our dogs eat too many raw vegetables, their thyroid function might get suppressed.
So to make mustard greens safe for your dog to consume, take some time to at least steam them until tender or puree unseasoned greens along with other approved dog foods.
This will make the food much easier on your pup’s stomach and, at the same time, improve the absorption of key minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants.
Final Thought
It is very important to know the answer to the question “Can dogs eat mustard?” so we can make sure that we will never be putting our pets into a risky situation.
Be very careful when feeding your dog, especially if you feed scraps from the table; double-check that food does not contain the mustard seed content.
If you think your dog has eaten anything that he should have not, call your vet immediately and ask how to proceed.
Anyway, I hope you learn something new from my article today. If you have any more questions or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to leave them in the comment section below.
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