 The Short Answer is: |
Dogs cannot be harmed by Crunchy Nut. Fear not, if sharing is something you do at your breakfast table. |
In this article you will know the answer to the query “Can Dogs Eat Crunchy Nut Cornflakes?“.
It seems that every meal time in our house is a huge opportunity for our dogs to beg.
As you look at them lean against them or place their paws on your lap you know what guilt trips they can send you on.
Breakfast time is the time when they are at their worst in our house.
There may be a reason for this since they havenot eaten in a while.
Therefore we are under immense pressure to share some breakfast cereals with our dogs.
When I feel like I need a sugar rush I sometimes eat Crunchy or Honey Nut Cornflakes.
Although this would probably be one of the worst cereals to share with my dogs since it tastes like there is a lot of sugar in it.
Do you believe this to be true?
I would like to start by explaining how this cereal came into being.
What are honey nut cornflakes?
Although Cornflakes was first introduced in 1894 their sweeter and nuttier relative wasnot released until 1980 to an unsuspecting British audience.
Honey Nut or Crunchy Nut Cornflakes were launched in the United States only later.
A fascinating fact about Cornflakes is that they were originally made from wheat.
You do not have to believe me.
Can dogs eat Honey Nut Cornflakes?
Let me give you a quick answer for those of you in a rush.
Dogs cannot be harmed by Crunchy Nut.
Fear not if sharing is something you do at your breakfast table.
It is impossible for you to kill your dog.
However there are a few things to consider.
Crunchy Nut is loaded with calories most of which are derived from the type of sugar used in the recipe.
Nutrition does not have to be bad all the time.
There are some vitamins and minerals in these cereals that your dog might benefit from.
To find out what Honey Nut Cornflakes’ real strengths and weaknesses are we must look at their ingredients in more detail.
Doing this will allow us to determine how dog-friendly they really are?
Eight ingredients in Crunchy Nut?
Kellogs Crunchy Nut appears to contain eight main ingredients.
These are maize sugar peanuts (6%) barley malt flavoring molasses honey (1%) and salt.
Corn is also known as maize.
I will examine each of these ingredients one by one in the following section.
Assess their suitability for your dog.
Can dogs eat corn?
Shredded Wheat is safe for dogs to eat according to an article I wrote recently.
Ninety-five percent of the wheat in shredded wheat is wheat.
There is far less maize in a box of Crunchy Nuts than that.
Peanuts the third most commonly used ingredient in these cereals compose 6% of the box. 6% of a box of these cereals is made up of peanuts which are the third most commonly used ingredient.
However regardless of how much corn is in the recipe is it nutritious for your dog?
Despite its low calorie and fat content corn contains about 20% carbohydrates.
Twenty percent of that are sugars and two percent are fiber.
Protein makes up only 3% of corn.
As far as your dog is concerned most of that looks OK- its just the carbohydrates that you need to consider.
Vitamin B3 is the most abundant vitamin in corn followed closely by vitamin B1.
B vitamins are essential for the conversion of food into energy.
I will discuss sugar the second most common ingredient in Kellogs Crunchy Nut in the next section.
Sugar
Sugar is not nutritionally beneficial lets face it.
Sugar isnot the only form of sugar found on this list as with most cereals.
Sugar is only good for them because it isnot toxic- although try telling that to their teeth!
Keep in mind that since this is the second most commonly used ingredient there must be quite a bit of sugar!
Peanuts
Peanuts make up 6% of the ingredients in this box of cereal.
While peanuts are not toxic to dogs they contain a large amount of fat like most other nuts.
The calories in 100g of peanuts contain well over 500 as they contain 50 percent fat.
Putting that in perspective 100g of vanilla ice cream contains only 200 calories.
Of course there is such a thing as healthy and unhealthy fats but its something to keep in mind.
The likelihood of your dog becoming obese increases when he consumes fatty foods.
In their whole form peanuts pose a choking hazard to dogs but in Crunchy Nut boxes peanuts are crushed so they do not pose any threat in that regard.
Peanuts contain a wide variety of vitamins and minerals as well.
There are huge amounts of many of them.
Again the B vitamins show up strongly-especially B1 B3 and B9.
Peanuts contain a lot of copper and manganese as far as minerals are concerned.
Among other things copper is thought to help keep a dogs blood vessels healthy.
The manganese in manganese plays a key role in clotting blood.
An ingredient hidden in plain sight is next on our list.
Barley malt flavoring
The word barley malt flavoring sounds quite exotic do not you think?
That is until you realize it is just another form of sugar.
A barley beverage is made by soaking grains in water and then heating them.
Afterward the grains are turned into sugar.
According to nutrition labels barley malt syrup or flavoring contains 40* grams of sugar.
In the last few sentences what were we saying about obesity?
Molasses
Thats a different kind of sugar.
Despite its sugar content Molasses has some health benefits.
Furthermore it contains a high amount of vitamin B6 as well as copper magnesium and manganese.
Plus they contain half as many calories as peanuts!
Honey (1%)
We know how much honey is used in these cereals so thats the best thing we can say.
Honey accounts for 1% of the ingredients.
Comparatively that is a small amount which you should keep in mind as you read the rest of this article!
Although I knew honey was mostly sugar (it comprises 82% of the product) I also believed it contained a lot of nutrients.
Taking a look at the data I can see that it isnot.
Thus your dog will not receive any health benefits from the honey in Crunchy Nut only more calories to burn off!
Salt
This is the first ingredient that isnot a type of sugar.
The only problem is that it is salt.
However even if it is used in very small amounts it will not pose any health risks to your dog.
Alternative honey and nut cereals
Honey and nuts are found in abundance in the cereal market both of them.
Honey Nut Cheerios would be the most popular substitution.
Additionally there is Honey Nut Chex.
Whats better for your dog between these two?
Crunchy Nut Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios differ in that Honey Nut Cheerios contain whole grain oats as the principal ingredient while Crunchy Nut Cheerios contain corn.
Aside from that both contain quite a long list of different sugars.
There are very few differences in terms of nutrition calories carbohydrate content and so on.
Even more similar to Crunchy Nut is Honey Nut Chex since corn is also the main ingredient.
Rather than being cornflakes Chex is rectangular pillows of corn.
In other words if you wanted to stick with the honey and nut theme but make a healthy swap I’m afraid that you’re out of luck.
Amanda (Author)
With over a decade of experience, Amanda is a distinguished dog trainer. Her expertise in canine behavior has transformed countless lives, fostering harmonious human-canine connections. Through compassionate and personalized approaches, she empowers owners to understand and connect with their furry companions, creating a legacy of joyful tails and transformed lives.
Osvaldo Maciel (Content Reviewer)
Osvaldo Maciel, a stalwart in the field with 14 years of experience, is a revered dog trainer. His journey is defined by a profound understanding of canine behavior, shaping unbreakable human-canine bonds. Osvaldo guides owners to connect with their beloved pets, leaving an indelible mark of happiness and transformation. His legacy shines through the countless lives he has touched.
