They say, “It takes two to Tango.” This saying is true, mainly when we express the give-and-take love towards our significant others, including our dogs.
While bread has its butter and peanut partners with jelly, sour cream definitely completes onion chips. The same goes for our love and care for our dogs. It takes your accountability and responsibility for them to feed proper food in a day.
Sour cream and onion chips are best as our convenient snacks. But, can we all agree that this food is best for your dogs?
Thus, you didn’t come across this article by chance. So, let’s grab our choices to make our dogs healthy by knowing the nature of sour cream and the best ways to prepare them for our dogs.
What are Sour Cream and Onion Chips?
Many people enjoy eating sour cream and onion chips. But what exactly is this food about?
Sour cream and onion chips are snack foods made of sour cream, onions, potato starch or flour, canola oil, and salt. We may usually see them packed in a bag or manufactured by brands like Lays; however, you can also create this food by baking it yourself.
From the name expressed, it has a distinctive sour flavor, which has been attributed to the “sour” chips. Alongside, this food also resembles its size and blends its flavor like an onion.
Food family of Sour Cream and Onion Chips
Sour cream and onion chips belong to the food family of potato chips. Potato chips are made up of potatoes, oil, and salt. It is important to note that potatoes cannot make sour cream and onion chips because the flavor would have been too strong for people to enjoy it.
Some famous potato chips we see in the market are barbecue flavored chips, sour creamed onion chips.
In most potato chip flavors, manufacturers usually put up with their intense flavor because they want to taste in snack food. In this case, however, we can’t really tell whether or not people love its distinct flavor since some actually prefer regular potato chips over sour cream and onion chips.
With all the provided facts, can we all agree that dogs eat sour cream and onion chips?
Can Dogs Eat Sour Cream and Onion Chips?
Of course, dogs can still eat sour cream and onion chips. But the real danger begins when you don’t manage to acknowledge the initial reactions after which your dog has eaten sour cream and onion chips.
Sour cream and onion chips provide the nutrients your dog needs, such as animal-based protein and dietary fat. These nutrients can be very beneficial for your dogs but in the right amount only.
As a dog owner, you must be vigilant in taking care of your dog’s diet. To start, we’ll provide you the best ways to feed your dog with sour cream and onion chips.
Best Ways to Feed your Dogs with Sour Cream and Onion Chips
Bake it till you make it
Store manufactured potato chips have high salt content that is not tolerable with your dog’s appetite. Baking creates a meaningful, careful means of feeding sour cream and onion chips to ensure your dog’s safety and health.
Here, the ingredients you bake matter to your dog’s health. So, it’s advisable to include vegetables, meat, and eggs in your sour cream chips.
Serve as a treat
Sour cream and onion chips are best to serve as a treat for your dogs. For instance, your dog may want to play with you, but it can’t because of the bad weather outside.
You can use sour cream and onion chips as a reward for your dog when it learns how to do tricks or obey orders well.
Mixing Chips with other Treats
If you are not comfortable in giving your dog sour cream and onion chips as is, then consider mixing them with other treats. For example, you can mix up to 25% of the total weight with another dog snack like cheese or bones.
For instance, if you have one cup of Sour Cream & Onion Chips on hand, you can add one-fourth of a cup (one-fourth of a cup = about 30 grams) to your dogs’ meal.
Reasons Why Dogs can Eat Sour Cream and Onion Chips
Sour cream and onion chips are also beneficial to your dogs. Here, the key to healthy feeding is through moderation. So, if you don’t have any idea how this food helps your dog, here are some:
Potatoes are rich in carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are necessary for adequate digestion. Dogs can benefit from this because it would provide them with sufficient energy to keep going throughout the day, especially during cold seasons when dogs have more idle time than usual since they stay in one place most of the time.
Sufficient amino acids
Amino acids are essential in helping to strengthen muscles, bones, and organs such as kidneys and liver. They can be found primarily in meats.
Studies show that sour cream, too, contains complete protein proportional to your dog’s diet, including amino acids. Hence, the need to include this kind of chips in your dog’s diet.
Potassium and dietary fiber for a healthy heart
Dogs may be more prone to cardiovascular diseases if they don’t maintain their weight or stay active on most days. Potassium in potatoes is an essential nutrient that helps dogs’ muscle contractions while reducing the risk of coronary heart diseases.
Meanwhile, dietary fiber can help maintain your dog’s healthy digestive system by regulating its bowel movements and keeping it regular while getting rid of toxins in the body for a healthier heart.
Possible Concerns When Eating Sour Cream and Onion Chips
On the contrary, sour cream and onion chips have hazardous factors for your dog’s health when they reach beyond certain limits. These are the following:
Cardiovascular diseases
Excessive sodium can cause high blood pressure in dogs, thus increasing the risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases and stroke later on in life.
This means that you have to avoid giving sour cream with onion chips if your dog’s diet is already salty. To counter this, consider feeding your dogs with meat and vegetables to balance sodium intake.
Gastrointestinal problems
Sour cream and onion chips may also cause indigestion or stomach upset if your dog is not tolerable with them. Thus, it’s best to give this as a treat only when you are around, just in case of any potential health problems that might occur later on.
Also, some dogs have lactose intolerance, so avoid feeding these chips to dogs diagnosed with this.
Onion Toxicity
Onion toxicity is a severe issue as it can cause hemolytic anemia in dogs. This condition leads to the breaking down of red blood cells, resulting in weakness and breathing difficulty due to a lack of oxygen reaching vital organs such as the heart and brain.
In worst cases, death might occur if not given proper medical treatment right away.
Signs Your Dog is Sick When Eating Sour Cream and Onion Chips
After several feeds, our dog may react abnormally after eating sour cream and onion chips. Some sort of reactions could be average, but in this section, we list down common sicknesses your dog may encounter:
Vomiting
Some dogs may feel nauseous when you feed them with sour cream and onion chips. This is due to the high sodium content of the food, leading to vomiting as a way for your dog’s body to get rid of toxins in its system.
Try avoiding salty foods or reduce frequency if this often happens since it could trigger more vomiting.
Diarrhea and Diaphoresis
Your dog may also experience diarrhea with symptoms of excessive salivation, which is called diaphoresis. This usually occurs due to the high-fat content in the chips or your dog’s intolerance towards dairy products such as sour cream.
In this case, it would be best to consult a veterinarian for further recommendations on managing this health problem.
Pale Gums
If your dog’s gums are pale rather than the usual reddish color, it means that they don’t have enough oxygen in their body. This may happen when dogs struggle to breathe normally due to a lack of air reaching blood cells or lungs.
Death might occur if this is not resolved quickly with proper medication and treatment since brain function won’t be adequately supported.
What to do if your dog is sick from eating Sour Cream and Onion Chips?
Communicating effectively with your vet is essential in providing your dog with proper care. You have to be specific so that the veterinarian will know what is happening to your dog while also giving you tips on managing this condition at home.
After diagnosing the sickness of your pet, they may recommend specific drugs or medications for quick relief. Furthermore, some vets might suggest hospitalization to monitor your dog’s condition to avoid health complications properly.
Avoid these similar foods from this family.
What are some potato chips found in your dog to avoid? Well, grab your pen and take some notes here:
Fried potato snacks
French fries or home-cooked potatoes with onion chunks are also dangerous to dogs. This means that you should avoid feeding your dogs any of these since it may cause serious health problems in the future, which include vomiting and stomach upset. In worst cases, this could lead to pancreatitis due to the high-fat content of these foods.
Junk foods
Junk foods have unforgivable salt content, which causes stomach upset and diarrhea in dogs. Furthermore, it could trigger pancreatitis if given in large amounts or regularly for a certain period.
This includes chips such as corn snacks, pretzels, popcorn, and more that aren’t good for your pet’s health due to the high content of sodium they have.
Chips with cheese
Instead of feeding your dogs with sour cream and onion chips, you can also go for other similar snacks. Cheese flavored potato chips are the best substitute since it is less harmful to our beloved furry friends.
Furthermore, this food has a high-fat content that helps relieve stress or anxiety levels when eaten often by dogs.
How to Make Sour Cream and Onion Chips Safe To Eat
To make sure you’re on the right track, here are our life hacks to make sour cream and onion chips safe to eat:
Feed your dogs small amounts of chips.
Preferably, please give them a single serving per day to avoid any health problems from arising. Even if this food affects their system, the effects won’t last long since it has a high water content that helps in flushing out toxins and waste materials inside your dog’s body.
Avoid giving your dogs too much salt and fat content.
Even if sour cream and onion chips are considered junk foods, it still has a high fat and sodium level that must be monitored by pet owners who want to keep their dog’s health in check.
These substances may cause pancreatitis or other gastrointestinal problems when given excessively due to their half-life or extended stay inside the body.
Let your dog drink lots of water to avoid dehydration.
With much salt taken, your dogs should drink enough water so they won’t get dehydrated. This is because salt will cause their body’s fluids to be flushed out, leading to serious health problems if not taken care of right away.
Key Takeaways
Love, in its particular ways, requires two to make the best effort. Therefore, when we express our love towards our dogs, it has to be proper and delicate.
As your dog gives you comfort, it’s best to reward them with sufficient support and care. The world pairs up with best timings, like you to your dogs, and sour cream to onion chips. And yes, taking care begins with the right amount of food you feed to your dog.
So, we affirm that dogs can eat sour cream and onion chips with moderation and our deep understanding of our dog’s health.
Considering all the facts laid out in this article, we conclude that this food is beneficial since its sources are rich in carbohydrates, sufficient amino acids, and potassium, and dietary fibers for your dog’s healthier heart.
When left overlooked, your dog may get intoxicated with onions, experience cardiovascular diseases, and suffer from gastrointestinal symptoms.
Thus, our choice is within us to love our dogs with proper diet and care.