CAN DOGS EAT PISTACHIOS?

Most dogs have the habit of drooling over whatever their owners are eating. A dog parent always has to endure the sweet gazing from their pets whenever they are having something. It doesn’t matter what they are eating; it can be a chocolate, a biscuit, some small nuts or anything to be completely honest, their lovely companion would be sitting beside them waiting to have a bite. But, as it is well known, we cannot feed all the things that we eat to our dogs. Some things can be very harmful to them and others can be good for their health. In this blog, we’ll be discussing the pros and cons of feeding Pistachios, a very popular type of nut, to our dogs and will be coming to a conclusion, whether we should feed them to our pooches or not. But first of all, it is important to understand what actually a pistachio is.

Pistachios are very addictive and tasty nuts which are consumed all around the world. They are a member of the cashew family and are obtained from a small tree. They are commonly called as Pista (especially in India) and we all eat these tiny nuts in some form or another on a regular basis without even realizing it. Pistachios can be present in the ice-creams we have, in the cookies we love or as an ingredient in our food. They are also consumed in raw form after removing their outer shell. These nuts contain a lot of significant elements which are good for our body. The concentration of all the constituents present inside the pistachios is given in the table below:

Nutritional Elements in a Pistachio

From the looks of it, Pistachios are filled with a lot of nutritional components which are very good for its consumer’s body. But, you should also direct your attention towards the large concentration of fats and also a very high number of calories which are found inside the pistachios.

So, what will be the effect of Pistachios on our dogs? Will the beneficial elements, present in the Pistas, outweigh the negative effects of unhealthy fats and calories in our dogs, or not? Let’s find out.

Benefits of feeding Pistachios to your dogs

1. Pistas have the potential to improve the metabolism rate inside a dog’s body.
2. They can be good for the canine’s skin and coat and can also boost its immune system.
3. They help in bone maintenance and development in a dog.
4. They can also help in calming the muscle spasms in the canines.

Risks of feeding Pistachios to your dogs

1. Like with any other tiny and hard eatable, there is a threat of choking hazard present with the Pistachios. Dogs tend to not chew small items very well and thus it can be dangerous for them if a pistachio gets stuck inside their oral or nasal parts.
2. Some of the elements present inside a Pista can be problematic for the dog’s digestive system and it can lead to diarrhea, vomiting, and
3. Pistachios also contain an oily liquid known as urushiol. This component has the potential to cause various allergic reactions in a canine’s body. It can lead to skin rashes and respiratory problems.
4. These nuts contain a fair amount of phosphorus in them and it is well known that great levels of phosphorus can cause bladder stones in dogs.
5. It is very important for your dog, not to consume a pistachio with its shell still intact as it will be very difficult to eliminate the shell from the body and it can easily tear the sensitive digestive tissue of the dog.
6. Some poorly harvested Pistachios may also contain a carcinogenic chemical known as Aflatoxin. This chemical can also be very dangerous for the general health of a canine and a human as well.

FINAL VERDICT:

It is very clear that the negative impact of Pistachios on our dogs is far greater than any kind of benefit that these nuts might have for them. It is simply not a very useful substance for our canines as it has the potential to cause a lot of health problems in a dog’s body and it is just not worth it to feed these nuts to them for nutritional purposes. There are a lot of other viable options present that can easily replace the Pistachios in providing the necessary vitamins and minerals to our dogs. But, an owner should also not go into the panic mode if s/he finds out that their cute little one has eaten one or two pistachios by accident, as it may probably not hurt them. However, these tiny green nuts should be kept away from the dogs considering all the risks that come with feeding the Pistas to our tail-wagging friends.