Beans come in many varieties and forms so it’s bound there is at least one kind of beans that you would enjoy. Our dogs, on the other hand, don’t share the same picky attitude we humans have, and because of this they’re bound to enjoy most foods that we give them. However, the real question is whether or not these human foods are safe for them to eat.
Can Dogs Eat Baked Beans?
One thing is for sure, dogs shouldn’t be fed baked beans as it is detrimental to their health and well-being. There are many types of beans that your puppy can consume, as well as many kinds that you should never give to him, and baked beans fall into the latter category.
For all the vegetarians out there – beans may be an important part of your food diet. However, this doesn’t mean they should be an essential part of your dog’s diet as well! I’m sure commercial dog food, that can be bought almost anywhere, is sufficient enough to provide all the necessary nutrients that their needs.
What’s in Baked Beans and Why Shouldn’t Dogs Eat Them?
Before we talk about why baked beans are bad for a dog’s health, we should first discuss the ingredients and components that can be found in your typical can of baked beans. This is so that we can get a full grasp at exactly what we’re dealing with and what we are potentially putting in their mouth.
Baked beans, surprisingly, contain beans that are, shockingly, baked. On top of that, most commercially sold baked beans are usually stewed in a sauce and are made from Navy beans. While these beans by themselves aren’t harmful to your dog (in fact, they’re actually pretty nutritious and healthy for him), most foods that contain these beans, baked beans in our case, aren’t fit at all for your pup’s consumption.
The consumption of baked beans by your dog can lead to some unwanted side effects that are mostly intestinal related rather than externally evident. Major flatulence is also a result from eating too many beans and causes your dog to feel bloated and gives him a major discomfort!
The sauce of baked beans varies between brands; however it’s well known that it contains tomatoes, onions, garlic, bacon, and a substantial amount of salt and sugar! It’s very sad to say that none of the food ingredients mentioned is healthy for your puppy to chow down on.
I will list below the main ingredients that can be found in most commercially sold cans of baked beans. Please take your time to review and analyze the reasons as to why baked beans shouldn’t be fed to your loving them!
- Tomatoes – The main reason why this fruit is not one of the safe foods for dogs is because of solanine, a poison that is present in plants from the nightshade family, and this is especially true for tomatoes. Since the sauce most baked beans are served in is mostly tomato sauce, this is a huge red flag as there would be traces of solanine and tomatine in the mixture.
- Garlic – Dogs assimilate foods differently than how we humans normally do. Though garlic proves to be beneficial to humans, the opposite can be said when it comes to them. It would take a copious amount of garlic to make a dog feel nauseous or sick; however, certain puppies have differing levels of sensitivity when it comes to garlic. In order to stay on the safe side, I would highly recommend that you don’t feed your puppy baked beans as most recipes use quite a large amount of garlic in their sauce.
- Onions – The reason why onions aren’t safe for them to eat is because of some stuff called thiosulfate. The digestive tracks of dogs do not have the capable tools to even digest this substance, which in turn will cause many complications and a great deal of suffering too! Some problems that may arise when your dog consumes onions are damage to the liver, bowel movement complications, violent allergic reactions, weakness, discoloration of pee, etc. Onions are also a main ingredient in baked bean sauces, which of course gives me another reason to warn you not to feed this food to your dog.
- Sugar – Too much sugar is as dangerous to dogs as it is to us humans. They are prone to diabetes and gaining a little bit too much weight when substantial amounts of sugar are consumed on a regular basis. Sugar can also eventually cause the degradation of the teeth in extreme cases. With the high amounts of sugar contained in every can of baked beans, it’d be wise to choose another food option when feeding them.
Conclusion
Judging from all the ingredients I’ve mentioned above, you are probably thinking that almost all aspects of baked beans are bad and unhealthy for your pup, and to that I say, you are absolutely right.
If there is anything that you should take from this, is that the beans themselves are the only redeeming quality of baked beans as Navy beans are nutritious and healthy for them. As loving dog owners, we always try our best to provide a loving environment for our puppies where they won’t have to experience unnecessary pain caused by our decisions.
I personally have experience in feeding baked beans to my puppy. Thankfully enough, the amount given was so small that the major side effects weren’t evident at all. Through careful research and studying, I now know the dangers that arise when dogs are fed baked beans. Interestingly though, the stereotypical thoughts we have about the increase in flatulence is definitely evident in them as well! That experience definitely made for a pretty funny (though mostly stinky) day!
