Our modern food production has become more convenient and accessible for everyone.
Today, you can satisfy your seafood cravings not only through canned tuna, smoked salmon but also through imitation crab.
Yes, you read it right — a food imitating the taste and quality of delectable crab meat through sticks.
Imitation crabs are now ubiquitous on supermarket shelves, and it is available in different forms, such as flakes or chunks.
Because of its low cost and ease of preparation, many households enjoy this food during meals.
But one question remains, though: can you feed your dogs with imitation crab?
Reserve your bet first. To help us answer the question, this article will help you guide on the nature of imitation crabs, their benefits and hazards to your dogs, plus identify ways on how to prepare it best and safe feeding for your dogs!
What is Imitation Crab?
Imitation crab is a processed food made of white fish, including pollock, hake, and whiting.
Interestingly, this food doesn’t imitate the physique of a crab, but it does mimic the flavor of the crab.
Making an imitation crab begins by taking the fish and cutting it into flaky white pieces. These flakes are then scented with artificial crab flavoring, including soy, sesame seed oil, and sugar beets.
This mixture is then shaped to look like a leg of king crab or snow crab legs.
Initially, this food is native to Japan since Japanese cuisine follows customs such as fish for meat.
This food is gaining popularity in western countries like Canada and United States because it is a healthy alternative to red meats and proteins derived from animals.
Food family of Imitation Crab
Imitation crab belongs to the family food of seafood. Seafood is a food type that includes fish, crustaceans, and mollusks.
More specifically, imitation crab is categorized under processed seafood.
Unlike convention fish production, processed seafood involves smoking, drying, fermenting, or frozen kinds of seafood.
Kinds of seafood have been altered to have it preserved and last longer. This alteration includes removing the heads, skinning, and boiling to extract oils from fish.
The most common examples of processed seafood are smoked salmon, canned sardines, and jerky.
Processed seafood is healthy for dogs to consume because it contains proteins for muscle building and development.
However, this food isn’t among the best source of protein for your dog due to its low-fat content.
In addition, this food has been salted, so consuming too much can be dangerous to your dog’s health.
Can you still offer imitation crabs to your dogs?
Can dogs eat Imitation Crab?
You can always share imitation crabs with your dogs due to the convenience and ease of cooking and serving them.
Imitation crabs bring a rich source of proteins and vitamins to dogs. In addition, this food is inexpensive, so it makes an excellent alternative to feeding your dog with expensive meats such as beef or chicken thigh meat.
However, caution should be exerted in serving imitation crabs because of the overly processed nature of seafood.
It may contain chemicals that can cause allergies and stomach upsets to dogs, primarily breeds sensitive to food additives.
You may feed imitation crab first by having it cooked, steamed, or baked. Once cooked, it can be chopped into small pieces and mixed with dog food to provide a rich source of proteins for your dogs.
There are lots of ways to feed, and we prepare the best ones for you in the next section:
Best Ways to Feed your Dogs with Imitation Crab
Make fried imitation crab sticks.
The best way to prepare imitation crab for your dog is by having it fried. This method includes cutting imitation crabs into sticks, dipping them in egg batter, and deep-frying the mixture to a golden brown color.
These are then served with ketchup or spicy mayo sauce as a dip. Just make sure that you don’t overcook these sticks, as they can become dry and tough.
Combined with a vegetable salad
Vegetable salad and cooked imitation crab are the best combinations to feed your dogs. This meal is easy to prepare as you have to cut the imitation crabs into small pieces and mix them with different kinds of vegetables such as carrots, cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.
Pair this food with mashed potatoes or steamed rice
Mashed potatoes paired with fried imitation crab sticks are another great way to feed your dogs.
You can also avoid frying the imitation crabs by boiling them first and serving with mashed potatoes or steamed rice which will provide a rich source of proteins for your pets.
Reasons Why Dogs Can Eat Imitation Crab
What makes this food exceptional are its health benefits and factors that contribute to the development of your dog’s health.
When you finally know about the reasons below, for sure, you’ll have more confident in feeding imitation crab to your dog:
Provides a rich source of proteins for muscle development and growth
Imitation crabs are among the best sources of proteins that dogs need. It is packed with nutrients that can help improve your dog’s health, especially its muscles, bones, organs, and tissues.
This food also contains omega-three fatty acids to provide a shiny coat on your pet.
Provides essential nutrients for strong bones and teeth
Aside from providing protein, imitation crabs also have calcium, the most abundant mineral in your dog’s body.
The presence of this mineral prevents risk factors that can cause bone diseases such as arthritis from occurring.
Calcium helps improve dental health by strengthening tooth enamel and reducing bacterial infection.
Helps in improving dog’s immune system
Imitation crabs are also known to boost the function of your dogs’ immune systems. This is due to its high vitamin C content which can help strengthen and repair tissues, bones, muscles, skin, and blood vessels.
Vitamin C plays an essential role in treating infections by boosting immunity while preventing free radical damage and chronic inflammation.
Iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium for muscle function
Aside from the abovementioned nutrients, imitation crabs also contain iron responsible for transporting oxygen throughout your dog’s body.
It also has magnesium which helps regulate muscles and nerve functions; phosphorus as a component of energy sources such as DNA and RNA; and potassium that maintains fluid balance in your dog’s body.
Possible Concerns When Eating Imitation Crab
A good story also has its climax. For example, your dog may be suitable for imitation crabs since it’s appetizing, but this food may also peril your dog’s health status.
So, you better be careful, or possible concerns below may occur:
It may cause allergies or sensitivities.
Dogs that are allergic to shellfish may also be sensitive to imitation crabs. This food contains a protein similar to the one found in seafood.
It can trigger your dog’s immune system into producing antibodies against proteins present in its body tissues, resulting in rashes, itching, redness on joints, etc.
It may contain toxins and pollutants.
Imitation crabs are harvested from the ocean, where there’s a great chance of them being contaminated with heavy metals.
These contaminants may include lead, mercury, arsenic, etc., which can be absorbed by your dog through its digestive system or skin tissue when coming into contact with this water-dwelling animal.
Heavy metals may also cause serious health problems, such as brain disorders and cancer.
It may carry parasites or worms.
Imitation crabs are known for being carriers of various types of internal parasites, which can be transmitted to your dog’s body once consumed.
Dogs that eat raw food tend to have a higher risk of infection since the parasite is found in the intestines of crabs and fish.
It may lead to food poisoning or stomach upset.
Like other seafood products, Imitation crabs contain histamine, which can be released even after freezing it for days.
If your dog’s body is not prepared against this toxic chemical, there are high chances that your pet may experience vomiting, diarrhea, difficulty breathing, and excessive salivation.
Signs your dog is sick from eating Imitation Crab
When the health concerns mentioned above occur after your dog has eaten imitation krabs, your dog may act unusual from its routine.
If you are still unsure if your dog has food poisoning or not, then watch out for these symptoms below, which may indicate that it’s in pain:
Vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation
Your dog may have food poisoning that leads to vomiting and other gastrointestinal problems.
In some cases, your pet’s abdomen will be bloated as well. If the problem is only mild, then you need to give your dog a lot of water so it can flush out toxins from its body system.
On the other hand, if the problem is severe, you have to call a vet right away.
Difficulty in breathing or wheezing
If your dog has difficulty breathing due to excessive salivation and vomiting, this may lead to suffocation, so don’t waste time!
Call for help immediately. In most cases of food poisoning from imitation krabs, dogs will recover after being treated by the vet.
Trembling
Your pet may tremble because of muscle pain and gastrointestinal problems like food poisoning.
So, make sure if there is any foreign object stuck in the mouth before calling for help. Then, check every part of the body carefully.
Lethargy or fatigue
If your dog shows signs of sluggishness and lack of energy, this may be a sign that it’s already exhausted from vomiting and diarrhea.
In this case, you need to call for help immediately because dehydration is also possible, which will lead to more severe health problems if not treated at once.
What to do if your dog is sick from eating Imitation Crab?
In emergency cases, being prepared is the best thing you can do to ensure that your dog will get proper treatment in time.
It includes being calm, composed, and having the phone numbers of your vet, a poison center for pets (if you have one), and a local emergency veterinary clinic.
Once you have delivered your dog to the vet, the latter will run some tests to determine if your pet has food poisoning or not.
The doctor will also check for allergens and toxins in the body system followed by administering treatment accordingly, such as inducing vomiting, administering activated charcoal, etc., depending on how severe its symptoms are.
Ensure that you provide all information about what your dog ate before rushing it to a vet. You can also ask questions about what to do next and how to care for your dog after being discharged from the hospital.
Avoid similar foods from this family.
Sushi wrappers
Sushi wrappers have a strong scent of the sea which is also found in imitation crabs. This ingredient is a common food allergen that can trigger some allergies among dogs, so it’s best to avoid giving this product if your dog has a history with seafood products.
Tuna
Tuna is another seafood product that’s unsafe for dogs to eat. It can trigger an allergic reaction, and it also has a strong, pungent smell that may be too much for your dog, so better avoid feeding this food item altogether.
Canned Sardines
Canned Sardines are also seafood that’s unsafe for dogs to eat. The pungent smell of this food may trigger a lot of vomiting and diarrhea in your dog, so better avoid giving canned sardines in any form if you want it to be safe from getting sick because of eating Imitation Crab.
How to Make Imitation Crab Safe To Eat
Before this article ends, we want to ensure that all you have learned provides alternative solutions for your dog’s diet.
Now that you gathered potential information from the food’s benefits and hazards, it’s time to level up the action.
Here are ways to make imitation crab safe for feeding:
Be sure that the product is made from 100% imitation crab.
First, check ingredients to ensure it doesn’t include anything harmful such as seafood and other seasonings.
Some brands add risky content, so better check carefully before deciding which Imitation Crab food items you should buy for your dog’s consumption.
Don’t give too much of one food item.
Giving a lot of one kind of food may trigger indigestion, vomiting, and diarrhea among dogs.
This is because they are not familiar with this particular product, so better give it in small amounts before increasing the dosage gradually depending on how your dog responds to Imitation Crab for its first-time consumption.
Avoid feeding spoiled imitation crab.
Imitation crab may be safe for consumption, but it doesn’t mean that you can give spoiled food items.
Spoiled Imitation Crab is the same as spoiling your dog’s health because this product usually contains harmful bacteria and toxins that can trigger vomiting, diarrhea, etc.
Key Takeaways
Processed seafood is now changing the face of cuisine. For an easy to prepare and convenient to eat, you may now enjoy the goodness of seafood right on your table — not only through canned tuna but also with imitation crab!
The best thing? You can share this food with your canine friend!
Yes, you can always share imitation crabs with your dogs due to the convenience and ease of cooking and serving them.
It’s best to have this food fried, combined with a vegetable salad, and paired with mashed potatoes or steamed rice.
Alongside, this food also contributes to the development of your dog’s health since imitation crabs provide proteins for muscle growth, calcium for strong bones and teeth, and vitamin C for the immune system.
However, you have to be aware that imitation crab may also peril your dog’s health. For instance, this food may cause allergies or sensitivities, bring toxins and pollutants, carry intestinal parasites, or may lead your dog to food poisoning.
As a result, your dog may tremble, experience difficulty in breathing, or suffer from lethargy.
Of course, you may feed this food safely. How? Be sure that the product is made from 100% imitation crab, don’t give too much, and avoid feeding spoiled imitation crab.