The amazing texture of jello can attract dogs. Besides, it has a fruitful taste with beautiful colours. When we eat it, our paw friends make a puppy face just to get a bite from it. Before that, we have to know if can dogs have jello.
Unfortunately, jello does not fall into the category of safe foods that dogs can have. It’s not because of the gelatin, but because of the sweeteners and flavours. The jello that you see on the market won’t do any good for your dog’s health. Don’t worry; we can suggest an alternative to this jello. So stay tuned.
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All About Jello
Jello is a fruit-flavoured gelatin dessert that almost looks like pudding. It requires no baking process, artificial flavours, sugar, or powdered gelatin. Again, its setting includes fruits, ice cream, and custards.
It is Jell-O, an American brand that sells jello as a form of dessert. Its main ingredient is gelatin. The thickness of jello comes from the gelatin. You can get it in both concentrated and powdered versions.
Now, what is gelatin? Well, gelatin is the collagen that comes from animals. After boiling the connective tissues and bones of them, we get extracted collagen. Its texture is a pasty liquid with no vegan formula.
The Jell-O brand offers jellos in different flavours. They are a good source of both taste and nutrients. If you are off sugar, you can opt for the sugar-free jello to enhance the taste of your dessert.
Can Dogs Have Jello?
If jello is unflavored and plain, our dogs can freely enjoy it. Unfortunately, the Jell-O brand includes sweeteners, sugars, flavours, preservatives, etc. in their product. After learning about their production process, we can’t let our dogs eat jello.
Some dog owners prepare jellos for their paw friends after seeing their begging faces. They avoid sugar and sweeteners and keep them as plain as possible. It means the gelatin, in its pure form, can be safe for dogs. Just don’t opt for market-based jellos for dogs, as they are loaded with toxic ingredients.
Why Can’t Dogs Have Jello?
Jello with plain gelatin, no sugar, and no artificial sweetener is always a safe alternative for dogs. It is the ingredients that make it unsafe for them.
Has High Amounts Of Sugar
One packet of jello contains 19 grams of sugar; meanwhile, dogs are not allowed to have sugar. 19 grams of sugar is too much for human beings, let alone dogs. However, this sugar content can disrupt the blood pressure level of dogs, increase their ageing skin and blood sugar levels, and increase their risks of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.
Has Artificial Sweeteners
Even if a packet of jello is marked as sugar-free, it is harmful to dogs. Sugar-free jello contains artificial sweeteners like xylitol, sucralose, and aspartame. They are more dangerous than sugar. Such jellos don’t add calories but offer risks of cancer, diabetes, obesity, and inflammation.
Has Preservatives
Why do jellos last for many days? It’s because of the added preservatives, sodium benzoate and disodium phosphate. Sodium benzoate is a carcinogen, i.e., an ingredient that can cause cancer. Again, phosphates can cause organ damage, resulting in kidney diseases, heart diseases, etc.
Has Artificial Colours
It’s bad news that jellos don’t have the colours of real fruit juice but artificial colours. These can not only upset a dog’s GI tract but also cause organ damage.
Has Artificial Flavours
Like artificial colours, artificial flavours pose health threats to dogs equally. These can cause liver failures, seizures, lethargy, tremors, etc. in them.
What Happens When Dogs Eat Jello?
The first damage comes from the artificial sweetener in Jello. This releases the insulin level, resulting in hypoglycemia. For diabetic dogs, artificial sweeteners can be life-threatening. Besides, the xylitol present in this gelatin can result in xylitol poisoning. Its symptoms are weakness, seizures, tremors, vomiting, and even coma.
Sugar is another harmful ingredient present in jello. It will add calories to your dog’s body, leading to overweight, obesity, or diabetes. Besides, the preservatives, flavours and colours in jello upset dogs’ stomachs, cause them to lose their coordination, promote weakness, cause vomiting, and so on.
Can Dogs Have Jello Sometimes?
Jello is not the worst item that a dog can have. For example, onions, garlic, grapes, etc. are toxic to dogs. If a miniature Australian Shepherd eats one grape and a Labrador Retriever eats one grape, you will see different reactions in them. The miniature shepherd will start throwing up after some time, while the Labrador Retriever will stay calm. Why? A miniature Australian Shepherd is a small breed, so he has a small body. A Labrador Retriever is a large breed, so he has a large body. Small bodies can’t adapt to foods like large bodies can.
In the same way, if a small dog takes one bite of jello, he may start showing symptoms. On the other hand, a large breed may not give any reactions from that one bite. But yes, he will show symptoms if he takes a bite from jello every day.
We are not saying large dogs can have jello sometimes. Maybe they can escape the side effects, but it is not recommended.
Alternatives Of Jello For Dogs
As said earlier, Jello is unsafe for dogs because of its ingredients. But if you make this gelatin with no additives, maybe it can be a healthy substitute for them. For instance, gelatin has collagen that can promote stronger bones, nails, and coats. It also has protein that can keep your dog’s joints and muscles healthy. Another nutrient in gelatin is peptide, which acts as a block for protein.
If you want your paw friend to reap these benefits, make sure you prepare a jello for him by yourself. First, take plain gelatin; it should be in the gum version or powdered version. Then take some amounts of hot water, cold water, strawberries, chickpeas, or any fruit alternative. Also, use an ice cube tray to set the liquid.
Take a bowl and make a mixture of two teaspoons of gelatin and ¼ cup of water. Then put fruits or peas into it. Now pour the mixture into the ice cube tray and let it freeze. You may offer one cube to your pet at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions: Can Dogs Have Jello?
How much jello can a dog eat?
The jello that you are offering to your canine friend must be pure gelatin with no sugar or sweeteners. In that case, he can have ½ teaspoons of jello if he is an extra-small breed. For small breeds, one teaspoon is fine. Medium dogs can have 1 ½ teaspoon of jello and large dogs can have 2 teaspoons. Extra-large dogs should not eat more than 3 teaspoons of it.
Is vegan jello safe for dogs?
Vegan jellos have agar-agar and artificial sweeteners. Agar-agar is fine for dogs, but artificial sweeteners can disrupt their health. This can lead to xylitol poisoning.
Can all pets have gelatin?
Almost all pets can have gelatin unless they don’t have sugar, sweeteners, preservatives, additives, or flavours. Also, the pets should be free from allergies to consume gelatin.
Final Thoughts
When we see our dogs begging for the colourful gelatin, we may think, Can dogs have jello? The answer is no if it is market-based jello. However, the answer can be yes if it is the jello you prepared yourself without sweeteners.
Sometimes, our four-legged friends eat the harmful jelly discreetly. In that case, they will show symptoms, and you have to understand them. Meanwhile, you must monitor their symptoms and inform their vet. Also, make sure your dog doesn’t eat any human foods for a couple of days after consuming the flavourful sweetened jello.
