Originally posted on https://www.poochiebutter.com/the-truth-about-peanut-butter-for-dogs
It’s a well-known fact most dogs love peanut butter. I’m sure you can relate every time you open up a jar and you find your furry friend flying into the kitchen. The question still remains whether peanut butter is indeed good for our best friend. Let’s find out if peanut butter can be a healthy and worthy option for concerned pet owners.
Is Peanut Butter Good For Dogs?
Loaded with protein, vitamin E, magnesium, and potassium, peanut butter can be a great snack for you dog. But, depending on the brand, there an be many harm additives that are toxic for your dog. For example, a lot of popular brand names like Skippy, Jif, Peter Pan, and more, contain unhealthy additives such as:
- Sugar
- Salt
- Palm Oil
- Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil
- Corn Syrup
No, these ingredients won’t kill your dog, unless it’s xylitol (most brands eliminated this deadly sweetener, but a few under the radar brands still have it: Go Nuts, Co., Krush Nutrition, Nuts ‘N More, P28 and No Cow) but they’re still toxic and can lead to more serious problems like:
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Arthritis
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Metabolic Changes
According to Your Dog’s Advisor, dogs can experience liver failure if they “ingest 0.5mg of xylitol per kilogram of body weight.”
What are the health benefits of peanut butter?
Not only is it a good source of protein, but it also contains heart healthy fats, vitamin B, niacin, and vitamin E.
- PROTEIN is necessary for building and maintaining muscle.
- HEALTHY FATS control blood sugar levels, enhance metabolism and digestion.
- VITAMIN B keeps the skin and coat looking fresh and clean.
- NIACIN breaks down sugars and fats into energy.
- VITAMIN E ensures a healthy blood circulation and keeps muscles strong.
As you can see, peanut butter is clearly good for dogs, but imagine if there was an even healthier peanut butter for dogs? Introducing Poochie Butter! An all natural, no preservative, peanut butter for dogs with added supplements for a nutritional boost.
So what kind of peanut butter is safe for my dog?
Ideally you want to look for brands that contain the following ingredients:
- Dry Roasted Unsalted Peanuts
Yup, that’s it! And none of the brands shown above keep their ingredients that simple. Your best bet is to find a peanut butter that is low or completely free of any additives. The one exception where more additives is actually better for your dog, would be Poochie Butter.
Not to be biased, because there are other peanut butters out there that are totally fine for your dog, but Poochie Butter is the only product on the market that has a multitude of health benefits compared to regular peanut butter. So let’s break it down.
Originally posted on YouTube by Poochie Butter
What’s the difference between regular peanut butter and Poochie Butter?
This is a common question we get all the time. Watch the video for a quick one minute explanation or keep reading.
The main difference between regular peanut butter and Poochie Butter is the ingredients:
- Dry Roasted Peanuts – See health benefits above.
- Turmeric – Anti-inflammatory, prevents cancer, relieves pain from arthritis, and promotes a healthy heart, live and digestive system.
- Cinnamon – Rich in nutrients which regulates blood sugar and promotes weight loss, relieves stomach discomfort, strengthens bones and has anti-fungal properties which prevents yeast infections.
- Parsley – Good for breath, rich in vitamins and minerals, and helps with urinary issues, indigestion immune health and more.
- Coconut Oil – A powerful superfood which promotes a healthy skin and coat, reduces allergic reactions, improves digestion, increases metabolism and the list goes on!
- Ginger – In the same family tree as turmeric, ginger helps with nausea, bloating, arthritis, heart-worm and even cancer.
As you can see, Poochie Butter is loaded with superfoods containing a plethora of healthy benefits, but people still ask us, “why can’t I just give my dog regular peanut butter?”
The simple answer is, you can, but my response is always, “if you really love your dog, why wouldn’t you want them to live a longer and healthier life?”
See, we’re fortunate enough where we can make decisions for ourselves. If we want to eat steak for dinner with mac and cheese and mashed potatoes, that’s our choice. If we want to make a healthy smoothie with kale, hemp seeds, matcha powder or any other superfood to give ourselves a nutritional boost, we can do that too because that’s our choice.
Our beloved dogs on the other hand don’t have that kind of freedom. It’s up to us the owner, to make decisions for them. So whether you take your own diet serious or not, our dogs deserve the best decisions that are in their best interest, because their time on earth is short lived, and it’s our responsibility to take care of them.
How much peanut butter is OK for my dog?
It depends on the size of your dog, but generally speaking, roughly a tablespoon a day. Moderation is key, too much of anything can be bad for your dog.
Here’s a slightly more detailed outline based on your dogs weight:
- 20 lbs = 3/5 tbsp
- 30 lbs = 1 tbsp
- 50 lbs = 1 & 1/6 tbsp
Personally, I like to give my dog ½ tbsp twice a day and she weighs about 40 pounds.
True story, about two years ago I used to give her A LOT of peanut butter (Peter Pan specifically) and it led to obesity and major joint problems in her back leg. The vet said she had a torn ACL so she needed surgery, but I did not have the money, so I did not move forward.
Since I stopped giving her Peter Pan and cut back on her peanut butter consumption, she’s completely back to normal! She doesn’t limp when she walks anymore and appears to be perfectly fine (although we don’t go running because I’m nervous it might put a strain on her leg again).
It took her a few months to get there, but the only major change I made in her diet was the peanut butter (I also gave her doggie supplements for her joints and added spices like turmeric to her diet).
Moral of the story? Poochie Butter > Regular Peanut Butter.
*Disclaimer – Poochie Butter didn’t exist at the time, so that’s not the reason WHY she got better, but my knowledge of the subject helped me make better decisions and now I give her Poochie Butter because of the health benefits that enhance her diet.
Final Thoughts
Now that you’re aware of the health benefits and dangers of peanut butter for dogs, make the best decision for your pooch. Just so this article isn’t totally biased, regular peanut butter is fine and it’s a healthy treat as long as you’re aware of the ingredients and buy a brand without the harmful additives.
We still believe Poochie Butter is the healthiest option for your dog, plus we have a dry food enhancer made with similar ingredients, so give our product a try and let us know what you think!