Can Dogs Eat Sesame Chicken?

The purpose of this research is to explain the “Can Dogs Eat Sesame Chicken?“.

Despite pizza being the worlds favorite takeaway food Chinese is the number one choice in the US. 

Based on a survey in 2019 the average Brit spends £451 on takeaway food and Chinese food is the most popular.

Is it appropriate for our dogs to eat takeaway food with us?

Is sesame chicken suitable for dogs?

We’ll find out.

What is sesame seed chicken?

Chicken with sesame seeds is a very popular dish served in many Chinese restaurants across the country.

This dish is unique in that it was invented in America and is not a traditional Chinese dish.

Corn starch vinegar wine stock and sugar are used to make a thick and sweet sauce that is poured over deep-fried chicken pieces.

Sesame seeds are sprinkled on top just before the dish is served. 

Doesnot that sound delicious?

What about your dogs safety?

Is it safe for a dog to eat? 

Fortunately none of the ingredients in this product are toxic or poisonous to your dog.

As a result if your dog eats any you would not need to run to the vet or call Pet Poison help.

Nonetheless your dog may experience little diarrhea after its meal or even vomit.

Its not a good idea to feed your dog sesame seed chicken because its very rich food.

The exact amount of damage your dog may suffer depends on how much sesame seed chicken they ate and which ingredients were used.

The dish could have been homemade a takeout dish or a ready-made dish. 

I would like to discuss the individual ingredients first. 

Cooked chicken is perfectly fine to add to your dogs diet- raw chicken is much more dangerous. 

In fact its the way the chicken is cooked rather than the chicken itself that makes the difference.

Fat/ oil

Since deep-fried food is made with so much oil most dogs would not be able to handle it.

Foods with fat are harder for dogs to digest partly because they should rarely eat fried food. 

Sugar

Sesame seed chicken typically requires quite a bit of sugar which is another suspect ingredient. 

Several sesame seed chicken-ready meals contain around 3-5 % sugar according to the nutrition information. 

Thats a pretty high number.

If a dog eats one of these sugary treats the biggest danger is not obesity but damage to its teeth.

Wine/ Sake

Your dog would not be affected much by the wine or sake as most of it will have been burned off during cooking. 

Salt

I mentioned earlier that your sesame seed chicken dish could have come from a variety of places (homemade restaurant or ready meal) and that may have affected the exact ingredients that were used.

You can be fairly confident that if you bought your meal from a restaurant or a grocery store the amount of salt used will be high.

A 100g serving might contain about 444 mg of sodium (salt) which represents about 20% of a persons recommended daily sodium intake.

Humans need salt in their diet to function properly but dogs need only moderate amounts and the levels found in this chicken dish are very high. 

Adding salt to a dogs food will increase their thirst which will lead to dehydration. 

Spices

Sesame seed chicken no longer requires any spices in its standard recipe.

This is a sweet dish rather than a spicy one. 

Spices can be used in a variety of ways in this dish.

Most spices are not toxic to your dog- the biggest danger comes from garlic and onions.

Your dog would not enjoy eating certain spices because they do not taste good to us. 

Can Chinese food kill a dog?

However there are a few things to consider when feeding your dog Chinese food (just like British or American food cannot kill your dog).

There are two ingredients you should be aware of if you regularly eat Chinese takeaway and your dog has a few bites.

Onion and Garlic

Garlic and onion even in small amounts are poisonous to dogs and you should not feed them any foods that contain them.

It does not matter whether its a “Chinese” or “Indian” dish.

Chinese food does not have a lot of garlic in it as soy sauce and ginger are more prominent ingredients but check the ingredients or the food label to find out.

In Chinese cuisine especially vegetable dishes onions are more commonly used.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG)

Chinese dishes include MSG which is a controversial additive used to enhance the taste of many foods. 

MSG has made headlines because some people have experienced very severe side effects after eating food containing it. 

It followed a lot of bad press about the dangers that MSG poses to humans and dogs. 

The truth is there has been very little proper research done on its effects on people or dogs. 

During this study some dogs whose diets included MSG were monitored for a whole year. 

There were no adverse effects found.

It is easy to become distracted by all of that.

However the real danger of MSG is that it is salt.

See how much sodium it contains.  

Can I just avoid Chinese food for my dog?

What is the healthiest Chinese food for my dog? 

It might be stretching the point but I think your dog can eat the occasional bite of Chinese food provided it is homemade and simplified.

This means that many spices have been stripped away. 

Rice is the main ingredient in many Chinese dishes.

White or brown rice boiled or steamed can be fed to your dog in moderation.

Even egg can be added to the rice- just do not fry it!

The dish can be made with meat.

The most obvious is chicken and instead of frying it try boiling or grilling it. 

Steamed vegetables are a traditional part of Chinese food.

You should be fine if you stay away from onion and garlic.

You could add a bit of ginger if you want to add spices.

Which chicken is best for dogs?

Why should our dogs eat chicken at all if sesame seed chicken is a dish they should avoid?

Dogs can benefit from chickens nutritional value. 

Dogs need protein for energy and chicken is a great source of it.

The fruit is a good source of vitamins and contains a lot of vitamin B6 which helps convert food into energy. 

Raw chicken does pose a health risk to dogs even though many people feed it to them happily.

Your dog might become ill from bacteria such as campylobacter or salmonella which are both very dangerous.

To make sure your dog is safe always cook the chicken before feeding it to him.

The best way to prepare the chicken is to use the fewest ingredients possible- you can lightly steam it for great results.

Wrapping a chicken breast in foil and cutting it in half will probably take about 20 minutes. In either case make sure that the temperature is not too high or the chicken will burn.

If you want to read more about dog food tips read here: Dog Food Tips and Tricks.

Can Dogs Eat Sesame Chicken? (Watch Video)