All the different types of Ranch (Ranch, Ranch dressing or Ranch dip) are all unhealthy for your dog. When a dog that has lactose intolerance goes ahead and consumes Ranch dip, he is likely to have a stomach upset, diarrhea, or any other health conditions.
Regular consumption of ranch can result in heart issues, high blood pressure and obesity, due to the high amount of sodium contained in ranch seasoning. The ranch family contain too much of everything for your dog’s good. This article discusses the health benefits of ranch to your dog, and more.
Can Dog Eat Ranch Dressing
Ranch is a known, creamy salad dressing and sauce for vegetable and potato chips, containing milk or buttermilk and mayonnaise. But how safe is it for your dog to be fed Ranch?
Like most other human food, ranch is contained with ingredients and elements that are not suitable or safe for your dog’s consumption, the most harmful of them being garlic and onion powder.
Ranch has high amounts of saturated fats, sodium and calories; all these are very harmful to your dog’s health. This is one of the reasons why it is highly unadvised that you feed your dog with ranch; not even in the smallest quantity.
Nutritional Benefits Of Ranch
The nutritional benefits of Ranch are:
- Calories – 44.9cal;
- Carbohydrate – 1g;
- Sodium – 79.9mg
- Total Fat – 4.5g
- Fatty acids, total saturated – 0.5g
Ranch seasoning has high amounts of saturated fat and calories, both of which are very harmful to your dog’s health, as they bring about lots of health issues like obesity, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach upset, and a host of others.
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Some Ingredients In Ranch And Their Effects On Dogs
Below are some of the ingredients contained in ranch dressing and their effects on your dog.
- Buttermilk
Buttermilk is very safe and healthy for your dog’s consumption. It helps with digestion of lactose. Buttermilk contains low-fat milk, corn starch, carrageenan, locust bean gum, nonfat dry milk, salt, and cultures. Too much intake of buttermilk can cause gastrointestinal inflammation in your dog and in worse cases, cancer. This is as a result of the presence of carrageenan in buttermilk.
- Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise will cause no harm to your dog’s digestive system if taken in moderation. However, its fatty content is high and if you feed your dog with mayonnaise too often, it may result in obesity. Remember to look out for the less fatty mayonnaise and stay away from the very fatty ones, as they are bad for even humans.
Mayonnaise contains dried garlic, soybean oil, dried onions, vinegar, sugar, egg yolk, salt, water, natural flavor and calcium disodium EDTA, to protect the flavor.
- Garlic And Onion Powder
Garlic is awfully toxic and dangerous to your dog’s health. Although its toxicity depends on the size of the dog, the effects are usually the same. Garlic destroys the red blood cells of your dog and results in hemolytic anemia.
Onion powder is at a highly concentrated state and is harmful, even if your dog ate only a small amount. It results in damaged red blood cells and hemolytic anemia, as with garlic.
Garlic and onion poisoning can lead to health issues such as liver failure, asthma, diarrhea, dermatitis, etc.
- Chives
Just like garlic, chives are also very toxic and cause the same effects as garlic and any other member of the Allium family.
- Sour Cream
Lactose intolerant dogs can be given sour cream, although it is not a very healthy food because of the high amount of fat contained in it. Eating lots of sour cream every so often can cause your dog to have stomach upset which would then lead to obesity, digestion issues and other issues.
- Citrus Juice
All citrus fruits are unsafe for your dog’s consumption as they can bring about issues with digestion or diarrhea. You however consult your veterinary doctor if the symptoms persist in your dog for more than few days.
- Dill
Dill is a tasty herb for dogs that has proven to be an effective natural remedy for a number of health conditions associated with dogs, especially those relating to digestion.
Dill provides dogs many health benefits including preventing infections, helping with bad breath and regulating diabetes. Dill is not at all toxic to dogs.
Nonetheless, if taken in large quantity, it can be toxic and harmful to your dog.
- Parsley
In moderate quantities, parsley can be good and healthy for your dog. In larger quantities, it can be toxic to your dog. Some other ingredients include:
- Red wine vinegar (contains natural sulfites)
- Xanthan gum.
- Black pepper.
- Thyme
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can Ranch Dressing Hurt A Dog?
Ranch dressing is certainly not a good food for your dog and can assuredly hurt your dog. This is as a result the components and ingredients that make up Ranch. The salad on its own is not a bad food for dogs, just the toxic, harmful ingredients are.
Taking in excess fat and excess salt will do more damage to your dog’s health, than good. Ranch dressing does not have any nutritional benefit for your dog so you would do well to avoid feeding your dog ranch dressing.
What If My Dog Eats Ranch Dressing?
First, thing to consider is how much ranch dressing did your dog eat? Just a lick? Then your dog should be okay. However, if your dog consumes a whole lot of ranch dressing, contact your veterinary doctor immediately for medical advice on what to do about the situation because your dog is likely to begin to have symptoms of salt, garlic or onion poisoning.
Check the ingredients of the ranch dressing, to be sure what you are dealing with and keep your vet updated on your findings. While you are at it, ensure that your dog is given lots of cool, freshwater and it is not far from his reach.
What Is A Good Substitute For Ranch Dressing?
There are safer, healthier alternatives to ranch dressing that your dog would enjoy all the same, without fear of any health issue arising. Some of these alternatives are:
Blueberries
- Apples
- Mashed banana
- Creamy doggy treats
- Plain yogurt
- Doggy ice cream
- Kefir
- Creamy doggy treats
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Conclusion
It is important to maintain moderation when it comes to dogs and their diets, but even more important to keep your dogs away from ranch dressing, ranch dips or ranch seasoning, to avoid any health complications for them. Maintain Ranch strictly as human food and not as dog treat. Resist adding dressing to your dog’s vegetables.
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