Sunday’s big game now trails only Thanksgiving in terms of US food consumption. This enormous engorgement not only threatens many weight loss resolutions, it also may add unhealthy pounds and dangers to our dogs and cats. Sharing a few nibbles of healthy snacks such as celery or carrots is fine, pizza and wings are not.
“When we look at weight gain in humans and pets, big single-day caloric consumption can have life-long consequences,” notes Dr. Ernie Ward, founder and president of APOP. “A pet can be fed a healthy, low-calorie diet and have their efforts erased with a huge feast.”
Ward points out several foods to avoid feeding your pet on Super Sunday. “Don’t feed your pet anything fried or battered, covered in creamy sauces and steer clear of salty snacks.” In fact, Ward recommends limiting any super snacks to “crunchy vegetables such as broccoli, baby carrots, celery and asparagus.” According to Ward, each chicken wing has about 55 calories. A 20-pound dog fed a single chicken wing is similar to an average adult eating almost seven wings. Feed a 40-pound dog one-half slice of pepperoni pizza and that’s the same as an adult consuming two slices of pepperoni pizza and a 12-ounce cola.
It’s not just the calories that worry Ward. “Americans will eat about 1.25 billion chicken wings during the game. That equals 1.25 billion chances for a dog or cat to ingest a bone that can cause serious complications.” APOP warns pet owners not to feed their pets chicken wings due to the risk of intestinal obstruction or worse.
“An often overlooked risk of chicken wings is salt,” states Ward. “One buffalo wing has almost about 160 to 200 mg of sodium. That’s about the amount of sodium recommended for a 20-pound dog in a day. Feeding a dog too much salt can cause high blood pressure and can contribute to kidney and heart disease.” Other foods high in salt that should not be fed to pets include pizza, hamburgers and cheeseburgers, fries, pretzels, potato chips, canned beef stew, potato salad and many sauces.
No BONES - No FAT- No SALT
They will love you anyway !
Be careful what your dog(s) eat during the big game. I know that I would never feed anything with bones.
ReplyDeleteIt was only 3 years ago that one of my well meaning guests did exactly that. Fortunately, no real harm was done, but it was scary !! Be sure to remind your guests not to feed anything to the dogs, or cats, without permission.