Chili peppers are a fiery fruit consumed by a quarter of the earth’s population every day.
Have you ever mistaken a chili pepper for a red bell pepper and had a rude awakening to your taste buds?
It happens to the best of us, because there are plenty of red pepper types out there, and in some cases, it can be tricky to distinguish one type of red pepper from the next.
Luckily for humans, they are not harmful, aside from the sensation of your taste buds being on fire!
The same mix up could happen to your dog! So can dogs eat chili peppers?
This article will cover whether or not it is safe for your dogs to eat chili peppers. It will also cover whether this food has health benefits or harmful effects on our dogs.
Can Dogs Eat Chili Peppers?
The short answer is no; dogs must not eat or be fed chili peppers.
There are many types of foods that are not good for dogs, such as grapes, bones, chocolate, and chili peppers are one of them.
While chili peppers are unhealthy for our pups, they are not toxic to our dogs. So that means eating chili peppers will not necessarily poison them which is definitely a good thing!
Why are Chili Peppers Bad for Dogs?
As you probably know, chili peppers are very spicy, and dogs are not supposed to consume spicy foods.
What would happen? Spice can cause severe issues within a dog’s stomach and digestive system. It may cause diarrhea or general discomfort among dogs.
More about Dogs and Spice
The interesting aspect about dogs is that they cannot taste spicy foods the way we can. Dogs only have about 1,700 taste buds while humans have about 9,000 taste buds.
And due to this their immediate reactions to spice are far different from ours.
However, not all red peppers are unhealthy and toxic for dogs. It is simply the red chili peppers that are not recommended for dogs. On the other hand, red bell peppers are the opposite.
Is there Another Red Pepper Safe for Dogs?
When it comes to an alternative option to chili, red bell peppers are edible and moreover, healthy for dogs.
They are rich in certain minerals and vitamins, primarily Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E. The following list provides the benefit of each vitamin to dogs:
- Vitamin A can help prevent medical conditions caused by irregular blood sugar levels.
- Vitamin B6 is suitable for supporting amino acid metabolism as well as reinforcing bladder health. It also maintains a variety of functions for dogs. Vitamin B6 can improve the nerve function of dogs.
- Vitamin C is great for strengthening a dog’s immune system as well as their bones.
- Vitamin E is good for preventing eye and muscle degeneration.
Additionally note that red bell peppers are the most nutritious type of bell pepper.
How to Prepare Peppers for Dogs
Use caution when feeding your dogs red bell peppers. Avoid feeding them the stem and the seed, as they may cause serious health problems.
As a safety precaution, wash the bell peppers first, then slice off the upper layer of the bell pepper attached to the stem. Next, remove the seeds from the inside, and chop them into snack-size pieces before giving them to your dogs.
Learn More About What Human Foods Are Healthy or Harmful for Dogs
This article is part of our special series of articles about “What Human Foods Can Dogs Eat?”
Next. get the answer to the question, Can Dogs Eat Clementines?
