Your dog, your companion and best friend, what wouldn’t you do for your dog? We love to spoil our pets, dogs, mostly, and feeding them treats is part of the equation.
But some treats are better than others, so in the case of junk food, can dogs eat Doritos?
The short answer is that dogs can eat Doritos and they aren’t immediately toxic for your pet, but should you feed Doritos to your dog in the long run?
Doritos come with a high dose of salt and fat, and like humans, too much of either substance will lead to health problems for your best friend.
The spicy additives in Doritos are dangerous for your dog, and the health risks are hazardous. Heart disease, diabetes, problems with the pancreas, and diarrhea are the dangers your dog can face when ingesting food that was made for humans.
Keeping your pet safe from harmful foods should be your first priority as a pet parent, and your pet will thank you for your vigilance.
Nutritional value of Doritos
Let’s take a look at how nutritious Doritos are and what they will provide a dog or a person when they eat them. Let’s start by examining Doritos nacho cheese-flavored tortillas and what a serving of the tasty treat will yield in terms of caloric intake.
A serving size of one ounce – 28 grams – is the equivalent of 12 tortilla chips. The caloric intake is 150, and there is a slew of vitamins in minerals present in a serving. A serving of Doritos has 40mg of calcium that comes in at two percent of the daily value. Carbohydrates are 18 grams for a total of six percent daily value.
The fat content is eight grams, and that is 10 percent of the daily value. Saturated fat is one gram and six percent of the daily value. Iron comes in at .3mg and is zero percent of the daily value. The tortillas contain one gram of dietary fiber and four percent of the daily value.
Potassium is next at 50mg and zero daily value. Sodium is 210mg and nine percent of the daily value. Protein is two grams and sugars one gram with no daily value ratings.
Is Doritos bad for dogs?
Tortilla chips are made from corn, and they are deep-fried and heavily salted to give them the taste we all crave. The oil used in the frying process and the salt added to them is harmful to a dog.
Some Doritos varieties are spiced with onion and garlic, and both substances are incredibly detrimental for dogs. Also, dogs are allergic to corn-based products, so feeding your pet corn tortillas is the worst of all possible treats you can give him.
When we look closely at Doritos’ flavor composition, we will see that they contain toxic substances for dogs. Specifically, Nacho Cheese and Cool Ranch varieties of Doritos include garlic and onion powder, and both are poisonous for Rover. Concentrations of fat and salt combined with lactose are a toxic stew for your dog.
They will make your pet sick as stomach ailments are a huge concern here. Before we go any further, we want to highlight the varieties that contain hot sauce as an active ingredient because they will be very hard on a dog’s digestive tract.
When human food is introduced to a dog’s diet, it really shouldn’t be. The effects will have far-reaching consequences for your pet. Doritos, by and large, are empty calories and have little or no nutritional value.
When we look at Doritos’ salt content, it is 8 to 11 percent per serving, and for dogs, that amount of salt intake is harmful to them.
Health problems
Dogs, like humans, suffer from health problems. When a dog eats Doritos, the risk to your dog’s health isn’t immediately dangerous, though it can be over time. Salt will create many problems like dehydration and kidney disease.
Seizures, heart disease, and diabetes can be fatal and manifest in dogs eating high salt or fat concentrations in their diets. If your dog is suffering from diabetes, it may also suffer from pancreatitis.
Types of Doritos and their effects on dogs
We have talked about the health risks of Doritos for dogs, but there are many types of Doritos and their effects on dogs pose significant risks for your pet’s good health.
Corn-based chips
Doritos are a treat that humans love, but they are dangerous for dogs to eat. Doritos are made from corn-based products that are harmful to a dog. When processed corn-based products are introduced to dogs, they may suffer from an allergic reaction.
Corn chips like Doritos are made with preservatives and ingredients that are harmful to your dog. High calories that have little nutritional value contribute to obesity, and diabetes is caused by pancreatitis.
Chili Doritos
Spicy chili Doritos are harmful because of a chemical compound is an irritant for a dog’s digestive tract. The chemicals in chili Doritos will create many problems for a dog – and discomfort is the first sign of the issues.
When your dog has eaten chili tortilla chips, diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pains that arise from gas are typical for a dog.
Cool Ranch/Nacho Cheese Doritos
Onion powder is another ingredient used in Cool Ranch and Nacho Cheese Doritos, and it contains a chemical that will do immense harm to your pet.
The agent N-Propyl sulfide is toxic for dogs. When ingested by a dog, onion powder will cause intense stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Garlic powder is another ingredient that gives Cool Ranch and Nacho Cheese Doritos a zesty taste, but it is terrible for dogs. Garlic powder contains thiosulfate, and that is a toxic substance for dogs.
Anemia is the result when dogs consume garlic powder, and red blood cells will bear the brunt of the problem due to the long-term effects of hemolytic anemia.
Nacho Cheese Doritos
Dairy products like milk and lactose are found in many varieties of Doritos like Nacho Cheese Doritos. Dairy products contain fat, and that will irritate a dog’s stomach causing vomiting and diarrhea.
Dogs are lactose intolerant, and when they get a taste of milk or milk-based products, gas and stool problems will manifest themselves.
Plain Corn Doritos
Plain Corn Doritos and other varieties of the spicy chip contain an excessive amount of salt. Salt, as we know, is dangerous to feed to dogs. It will cause a dog to be sodium poisoned if they eat salt in any sizable quantity.
If the symptoms aren’t caught soon enough, your dog could perish if they ingest too much salt that is contained in many of the varieties of Doritos. The fallout from salt ingestion is tremors, low body temperature, seizures, diarrhea, and vomiting, indicating that your dog is in distress from salt ingestion.
All Doritos
Doritos are a deep-fried chip, and the vegetable oil used to cook the chips shouldn’t be introduced to a dog under any circumstances. Diabetes will be one outcome from the ingestion of cooking from eating Doritos and several other problems. Stomach aches are common, as is diarrhea and vomiting when a dog eats Doritos.
All types of Doritos will create at least one problem for a dog’s digestion, so it’s best to avoid them altogether. A dog’s digestive system is a simple one in which they can’t process many of the artificial additives that are combined in Doritos that give the chip the unique taste.
FAQs About Doritos and Dogs
Q: My dog ate Doritos; what now?
A: If your dog ate a handful of chips, it shouldn’t be harmful. But overdoing it can cause harmful effects that have been spelled out in this article.
Q: How harmful are Doritos for my dog?
A: Like anything, if your dog regularly consumes Doritos, it will lead to bad health outcomes for your pet. Digestive problems, major organ failure, and heart disease will be the results when a dog eats the junk food treat.
Q: Are there alternatives to Doritos for treats for my dog?
A: Certainly, there are many alternatives for dog treats made with a dog’s metabolism in mind. Treats like flavored rawhide, dental sticks, or meat-flavored sticks are better for your dog than human food. Giving your pet treats designed for them with all vitamins and nutrients they need is the best course of action.
To conclude
A dog’s dietary interests are best served when given food that was created with its metabolism in mind. Remember that a dog’s digestive tract isn’t as sophisticated as a human digestive tract, so advanced substances and spices are liable to cause a dog discomfort when they ingest them.
Feeding your dog human food like Doritos is dangerous and best avoided.
Research notes:
https://www.washingtonsblog.com/can-dogs-eat-doritos/
https://www.doritos.com/products/doritos-nacho-cheese-flavored-tortilla-chips#
https://www.rover.com/blog/can-my-dog-eat-chips-how-junk-food-can-harm-your-dog/
https://www.dogfoodgenius.com/can-dogs-eat-doritos/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/7-foods-fatal-to-dogs#TOC_TITLE_HDR_8
