We have seen a massive increase in the popularity of nut butters recently, mostly thanks to their delicious taste and healthy fat content.
Peanut butter is a long standing favorite nut butter, due to its versatility and overall beautiful taste, but many other nut butters have become popular in recent years too.
Almond butter, cashew butter and sunflower butter are tasty and flavorful alternatives to peanut butter and provide good fat and protein content in each of them, which is exactly what someone who is allergic to peanut butter needs.
If you’re a huge almond butter lover, you may be wondering since it can be used as a substitute for peanut butter for you, surely it can be given to your dog too.
But, the fact that us humans can eat things, doesn’t always mean it’s healthy for dogs, such as onions, grapes and raisins.
But in short, the answer is yes, but they can only have it in very small quantities, and like you should do with everything that you feed your dog, you have to check the label beforehand for any toxic ingredients.
In this article, we aim to answer every question you may have about this popular, healthy spread.
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What Almond Butter Is Ok To Give To My Pup?
When you’re purchasing almond butter, make sure that you thoroughly read the label of the spread you’re buying.
You want to check that the almond butter doesn’t contain xylitol, as this can’t be fed to your dog as it’s highly poisonous to them.
You may find a lot of spreads include this ingredient, as it’s a common sugar-free ingredient for humans, especially in nut butters, so make sure that you’re very careful when selecting almond butter for your dog to snack on.
All in all, you’ll most likely want to avoid any nut butters that include any artificial sweeteners, not just for your dog’s health, but also for yours too!
How Much Almond Butter Is Ok For My Dog And How Often Can I Give It?
Much like us humans, dogs also benefit from the healthy fats and proteins found in nut butters, so it’s a very good addition to include into their diet.
But, even if the almond butter you’ve purchased is completely safe for your dog, that doesn’t mean that they should have a lot of it.
Almond butter should be given as a treat or a reward for good behavior, so it should only ever be given in small quantities.
Plus, your dog will probably appreciate it much more when they have it for a treat now and again!
If you do end up giving your dog too much almond butter, it can cause an upset stomach and digestive problems.
A small dog can have around half a spoonful of almond butter everyday and larger dogs can have one spoonful, this is completely safe and won’t harm your dog in the slightest.
What’s Better For Dogs, Almond Butter Or Peanut Butter?
Almond butter is often used as an alternative to peanut butter, for those with peanut allergies.
So almond butter has most of the same nutrients as peanut butter, so they rank pretty closely in terms of health benefits and safety for your dog.
And since peanut allergies aren’t nearly as prevalent in dogs as humans, peanut butter is regarded as very safe.
Almond butter outscores peanut butter very slightly when it comes to vitamin and mineral content, whereas peanut butter has a higher protein content than almond butter, albeit only very slightly.
As long as you have thoroughly checked the ingredients, and it doesn’t contain xylitol, both of these nut butters are perfectly safe for your dog to consume and either one will be a good treat for them.
Of course dogs can still be allergic to peanut butter, so if your dog is trying peanut butter for the first time, make sure to only feed them a very small amount to begin with and make sure to keep an eye on them for any adverse reactions, like wheezing, whining or any other signs of discomfort.
Can Dogs Eat Cashew Butter?
Of course they can! Most nut butters are safe for your dog to consume (as long as the ingredients are safe!) and cashew butter is another perfect example of a treat your dog can enjoy.
But be aware, not all nut butters are safe for your dog’s consumption.
Macadamia, walnuts and pistachios cannot be consumed by your dog at all.
Macadamia nuts have a very harmful chemical in them that can cause brain damage in dogs, so it’s best to completely avoid this nut at all costs.
If you want to treat your dog to nut butters, make sure to stick to almond, peanut or cashew butter, they’ll enjoy every single one!
Final Thoughts
Nut butters are a perfect treat for your dog, as a reward or just in general for being a good boy.
As long as you check the label to ensure that the nut butter doesn’t contain xylitol or any other harmful ingredients, your dog is perfectly fine to eat them in small quantities once a day.
Also make sure to stick to cashew, almond or peanut butter, as many other nuts, namely pistachio and macadamia can be very harmful to your dog, and there’s just no point in risking your dog’s safety.