 The Short Answer is:
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Pet owners will be pleased to know that baby puffs are a safe food to feed their dogs as long as they choose the right brand. I examined three brands of baby puffs in this article. One of the brands included an ingredient that is a known dog poison while the other two brands used ingredients that were perfectly safe for your dog to eat. |
The purpose of this research is to explain the “Can Dogs Eat Baby Puffs?“.
Baby puffs make great finger foods for babies and young toddlers.
They are easy to prepare melt in the mouth and do not stick in the throat are low in calories and have a lot of important minerals.
Yet as easy as it is to praise them as far as babies are concerned where do they stand as far as dogs go?
This is what I’m going to discover in todays article.
Can dogs have Baby Puffs?
Pet owners will be pleased to know that baby puffs are a safe food to feed their dogs as long as they choose the right brand
I examined three brands of baby puffs in this article.
One of the brands included an ingredient that is a known dog poison while the other two brands used ingredients that were perfectly safe for your dog to eat.
In the next section I’ll talk about this brand.
Can dogs eat Parent’s Choice baby puffs?
My surprise at this section is greater than anyone elses.
I stood there ready to explain that the ingredients used to make baby puffs are not necessarily the healthiest but they would not kill your dog either.
I came across the main ingredient used by one manufacturer that is toxic to dogs.
Thus I need to give you a heads up about this first.
Walmarts Parents Choice brand makes hundreds of different baby products.
The strawberry and apple snack and the banana snack are two flavors of baby puffs or little hearts.
Grape juice concentrate is the only questionable ingredient.
Red and white grapes in any form are toxic to dogs (fresh grapes sultanas and raisins).
The vets do not know what grape products do to dogs but they do know it can cause kidney failure.
It is unclear how many grapes it takes to kill a big dog or a small dog or why some dogs may be able to eat grapes without being harmed.
It is possible to argue that the amount of grape juice in Parent Choice baby puffs is minimal since grape juice concentrate is the fifth most used ingredient in the product.
However I have to be very cautious when offering advice over the Internet.
If you want to give your dog baby puffs you should avoid those made by Parent Choice.
Is it correct to assume that all baby puff products are out of bounds because of one brands toxic ingredient?
What are the ingredients in Baby Puffs?
The answer to that question is emphatical “no.”
There are two other popular brands of baby puffs that use only ingredients that are safe for your dog to eat.
These beans are from Gerber and Plum Organics.
Even though the main ingredients are slightly different between the two brands below you can find a list of six ingredients that appear in both products.
Rice flour
Whole wheat flour
Wheat Starch
Cane Sugar
Oat flour
Brown Rice flour
Rice flour
In both products this is the main ingredient.
Grains of rice are ground up for making it.
The great thing about rice flour is that it is non-allergenic.
Unlike wheat it does not cause allergic reactions.
Since dogs can have wheat allergies this is great news for them just as it is for babies.
Whole wheat flour
If you could tell me what the ratio of rice flour to wheat flour is in these recipes I would appreciate it.
This is unlikely since they will be closely guarded company secrets!
Its good to know that wheat flour isnot the primary ingredient!
Be careful if your dog has a gluten intolerance although its severity will depend on how sensitive it is.
Wheat Starch
A lot of foods contain starch to provide texture and shape.
If your dog is sensitive to wheat this is another ingredient to watch out for but it is safe for all other dogs.
Cane Sugar
Sugar in cans is less processed and therefore healthier than table sugar or sucrose.
Do not be fooled by this sugar is unhealthy and dogs do not need it in their diet.
Oat flour
Three types of flour we offer.
As a result it is quite appropriate for a product that is as light and fluffy as a cloud to contain three types of light and fluffy flour!
Like rice oats are hypoallergenic so they are perfect for dogs of all breeds.
Brown Rice flour
Similarly number 4 flour does not cause allergies.
As I have run out of things to say about flour I will move on to discuss whether dogs can eat fortified foods.
Can dogs eat foods that have been fortified?
Adding vitamins and minerals to food makes it fortified.
The purpose of these nutrients is not to improve the taste or texture of the food but to ensure that the person eating it is getting essential nutrients.
There are a lot of baby and childrens foods that are fortified as well as products such as milk and bread.
In addition most complete dog foods (dry and wet) are fortified to ensure that dogs get everything they need from their food.
These two brands have almost identical amounts of vitamins and minerals in their puffs.
Vitamin E vitamin B1 and vitamin B6 are among them.
I forgot to mention iron.
Your dog will not be harmed by the addition of these vitamins to its food.
Now that we know that the baby puffs made by two of the largest companies do not contain any ingredients that should worry your dog it is time to shift our attention to the nutrition they provide.
What is the nutrition in Baby Puffs?
I have created a table below to make it easier to understand.
The following nutrition information is for a 7g serving which is the equivalent of half a cup.
How about half a cup? 7g? Doesnot air weigh more than that?
| Calories | 25 |
| Fat | 0 |
| Sodium | 0 mg |
| Carbs | 6g |
| Inc. Sugar | 1 g |
| Protein | 0 g |
| Vitamins | E B1 B6 B9 B12 |
| Minerals | Iron |
Carbohydrates dominate these tiny pockets of air.
They contain so much carbohydrate and nothing else that a cynic might argue that they do not really contain any nutrition.
In addition to the vitamins they are fortified with.
It makes me wonder if you would be better off feeding your dogs packing peanuts instead.
Its a joke by the way.
How many baby puffs should I feed my dog?
My understanding is that baby puffs are fed to dogs in two main contexts.
Your dog would not be eating enough baby puffs in either of these scenarios so you should not be worried.
The first is deliberate while the second is accidental.
To begin with intentionally feeding dogs baby puffs.
As a training treat they can be used in this way.
They are suitable in many different ways.
Jarred they are not messy to touch they’re not too fattening and they’re the perfect size for training treats.
Most people who use baby puffs in this way are parents with babies who buy baby puffs for their child before thinking “wait these might be good for my dog!”
A dog might also eat baby puffs when they are sitting close to a toddler who is eating them.
I have found that a few baby puffs always end up on the floor so it would not take a clever dog long to figure out where to sit!
If you want to read more about dog food tips read here: Dog Food Tips and Tricks.
