Can Dogs Eat Green Chili? Is it Bad for Your Dog?

Introduction

Green chili for people of Southwestern regions of the USA is a popular cuisine. It usually consists of pork, hot and pungent chili pepper, tomatoes, jalapeno pepper, onions, and other seasonings. It’s a spicy stew-like mixture served as a solo dish, topping for burritos, enchiladas, and etcetera.

Green chili is a great treat for people, but whether you can share it with your dog makes you pose this question. Can dogs eat green chili? First of all, most of the ingredients making the green chili mixture like the chili pepper, onions, and pork nutrients aren’t best for your dogs.

Chili peppers are not lethal for dogs, but they can cause some health issues related to spicy foods. Spicy foods are toxic to dogs and can cause stomach issues like diarrhea, gas, and pain. So, it’s not recommended you feed your dog green chili.

Why Green Chili isn’t Ideal for Dogs

Two issues make the Green Chili mixture wrong for your dog. It contains chili peppers and onions, and also fatty pork.

Effects of Capsaicin

According to National Pesticide Information Centre, Capsaicin constitutes the principal chemical that causes chili pepper hotness. The fact that dogs have limited taste buds makes people believe that they won’t feel the heat from chili pepper.

But, dogs will feel the pepper heat even more than you and higher spicy contents will even cause pain. The discomfort caused can lead to your dog sneezing and mouth foaming. Other issues that may occur are.

  • Panting and face pawing
  • Eye-watering
  • Dry heaving or gagging

Green Chili Onion Effects

The Green chili mixture contains onions and other seasonings which, can be harmful to your dog.  A research report on May 2020 in the ResearchGate GMBH, indicated that high contents of raw or cooked onions in dogs’ diets lead to anemia.

Onions contain N-propyl disulfide, a toxic compound that breaks down red blood cells to cause anemia in dogs. When your dog becomes anemic, it will have little energy or stamina and becomes listless and tiresome. Other signs of anemia are weight loss, appetite loss, blood loss signs, faster heart rate, and labored breathing.

Green chili

Sodium and Fats in Pork

Pork may contain beneficial ingredients for your dog like proteins and vitamins. But, others like saturated fats and sodium are present in high contents and aren’t dog healthy.

  • Expert opinion on excessive salts indicates that they can lead to higher possibilities of heart disease and increased blood pressure. Dogs with kidney problems may also suffer from hypertension.
  •  Excess fats can lead to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and decreased immune system.

Remedy, if Dogs eats Green Chili

The guaranteed safety precaution is to always keep your bowl of Green Chili out of your dog’s way. But, mistakes do happen, and your dog can eat them in excess. You then need to take the following steps.

  • Give it enough water to dilute the acid within its stomach that’s causing stomach upset.
  • Eating grass will help the dog lessen the stomach upset or cause them to vomit out the offending foods.
  • Milk can neutralize any burning feeling in its mouth.
  • Pepto-Bismol helps to reduce vomiting and diarrhea.

If the situation worsens, you can then consult your vet.

Sources

  1. Can My Dog Eat Spicy Food?, Chrissie Klinger, 2018
  2. Capsaicin, NPIC, 2009
  3. Onion in canned dog food, Anton Beynen, 2020
  4. Anemia in Dogs, Ryan Llera, 2020

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Maria Klypo

Maria Klypo

As a dog and cat owner, Maria has a passion for her pets, and her mission is to help other pet owners live comfortably with each other by writing articles on pet-related topics. She is passionate about sharing knowledge and experiences on raising and spending time with furry friends, and she is always willing to learn from others' experiences.