Can Dogs Drink Soda? + What Happen If They Drink One

Can Dogs Drink Soda

It is always very tempting to give your dog a sip of soda.

Especially when they look at you with their cute puppy dog eyes as you take your carbonated drink on a hot day.

This leads us to wonder if soda is bad for your dog or whether you are allowed to give your dog some soda in the place of water on a hot and sunny day.

How bad is that?

Or in other cases, what if your dog finds the soda stash in the store and decides to have a sip or ten? What then?

 

Can dogs drink sodas though? Sodas have a lot of sugar and caffeine which is not good for dogs.

A few sips of soda will not harm your dog but anything more than half might be a bit dangerous for your dog’s health.

The sugar in soda is harmful mainly because it may affect your dog’s teeth. Lots of sugar in your dog’s body also results in having more than enough carbohydrates in the body thus can be quite dangerous for dogs that get obese fast. Caffeine is also not good for your dog; caffeinated drinks, in general, are not.

 

Below is more of the information on what you need to know about dogs and soda.

 

What makes soda bad for your dog?

variety of soda

Soda is a carbonated fizzy drink mainly for humans.

When taken by dogs, it can have very adverse effects on your dog’s behavior, general health, and even their moods.

Here are some of the key reasons why the excessive taking of soda by your dog may be a problem:

 

1. It has a lot of sugar as one of its key ingredients.

Sugar is a carbohydrate and thus having excessive sugar in the body may cause obesity in your dog.

This especially affects dog breeds that suffer from obesity quite easily.

 

2. It also has caffeine as one of the key ingredients which are bad for dogs.

This is because caffeine is not designed to be digested by dogs’ digestive tract without difficulty such as in humans.

 

3. The fact that soda is a carbonated drink should be the first red flag when it comes to why soda is not advisable for your dog.

Carbonated drinks end up causing digestion problems in your dog.

Because your dog’s digestive system is not trained to handle all that fizzing and will probably give your dog a bloated stomach.

 

What happens when your dog drinks soda?

As discussed above, soda intake is not fatal, but it could be if it becomes a normal occurrence for your dog.

Giving your dog soda is not recommended because of the ingredients and the fact that soda is manufactured with the main consumers being humans.

 

Although soda is not recommended for dogs, a small sip or intake let’s say by accident will not harm your dog.

Your dog will probably get a major sugar rash on the soda due to the excessive amount of sugar but they will be okay.

 

The main problem comes up when it becomes a regular drink for your dog and that is not okay.

You may think you are making your dog happy but you are destroying their stomach health.

 

 

Learn More:

 

 

How to know whether your dog has taken too much soda?

When it comes to knowing when your dog has had a crazy amount of soda; it is always in the body language and how they respond after taking a high amount of soda.

Here are some body movements to look out for:

  • Unexplained body weakness
  • Drooling on the sides of the mouth
  • Hair standing on edge especially on the back
  • Head bobbing
  • Easily losing focus.

 

What are the effects of soda on your dog?

soda for dogs

A sip or two once in a while is not harmful to your dog if they are in perfect health.

This however does not mean that it is advised to get dogs into drinking soda as often as you do.

This is mainly because their digestive tracks are not like humans thus the drinking soda may lead to a couple of health problems to be discussed below:

 

1. Allowing your dog to drink too much soda may become a fatal thing to do.

This is especially because of the caffeine present in the drink.

Dogs have a lower tolerance to caffeine as compared to humans.

This makes caffeine more dangerous in your dog’s digestive system than in humans.

High levels of caffeine in your dog’s system may because of an accidental case of caffeine poisoning due to reason that your dog’s body is not well equipped for the amount of caffeine in soda.

 

2. Another health effect of allowing your dog to take soda is the amount of sugar present in the soda.

Soda is normally infused with excessive sugar making it a health hazard for dogs.

Sugar is usually a lot of carbohydrates for your dog and can lead to lifestyle conditions such as diabetes and obesity due to the excessive sugar in the body.

 

3. Excessive consumption of carbonated drinks leads to bloating in your dog’s digestive tract.

 

 

There are other health problems that your dog may experience after consuming a lot of soda such as:

 

  • Your dog may experience severe dehydration due to the amount of sugar intake which is worsened if the dog was taking the soda as a substitute for water. They will then get a sugar rush making them hyperactive and a bit difficult to contain.
  • They may also experience vomiting, gas bubbles, and diarrhea which will be uncomfortable for your dog.

 

Key Takeaway

All the above explains that it should not be a cause of alarm in case your dog happens to stumble upon some soda in the compound.

It is not fatal but it is advised to avoid giving your dog soda to avoid the lifestyle complications that come with it.

From excessive sugar and caffeine especially, because it has no known nutritional adding value to your dog.

 

See Also

Russel

A pet owner who loves to share useful facts and information about a variety of animals.