Can Dogs Have Peanut Butter? Here's What the Experts Say
Everyone knows dogs LOVE peanut butter. But is this a good thing? Dogs will eat pretty much anything, and they don't always have the most discerning palates.
Many pet parents indulge their pups with a little peanut butter spoon-lick, which often turns into a session. Is this bad? Can dogs have peanut butter safely? Let's see what the experts have to say.
Can Dogs Eat Peanut Butter?
The short answer is, "Yes!" Most dogs can eat peanut butter and it's healthy in moderation. It's rich in protein, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids (aka healthy fats), antioxidants like manganese, vitamin E, and B vitamins, and minerals like magnesium and copper.
Peanut butter is an excellent way to hide a pill and serves a similar function as a training tool. That said, not all peanut butters are created equal and some dogs—like some humans—have peanut allergies. We will discuss the potential dangers of peanut butter below.
That being said, peanut butter isn't recommended for all dog breeds. PetHelpful's veterinarian and advisor, Dr. Mark, tells ParadePets: "I never recommend peanut butter for anyone with a dog as small as a MinPin or Shih-Tzu. Most dogs are fine with the added ingredients, but there are so many good alternatives out, it is not worth the risks."
He offers up a better alternative, saying, "I personally prefer to give my dog whole food and avoid the peanut butters because of aflatoxins and those unlabelled sweeteners that are sometimes in peanut butters purchased from the store. I do have a raw version, made with only ground peanuts, with no added sugars or artificial sweeteners. I keep it on my shelf and fill my dog's kong toy and give it to her a few times a week when on my way to the gym. It is certainly not enough to cause any damage, as she is large and the dose is small relative to her body weight, but if I had a tiny breed, I would avoid giving her that much."
Can Dogs Have Crunchy Peanut Butter?
If your dog can have creamy peanut butter, they can have crunchy peanut butter. However, if you have a small dog or a puppy just getting used to kibble, the peanut chunks can be a choking hazard. It's best to stick with creamy. A good rule of thumb is this: If your dog eats kibble, they can probably handle crunchy peanut butter.
Can Dogs Eat Peanuts?
If your dog can eat peanut butter, they can eat peanuts. The safest peanuts for dogs are dry-roasted (or raw), unsalted peanuts without shells. These provide the nutritional benefits of peanuts without added sodium or potential choking hazards.
How much peanut butter your dog can have depends on their size.
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How Much Peanut Butter Can Dogs Have?
According to Sophia Catalano, DVM, "Peanut butter is energy-dense, with around 180–200 calories per 2 tablespoons—most of which comes from fat. That means the calories in peanut butter add up quickly."
As a starting point, she recommends limiting peanut butter offerings to:
• ½ teaspoon for a small dog, twice per day
• 1 teaspoon for a medium or large dog, twice per day as a maximum amount
Health Concerns with Dogs Eating Peanut Butter
Obviously, anything as delicious as peanut butter has to have a downside. The first thing to consider are fats and sugars. Too much peanut butter at once will likely lead to diarrhea and/or vomiting. Too much peanut butter over time can lead to diabetes, pancreatitis, and/or obesity.
This is where the ingredient list is important. In truth, the only thing dogs need are peanuts. Everything else on that list—the butter, if you will—is done for human consumption. Dogs don't need sugar, salt, honey, molasses, hydrogenated oils, monoglycerides, or diglycerides. Humans need that so peanut butter is tasty and spreadable.
Avoid Xylitol
Where we go from unnecessary ingredients to actively dangerous is any peanut butter containing chocolate, cacao/cocoa, or xylitol, a sugar substitute similar to stevia. DO NOT feed this to your dog! As Sophia Catalano, DVM, says of xylitol on PetMD:
Xylitol causes a sudden, dangerous drop in blood sugar. Low blood sugar, also called hypoglycemia, causes confusion, stumbling, lethargy (excessive sleepiness and depression), and seizures. When left untreated, low blood sugar can lead to death.
Xylitol can also cause severe liver damage. Make sure your favorite brand of peanut butter is safe by reading the ingredients list printed on the label, especially for any product labeled as “sugar-free.”
Contact your veterinarian immediately if your dog eats a product with xylitol in it. If your regular veterinarian’s clinic is closed, call an emergency service for guidance.
Dr. Beth Turner, a veterinarian for over two decades, also notes on Preventive Vet that dogs suffering from chronic pancreatitis or breeds predisposed to pancreatitis—like Miniature Schnauzers and Yorkies—can be triggered by the fat in peanut butter. For those dogs, it's best to avoid peanut butter altogether.
These are the seven signs of acute allergic reaction to peanut butter in dogs. If you notice any of these, see your vet immediately.
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Can Dogs Have Peanut Allergies?
It's actually pretty rare for a dog to have a peanut allergy, but it happens. There are two different kinds of allergies to look for: chronic and acute. According to Dr. Catalano of PetMD, chronic allergies might manifest as skin disorders like itching, hair loss, and an excessively greasy coat.
An acute allergy is far more dangerous and requires immediate veterinary care. Per Dr. Turner, signs of an acute reaction include the following:
- Hives or small areas of swelling on their body
- Swelling around their eyes and/or muzzle
- Severe itchiness
- Rapid breathing or difficulty breathing
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Collapse
Can Dogs Have JIF Peanut Butter?
If your dog can eat peanut butter, they can eat creamy or chunky JIF, and those peanut butter pouches are fine. However, there are some specialty JIF products you want to avoid. For obvious reasons, JIF's Peanut Butter & Chocolate Flavored Spread is a no-no. You CANNOT feed chocolate (or cocoa/cacao) in any form to dogs.
I'd also avoid giving your dog Reduced Fat JIF. Here's its list of ingredients:
Peanuts, Corn Syrup Solids, Sugar, Pea Protein, Contains 2% Or Less Of: Salt, Fully Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (Rapeseed And Soybean), Mono And Diglycerides, Molasses, Magnesium Oxide, Niacinamide, Ferric Orthophosphate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, and Folic Acid.
Other than peanuts, which of those ingredients are you excited for your dog to eat? The irony is that by removing the peanut's natural fats, a bunch of vitamins and minerals are also removed, which necessitates the reintroduction of lab versions of those v's and m's. Then, of course, the corn syrup solids are added to make it sweeter, despite the fact sugar is the third ingredient listed.
Can Dogs Have SKIPPY Peanut Butter?
Like JIF, if you stick to SKIPPY creamy or super chunk, you should be all right. However, the same issues with JIF are present in SKIPPY's reduced fat products. In fact, the ingredient list above is virtually identical to SKIPPY's Creamy Peanut Butter Spread and Reduced Fat Super Chunk Peanut Butter Spread. The only difference is SKIPPY includes cottonseed oil in their list of hydrogenated vegetable oils.
SKIPPY has another product I'd avoid giving to your dog. It's marketed as Peanut Butter Blended with Plant Protein (available in creamy and super chunk), but if you look at the jar, PROTEIN is bigger than SKIPPY. The problem isn't necessarily that it's protein, it's that it's pea protein—the same pea protein in the reduced fat products.
According to Dr. Jerry Klein, CVO, a 2021 study published at Tufts University in Philadelphia, "indicated that peas may be a leading dog food ingredient contributing to a rise in diet-associated canine heart disease (DCM) in dogs."
Be careful when feeding dogs peanut butter. Some varieties—like this jar of Reduced Fat JIF—have additives that dogs have no business eating.
If you're dog doesn't have a peanut allergy, then by all means, indulge them in the occasional peanut butter treat. Ideally, the ingredient list should consist of one ingredient: peanuts. However, in the real world, people buy JIF, SKIPPY, and dozens of regional varieties of peanut butter. Most of these are fine, just make sure the jar (or pouch) is free of chocolate and xylitol, both of which are extremely toxic to dogs.
In fact, if you've never given your dog peanut butter, just monitor their body and behavior the first few times you give them a taste. If they show no symptoms—other than happy bellies—they probably don't have an allergy. At that point, the key is moderation.
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