Dogs Love Peanut Butter But This One Ingredient Could Be Fatal

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Peanut butter is the perfect people-food for dogs. They love to eat it and it is a great way to administer medicine or encourage training behaviors with a healthy snack. It can even be used in conjunction with a special toy that will keep anxious dogs occupied for a while. Many people have a jar of peanut (or other nut) butter in the pantry just for their pooches, but that jar could contain a deadly additive.

Xylitol has recently become more popular as an additive in foods, including nut butter. It is produced naturally by the human body in small amounts as part of a healthy metabolism and occurs naturally in some fruits and vegetables, including strawberries and raspberries. The additive is used as a sugar substitute in many foods because it contains about 35% less calories than table sugar by weight and 62% less by sweetness. It is absorbed much more slowly by the body and has almost no effect on blood sugar. The sugar alcohol is considered a healthier sweetener for humans, even in fairly large doses.  

For dogs, that isn’t the case. The ASPCA has done studies that show this sugar-substitute can, even in small doses, leads to life-threatening liver disease and coagulopathy (a bleeding disorder). Even 0.1 g of xylitol per kilogram of the dog’s weight (0.0015 ounces per pound) can cause a rapid drop in blood sugar for your dog, causing weakness, disorientation, staggering or collapsing and even seizures. Increase the number to 0.5 g per kilogram and the result can be deadly. 

This additive has been found by Preventative Vet in at least two brands of peanut butter; Krush Nutrition® and Nuts ‘N More®. Both companies have done a lot of work to keep dogs safe—they acknowledge this ingredient prominently in their product labeling and have information posted to their website to educate people about the dangers of xylitol to dogs. Both are working with Preventative Vet in order to spread the word and ensure that no pups are harmed. 

More and more products are using xylitol as their sweetening agent, so next time you consider giving your pup people food, double and triple check to make sure there is no xylitol listed as an ingredient. Many brands are trying to reduce sugar while maintaining sweetness so even some old favorites could be getting a new label. Sometimes xylitol can be listed under "sugar alcohol (E967)," although that is very rare. The best way to keep your pup safe is to get natural peanut butter or to make your own. Then you'll know there is nothing but nuts. 

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