Is it safe for dogs to eat Welch’s fruit snacks? If this is a question that’s on your mind, chances are, you’re looking to share one with your furry friend. Maybe your dog has already helped themself to one out of your candy stash.
Welch’s fruit snacks are a popular brand of fruit snacks that is under the authority of Welch Foods, Inc and marketed by Promotion in Motion Companies.
With an array of different flavor combinations available, customers certainly aren’t spoilt for choice. The question remains, however, are they safe for dogs (see also ‘Is It Safe To Give A Dog Marrow Bones?‘)?
Make-Up Of Welch’s Fruit Snacks
As stated by Welch’s official website, Welch’s fruit snacks are comprised of the following main ingredients: concentrates (peach, pear, pineapple, and grape), corn syrup, sugar, fruit purees (orange, grape, strawberry, and raspberry), gelatin, artificial flavors, citric acid, sodium citrate, lactic acid, vitamin C, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin E, carnauba wax, Yellow 5, Blue 1, and Red 40.
Some necessary facts are important for you to understand in order for you to make up your mind on whether Welch’s fruit snacks are safe for your dog or not:
- Essentially, fruit concentrates are juices that have been created by removing all the water content from fruit. As a result of this, they contain much more sugar than the fruit did, to begin with.
- Corn syrups are heavily processed sweeteners that are made up of glucose and fructose.
- As reported by Slate.com, one single serving of Welch’s fruit snacks contains 11 grams of sugar, akin to around 3 tablespoons. Therefore, it can be assumed that every 43% consumed by your dog is made up of simply sugar.
- While the ingredients may state the addition of Vitamin A and E, they’re artificially added.
- The fruit purees that are used in making fruit snacks are often removed from the main ingredients that qualify them as fruits organoleptically, therefore, they are mostly sugar. They lack the overall nutritional value supplied by fruits, as noted in the absence of dietary fiber.
Can Dogs Eat Welch’s Fruit Snacks?
To cut it short, it wouldn’t be in your dog’s best interest if you were to allow them to eat Welch’s fruit snacks. While they aren’t toxic to dogs, as they contain mainly fruit juices and sugar, they aren’t considered at all healthy.
Welch’s fruit snacks are not made up of organic fruit, and instead, are filled with excessive amounts of sugars, sweeteners, preservatives, and artificial flavoring. These are all things dogs should be staying clear from.
All of these ingredients are associated with a range of health issues that can be experienced by dogs.
Difficulties including obesity, inflammation, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease can pose a threat to dogs who consume things such as Welch’s fruit snacks regularly.
A surfeit amount of sugar can also cause a range of dental issues for dogs, tooth decay being one of the most prevalent.
What To Do If Your Dog Eats A Welch’s Fruit Snack
If your dog gets their paws on a Welch’s fruit snack, there is no need to panic. Some things are unavoidable, and providing you monitor your pet for any signs of discomfort or abnormalities, everything will be just fine.
If something does seem off, take a trip to your vet for a quick check-up.
Keep your snacks out of reach from your pup to avoid similar instances happening in the future. Most dogs will eat anything they can get their paws on, so don’t be too hard on yourself.
There are plenty of dog-friendly treats for you to buy instead if you want to give your pet something yummy to snack on in between meal times.
Are There Any Safe Alternatives?
Just because Welch’s fruit snacks aren’t the best option, that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of other things readily available for you to give your pet. Instead of opting for something full of artificial ingredients, and excessive amounts of unhealthy sugars, why not try real fruit?
Fruit provides a wonderful source of nutrients and fibers, and your dog will be sure to reap the benefits if consumed in moderation.
You may find your dog will love the addition of apples and blueberries into his or her diet. Apples are rich in vitamins A and E, and blueberries are considered a superfood that is full of antioxidants.
However, like anything else, be careful not to give them too much. If you are giving your dog fruit, it should be alongside their normal diet, or as an occasional treat.
Real fruits still contain sugars, albeit natural ones, therefore it is best to monitor how much of it your pet is consuming.
Conclusion
While your dog could eat a Welch’s fruit snack as a one-off, and be completely fine, they are not fit to substitute into your pet’s diet overall.
Welch’s fruit snacks contain far too many sugars and artificial flavorings for them to be deemed safe, and too much consumption could have terrible consequences for your furry friend.
If you’re looking for a tasty treat for your dog to enjoy that still offers plenty of nutritional value, many readily available real fruits will do the trick just fine.
Something like an apple will provide your pooch with an excellent source of fiber, and is great for supplying vitamins A and E. Not only do apples have many benefits, but your pet is sure to find them incredibly tasty.
The result of that was Bunny - a 5 year old labrador who follows me around everywhere and is trained to detect when I’m about to have an anxiety attack. Through our three years together, Bunny can even sense when I’m feeling just a little bit anxious and work to calm me down.
- Are Antlers Safe For Dogs? - January 14, 2024
- Can Dogs Eat Honey Nut Cheerios? - December 23, 2023
- Natural Deworming Remedies for Your Dog - December 18, 2023
