Warning: Your Peanut Butter Could Be Deadly For Your Dog

It's no secret that dogs love peanut butter and that a PB-stuffed toy can occupy a pup for hours but did you know that a new ingredient in some peanut butters could literally be deadly for your dog?

In an ever-growing attempt to cut calories from our human diets, we often eat "healthy" alternatives to foods we know and love - like peanut butter. Did you know that one of the ways that manufacturers cut calories in processed foods, particularly sweet processed foods is to use an ingredient known as Xylitol. It is lower in calories than regular sugar but still offers the sweet taste that we look for with things like peanut butter. But that one ingredient, while offering fewer calories for us humans, can be deadly to our dogs. Xylitol is incredibly toxic to dogs and ingestion can result in death. The effects of Xylitol on a dog can occur in as few as 10 minutes.

If you want to give your pooch peanut butter, make sure that it, or any other human foods you offer your dog, do not contain Xylitol. If you'd like to learn more about the why behind the toxicity of xylitol, visit VCAHospitals.com and read this article from Associate Director of Veterinary Services, Pet Poison Helpline, Ahna Brutlag.