 The Short Answer is: |
Although it might surprise you, your dog is safe to eat most Mentos products. There are many varieties of gum that contain alcohol called xylitol (poisonous to dogs) that your dog cannot eat. |
The purpose of this article is to explain “Can Dogs Eat Mentos?“.
What is a mentor?
On a train trip to Poland in the 1930s Mentos were invented.
Originally I wanted to create a peppermint-flavored caramel sweet.
The company sells about thirty different Mentos products in the U.S. alone including gum chewy mints and plain mints.
How many Mentos are sold in the US each year was something I really wanted to know.
What kind of popularity do they have?
However I cannot seem to locate it.
I did find a very recent survey in which over eleven million people said they ate between one and two packs of Mentos in the last 30 days.
How about dogs?
Can dogs have Mentos?
Although it might surprise you your dog is safe to eat most Mentos products.
There are many varieties of gum that contain alcohol called xylitol (poisonous to dogs) that your dog cannot eat.
When it comes to all of the other Mentos products the worst thing that can happen to your dog is that their teeth will fall out and they will become fat.
Thats a joke…
The Three Mentos Product Ranges
In my observation Mentos sell three different products in the USA
- Gum
- Chewy Mints
- Mentos Mints
There are thirteen flavors of gum and only one of them is safe for dogs.
Other gum varieties also contain xylitol.
What makes this ingredient so toxic for dogs will be discussed.
There are fourteen different flavors in the Chewy Mints range and none of them contain xylitol.
As a result you can feed your dog mints from this range.
Furthermore there are only two flavors in the Mentos Mints product line and neither of them contains xylitol.
The mints in this third product line are also safe for your dogs to eat.
Having identified which Mentos products are harmful and which are not I want to discuss xylitol further in the following section.
What is xylitol?
Xylitol is an alcohol that is found in a variety of sugar-free foods.
This is because it has a similar sweetness to ordinary sugar (sucrose) but only a fraction of the calories.
Can you see why food manufacturers are so excited about it?
With only 40% of the calories its 5% sweeter than sugar.
The benefits of xylitol do not stop there though.
You should love xylitol if you manufacture foods because it does not cause blood sugar levels to spike.
In contrast sucrose (ordinary sugar) or fructose (another widely used sweetener) can cause dramatic increases in blood sugar.
It is therefore diabetic-friendly which makes it even more appealing to use.
The last special quality of Xylitol is that it is easy to obtain since it can be found in most fruits and vegetables.
Whats so bad about it for dogs?
Heres what we’ll find out.
Why is xylitol poisonous to dogs?
Xylitol is easily absorbed and processed by the human body but not by dogs.
It cannot be processed by their bodies
After xylitol enters a dogs body and is absorbed into their blood the pancreas releases lots of insulin causing their blood sugar levels to fall dangerously low.
If left untreated this shock is known as hypoglycemia and can lead to death due to extensive liver damage.
Veterinarians are not sure why or how exactly all of this occurs but they do know even small amounts of xylitol can cause serious problems.
What are the side effects of xylitol poisoning?
Here are some telltale signs that your dog might have consumed xylitol-containing Mentos.
Vomiting unsteadiness on their feet seizures or just lethargy are some of these symptoms.
If your dog shows these symptoms what should you do?
As soon as possible take them to the vet.
Do not waste your time searching for natural or home remedies.
Veterinary professionals are the only ones who can successfully treat this type of poisoning.
What is the only Mentos gum that is safe for dogs?
There is one flavor of gum (out of thirteen) that will not poison your dog.
Red Fruit Lime and Tropical is the flavor here.
The main sweetener in red fruit lime and tropical is sorbitol.
The other flavors use a combination of xylitol and sorbitol to get their sweetness.
The reason for this will remain a company secret.
Perhaps it has something to do with the combination of sweeteners and other ingredients in the lime and tropical flavor gum that provide enough sweetness that no xylitol is required.
Now that we have covered Mentos gum we can talk about their Chewy Mints.
Although none of the flavors in this range will poison your dog what ingredients do they contain and how might they affect your pet?
Can dogs eat Mentos Chewy Mints?
The chewy mints range consists of fourteen different flavors.
All of these foods are safe to eat since none of them contain xylitol as a sweetener.
The main ingredients in all of these flavors are the same.
Among these ingredients I want to focus on six.
Here they are:
- Sugar
- Wheat Glucose Syrup
- Hydrogenated Coconut Oil
- Citric Acid
- Rice Starch
- Natural Flavours
Heres some information about each of these strange ingredients and how they may affect your dog.
Sugar
Its no secret what sugar is how delicious it is to eat and what impact it can have on our health if we consume too much of it.
What is it like for dogs?
Sugar might taste as delicious to dogs as it does to us according to what we know.
Scientists have discovered that dogs can taste and identify sweet flavors.
What harm does it cause them?
A dogs teeth will rot if he consumes too much sugar.
Ten percent of dental problems in dogs are caused by tooth decay according to veterinarians.
Wheat glucose syrup
Possibly also used for thickening Chewy Mints this can be used as another sweetener.
Your dogs waistline is the main concern with this syrup.
The syrup contains few vitamins and minerals (if any at all).
It is unknown what effect this would have on a gluten-intolerant dog.
There is a possibility of a reaction due to the wheat.
However I guess the number of mentos the dog eats and how big the dog is will determine whether the dog will eat them.
Hydrogenated coconut oil
Although coconut oil is dog-friendly it contains a lot of fat.
The purpose of this is to enhance taste and texture.
Citric Acid
Citric acid is made and used in more than two million tons each year did you know?
I do not know!
Lemons and limes contain it naturally and your dog would not be affected by it.
Rice Starch
As far as your dog is concerned this is another “harmless” ingredient.
It is common for people to confuse rice starch with rice flour but the two are different.
There is almost no taste to rice starch which is used in foods due to its smooth creamy texture.
Your dog would agree with me I’m sure…
Natural Flavours
Flavors that are extracted directly from fruit or vegetables fall into this category. When it comes to Mentos most of the flavors are fruity.
As this article comes to an end I would like to focus on Mentos third product line.
Can dogs eat Mentos Mints?
There are two flavors of Mentos Mints- Intense Peppermint and Intense Wintergreen.
I was surprised when I saw the ingredients.
Due to the fact that both products are mints I expected xylitol to be included in the ingredients.
This was partly due to the fact that many of the mint flavors in the Mento Gum range contain xylitol.
However I was wrong- Peppermint and Wintergreen do not contain xylitol.
Because they are essentially chemicals rather than foods the ingredients look a bit scary.
All of them would not poison your dog I promise.
How do these mints work?
Sorbitol
I find this interesting.
Unlike xylitol sorbitol is not harmful to dogs.
No one quite understands why this is the case.
What causes two sugar alcohols to behave so differently when consumed by dogs.
You should keep in mind that in larger doses it can be laxative.
Artificial flavors
Its delightfully vague do not you think?
Natural flavors are derived directly from fresh foods or indeed anything that is edible whereas an artificial flavor is one that is derived directly from chemicals or a combination of chemicals.
Dogs are not known to be toxic to artificial flavors
Aspartame
An artificial flavor becomes an artificial sweetener.
The sweetness of aspartame is greater than that of sugar.
Several national food agencies including the FDA in the US and the European Food Agency have ruled out the possibility that this sweetener is linked to cancer.
The concern was about the use of aspartame in human foods so it had nothing to do with dogs.
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.
