Dog Spicy Food Is Pretty Much Off-Limits

Dog Spicy Food

by Sandra Juliana Ericson

The other day when I was eating my freshly made pico de gallo, delicious by the way, I couldn’t help but look down to see my pupper patiently waiting for a bite of my lovely salsa. Unfortunately for him, I knew the onions in my pico de gallo were off-limits, as all parts of the onion plant, cooked and uncooked, are toxic to dogs because they can cause a condition called hemolytic anemia.

But I still had some fresh jalapenos left, and it got me wondering, can my dog eat jalapenos? And before you say it, I usually use serrano peppers, but the store was out. 

Giving your dog jalapenos as a snack might seem like an odd thought, but it really isn’t. Lots of dogs love raw bell peppers, and they are rich in nutrients, antioxidants, and other nutritional goodies. 

So I set off to find out if I could give my dog a tasty jalapeno snack. In my search, I fell down the rabbit hole and learned a lot about our dogs and their relationship to spicy foods. 

How Dogs Taste

To answer the questions like are spicy foods bad for dogs, and can they taste spicy, we have to learn about how a dog’s taste works. So first, how well can dogs taste things, in general? Not great, actually! 

You would think with their insatiable appetites, along with their superior hearing and smelling skills that the average dog would have a lot of taste buds. But where we have about 9,000 taste buds on our tongue, the common dog only has about 1,700.

That seems surprising at first with their love of food, but you’ve probably noticed your dog doesn’t seem to appreciate their food or snacks. Most just quickly gobble it down. I know there have been times where I’m excited to give my pup that rare occasion lux treat, only to watch them take one bite, hopefully, before swallowing it.  But just because they will avoid natural spicy foods doesn’t mean they won’t go for your buffalo wings or curry. Since their GI systems can be sensitive, even if they don’t eat any spicy food, giving them a canine probiotic supplement to encourage good gut and digestive health.

This happens because a dog’s love for food, particularly for fatty and meaty-smelling foods, is due to their nose, which has an organ along the palate that “tastes” food.

A dog’s taste buds are very similar to ours, in the sense, it can taste and discern the same basic flavors: sweet, salty, sour, etc. However, because we have so many more taste buds, our ability to taste food — for lack of a better word —  is greater. 

If you’re a fan of spicy food, you’re probably well aware that spiciness has a smell. But if you’re like me, you probably find that spicy pungency isn’t like other smells; it’s unique, and in a comic way, mild. So while you can smell spicy, it’s the taste buds that are doing the real work and bringing out the heat. As such, right away, we can assume that while dogs do taste spiciness, they are far less sensitive to it.

Are Spicy Foods Toxic To Dogs?

The sensation of spicy comes from the chemical compound, capsaicin, which is not toxic or a common allergen to dogs. However, more than a small amount can really irritate their gastrointestinal system. That’s not surprising, as most of us have experienced the fun fact that spicy foods can still be spicy the day after eating them — if you get what I’m flushing saying. 

But where humans have been eating spicy foods for thousands of years, our doggos haven’t. So, while they are less sensitive to tasting spiciness, their digestive system is the opposite and is more sensitive to spicy foods than ours. Fortunately, dogs aren’t attracted to plants abundant in capsaicin. Unfortunately, with our love of spicy, capsaicin isn’t just staying in our crops anymore. It can be thrown into pretty much any dish to up the heat. Dishes like ones that are high in fats or have a lot of meat that our dogs can’t resist. 

The powerful aroma of the fat and meat can easily cover up a dog’s insensitivity to taste spiciness in a dish where you can. But rest assured, their digestive system will surely feel every spicy note. This means it’s pretty easy for a dog to consume more spiciness than they can handle, which isn’t much in the first place. As such, I never really let my dog have any spicy foods, including jalapenos. At most, I may let them have a taste of the sauce if it’s like a curry or something. 

Spicy Fun fact: We now have evidence that humans have at least been intentionally spicing up their food for at least 6,000 years. 

Conclusion 

While spicy foods, or better said, the compound capsaicin, isn’t toxic to dogs, it’s not a great idea to give them it. Many people have issues with spicy food irritating their digestive system alone, and we have been eating spicy foods for centuries. You can now imagine how bad it can mess up our dogs’ GI system as they will actively avoid spicy plants things in the wild. But just because they will avoid natural spicy foods doesn’t mean they won’t go for your buffalo wings or curry. Since their GI systems can be sensitive, even if they don’t eat any spicy food, giving them a canine probiotic supplement to encourage good gut and digestive health.

Dogs have about 1/4th as many taste buds as us, so spicy is duller tasting to them, and they can easily consume too much if there are a lot of fat or meaty umami smells coming from the spicy food. Remember, this is because a dog’s sense of smell is the dominating factor in how they taste and perceive food. 

This brings me to one of my favorite tips for dog owners. Since learning dogs are getting most of their enjoyment out of food by smelling it, I’ve noticed that I’ve cut the portion sizes of their treats down. After a couple of months, I noticed my dog had slimmed down considerably, and it doesn’t seem like he is any of the wiser that his treats are smaller. In fact, breaking up his regular treats into smaller pieces works really well because it tricks him into thinking he’s getting more. I just always make sure to really let him smell the treats first.