A small amount of whip cream will not necessarily be detrimental to the canine’s health. But larger quantities can be harmful. Not to mention that many dogs might be not able to fully digest dairy products. So, yes, dogs can eat whipped cream, as long as not happens often and the serving size is as tiny as possible. As a matter of fact sweets, including whipped cream, are amongst the most controversial foods we share with our animals. But let’s get into the nitty-gritty.
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Is whip cream safe for dogs?
Whip cream is fine for a dog to taste on rare occasions as long as it’s plain and is low in sugars and fat. High sugar treats can lead to significant dog’s health problems such as diabetes.
The increase of fat’s share in dog’s nutrition might provoke obesity-related health problems such as cardiovascular, diabetic, arthritic concerns. You must think twice when you select the whipped cream you are about to share with your dog.
Therefore, the two important bits of data you have to look for on the whipped cream tag are sugar and fat content.
Basic whipped cream with no fancy flavors added would be a safer option for the dog. For instance, chocolate – flavored whipped cream most likely to be highly toxic to your pet. As well as options containing additional preservatives and artificial coloring pigments may be dangerous.
Whipped Cream Ingredients to Avoid
Whipped creams can be different. As it was mentioned above plain cream would be your best choice to share with the pup. However, it’s still a good practice to scan the label for certain ingredients to play it safe.
Here’s what you might look for:
- Any form of lemon. Some whipped cream recipes are using lemon-like citrus flavors. As you may know, lemons’ acidity is something that makes them terrible for dogs. Lemon juice causes dogs’ stomach upset.
- Vanilla extract. Certain whipped cream products are using vanilla extract, which is known to harm dogs. Even imitation vanilla can contain alcohol. Keep in mind that even extract’s imitation may also contain alcohol.
- Chocolate. The idea of indulging ourselves with whipped cream with chocolate makes us want it so badly. Even our dog might think it is quite awesome, but don’t share any of it with him. Chocolate includes a compound known to be poisonous for dogs.
- Espresso. Caffeine is not advised for dogs as it increases their blood pressure.
While some components can be avoided, some additions to whipped creams can be sort of canine-friendly. For instance, peppermint whipped cream is considered safe for canines in small quantities. It can actually help to refresh the breath of your dog. For a cup of heavy cream, you need to add only 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract for a perfect taste.
Is whipped cream bad for dogs?
A conventional whipped cream is made only of two ingredients: sugar and heavy cream. So it’s sweet and fatty. And none of that is healthy for canines. 100g whipped cream contains 70% saturated fat, 8g sugar. The higher levels of fat in your dog’s diet triggers obesity and heart disease.
Also, fats and sugars can disrupt your dog’s tummy and cause an upset of your stomach! Dogs can develop dental problems even if consuming whipped cream that is low in fats and sugars.
Also, if a dog overeats milk products, it can adversely influence its ability to process food and cause irritation in its digestion. So while dogs can eat whipped cream in theory, you have to try excluding it from your dogs’ regular diet!
Can dogs eat Cool Whip?
So far we’ve established that whipped cream is not great for dogs. But Cool Whip is even worse than that. It mostly contains highly processed ingredients that are detrimental to your dog’s health.
is a product consisting of water, hydrogenated vegetable oil, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, xanthan, sodium caseinate, sorbitan monostearate, skim-milk, light cream (fewer than 2 %), natural and artificial flavor, guar gums, Polysorbate 60, sodium-polyphosphate and much more.
Do you want your pup to eat a handful of scary chemical compounds or an actual cream?
Dogs and whipped cream. Summary
While dogs can have whipped cream, this “treat” can only be offered to dogs every now and then if, for some reason, it’s absolutely necessary. This product has zero nutritional value for dogs, and the potential harm of consuming can be quite severe.
Do not give whipped cream to your canine if he is intolerant to lactose and pay close attention to the ingredients, particularly when you use mass-produced whipped cream from the grocery store.
Your dog’s stomach might get mildly irritated if he ate lots of whipped cream. In the next 24 hours, keep an eye out for side effects such as diarrhea and vomiting. No need to panic or call the doctor immediately if you spot any of that. After a couple of days, those symptoms will go away.
But if you want to alleviate the discomfort of your pup, you can use Pepcid. This over-the-counter medicine used Famotidine as an active ingredient to reduce acidity in the stomach of your dog. In case your pup still not fully recovered in two days after there’s a chance he is sick for a reason other than whipped cream. And in this case, it makes perfect sense to visit your vet.
Credits: thanks for the photo to Canva.