Can Dogs Eat Nutella? What Happens If Your Dog Eats Nutella?

A slice of toasted bread and butter may be the most likeable staple, but this all-time favorite is even better with a spread of Nutella. This sweet chocolate loveliness is everywhere.

If you ever cracked a jar or accidentally dropped a toast with this hazelnut spread on it, you'd probably have to stop your dogs from spotting and licking the yummy waste clean. But can dogs eat Nutella?

Can Dogs Eat Nutella?

Sugar, milk, cocoa, and hazelnut are potentially dangerous additions to your dog’s diet. And unfortunately, Nutella contains all of these ingredients. Other pet parents might downplay the danger of this sweet spreadable paste for dogs, but as they, “Better be safe, than sorry.”

Although Nutella in small doses can never cause ill effects on your dog, it can certainly cause health problems to your pet's digestive system.

And of course, the risks for chocolate toxicity rise if your dog eats other chocolate foods along with Nutella such as brownies covered with Nutella, a chocolate cake covered with Nutella frosting, or cream made by mixing Nutella with dark chocolate.

Sadly, Nutella and dogs have trouble interacting. Even though this sugary human food doesn't poison your pup, it's still not a good addition to your dogs diet and overall pet health. So, once again, the short answer to the question is, “No.”

Is Nutella Toxic to Dogs?

Nutella can be easily eaten by dogs. Although it contains cocoa, it has a very tiny percentage in the composition of the ingredients.

When you see the Nutella recipe, cocoa appears quite low up the list. Nutella has higher sugar, palm oil, skimmed milk, and hazelnuts than cocoa in weight.

This means that the trace amounts of theobromine in this spread are unlikely to be toxic to dogs when taken in small quantities.

Although theobromine can potentially make dogs ill, it's more likely that they will get sick first from the other substances present in Nutella than by its cocoa content.

Is It Safe to Give Your Dog Nutella?

Although Nutella's theobromine content isn't going to harm dogs, it does not mean that this chocolate spread won't be harmful to your canine buddy. According to experts, chocolate spreads have high levels of sugars, which can trigger pancreatitis.

What's more, even if hazelnuts are not toxic to dogs, they can also cause pancreatitis. Apparently, this only increases a dog's chances of having this painful and life-threatening condition, especially if you feed Nutella to your dog regularly.

Is Nutella Bad for Dogs?

Yes, it is bad for dogs. This sweet spread may be a perfect treat for us, humans, but for our canine companions, it can do more harm than good when eaten regularly. Nutella offers no nutritional value for your pup. And as mentioned earlier, it can even lead to several health problems.

Also, when taken in large quantities, the theobromine content in Nutella can cause increased heart rate, agitation, seizures, and internal bleeding. To make things worse, theobromine isn’t easily metabolized by a dog’s body.

Hence, if you feed Nutella to your dog regularly and in large amounts, this compound can quickly build up inside his system, which can be toxic.

Aside from theobromine and caffeine, Nutella is also loaded with too much sugar and fat. Sadly, dogs can’t digest fats very well. And the high sugar and fat content can lead to the same consequences to your pet as with us humans – they can easily gain weight.

This may not seem like a serious problem, but think about how a fat dog is likely to develop chronic illnesses such as diabetes mellitus.

Fat dogs are also more susceptible to heart disease, cancer, and a lot more ailments. The good news is that you and your local veterinarian can work on the correct diet that suits your dog depending on his health status and wellness. 

What Happens If Your Dog Eats Nutella?

Nutella contains ingredients that can significantly affect your dog's intestines and stomachs. The more your dog eats, the more the chances that he will develop problems from these components. It's also worth noting that fats are especially dangerous and can cause inflammation of different organs.

It can be easy to undermine the gravity of these conditions since we may already be jaded by the adverse effects of fats and other unhealthy foods both for us humans and for our fur babies. However, as loving and responsible pet parents, we should not take decisions regarding our pet's health and wellness lightly.

Sadly, whether we like it or not, the possible complications in dogs that can arise from eating large quantities of Nutella regularly could be fatal.

Pancreatitis

The pancreas regulates blood glucose and metabolism and manages food digestion and insulin. When a pet eats a lot of fat, it may cause inflammation to his pancreas and affect the production of these vital enzymes. This turn of events can ultimately have serious consequences to your dog's health.

The most common type of pancreatitis is acute pancreatitis. It's sudden and isolated; after treatments, most dogs recover completely.

The second type is chronic pancreatitis, which mainly involves recurring episodes of acute pancreatitis. It requires a doctor's test to identify the cause of the illness. And the prognosis or how your dog's health will progress depends on what caused his pancreatitis.

Symptoms of pancreatitis usually occur within 24-48 hours of exposure. Some of the indicators that you should watch out for include the following:

• Persistent diarrhea
• Prolonged vomiting
• Upset stomach
• Stomach pain
• Lack of appetite
• Depression
• Dehydration

Early detection can greatly help the successful recovery of dogs suffering from this life-threatening condition. Hence, if you notice any of these symptoms, it’s best to consult your vet immediately.

Gastroenteritis

Gastroenteritis is the inflammation of the stomach & intestine and can arise from infections, medications, diseases, bacteria, viruses, food, or foreign bodies.

The common symptoms of gastroenteritis that you should watch out for include vomiting (the vomit could appear white foamy or yellow), diarrhea, fever, lethargy, abdominal pain, and dehydration.

Acute gastroenteritis is common in dogs, and most canines make full recovery in just a few days when treated on time.

Treatments of gastroenteritis include rehydration through IV administration, antiemetics, antibiotics, gastro protectants, and antidiarrheal drugs.

Nutella Toxicity

As mentioned earlier, due to the presence of theobromine and caffeine in Nutella, the ingestion of large amounts of this sweet spread can put your dog’s health at risk. If you suspect that your dog ate spoonfuls of Nutella, you should watch out for the following:

• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Panting
• Lack of appetite
• Hyperactivity
• Anxiety
• Increased heart rate
• Seizures
• Arrhythmia
• Tremors (and in serious cases, even death)

What Should You Do If Your Dog Ate Nutella?

If your dog ate a small amount of Nutella, you have nothing to worry about. However, it is best to contact your local veterinarian or an animal poison control center for professional advice considering the other health problems in line, and since it can be difficult to determine just how much Nutella your pup ate.

Also, initially, you should make sure your dog doesn’t eat more Nutella by cleaning the spill or removing all the excess. And then, check the label to determine whether it contains Xylitol, which is toxic to dogs, as well as nuts other than hazelnuts.

Your dog will most likely experience an upset stomach due to its cocoa content, the richness of the food, as well as its high saturated fat and sugar content. There’s a high chance that you won’t see any alarming symptoms, but you should still observe your dog closely for 48 hours after eating Nutella.

If your dog continues to vomit, and his appetite doesn’t improve, seek a vet consult immediately to rule out pancreatitis and other more serious adverse effects.