Can Dogs Eat Ginger Snaps: Yay or Nay?

By: Andrew
Time to read: 7 min.

This post contains affiliate links.

Ginger snaps are delicious ginger-flavored crispy biscuits that humans like to munch on, either on their own, as desserts, or as a part of other recipes. Either way, there’s a chance that your dog is likely to come begging for a bite whenever he sees you devouring these tasty cookies. But is it right to share ginger snaps with your dog?

Dogs can eat ginger snaps but in very small quantities. While they aren’t highly toxic, they aren’t the best treats for your pup. They contain a significant amount of ingredients such as sugar, flour, and artificial sweeteners, which can harm dogs if consumed in large quantities.

This article will offer a detailed look at all the vital information revolving around dogs and ginger snaps. Read on!

Table of Contents

Can Dogs Eat Ginger Snaps?

Dogs can eat ginger snaps but only moderately as occasional treats. These cookies come with a blend of ginger and other flavorful ingredients baked to give tasty and crispy biscuits. The fact that ginger snaps contain ginger makes them a good treat because ginger is healthy for dogs.

Ginger is beneficial to dogs for the following reasons:

It helps with digestion.
It relieves stomach pains.
It helps with car sickness.
It is loaded with antioxidants essential for your pup’s immune system.
It fights cancer in dogs.
It promotes heart health since it has anti-clotting capabilities.
It kills heartworms that are deadly in dogs.
It has anti-inflammatory properties making it effective in relieving joint pains caused by arthritis.

Unfortunately, the chain of additional ingredients in ginger snaps limits their efficiency in delivering these benefits.

Ginger Snaps Ingredients

While ginger may seem to constitute a large percentage of these snaps, it’s not as much as you may think. Surprisingly, in some cases, this disparagingly low amount of ginger may not be real ginger but traces of a strong flavor substitute.

The other ingredients in this snack might be suitable for human consumption but not for canines, which is why dogs shouldn’t have a large intake of these cookies in a single sitting.

The questionable ingredients that you should be wary of when sharing ginger snaps with your favorite canine companion include:

Sugar

Sugar does not agree with a dog’s sensitive system and should be avoided in treats meant for your buddy. While ginger snaps may not be loaded with sugar like other cookies in the market, they still contain a significant amount of sugar that may be toxic to canines.

When consumed in large amounts and over a long period, the sugar content in ginger snaps becomes toxic to pups. Excess sugar can cause obesity, tooth decay, diabetes, and gastrointestinal upsets.

Although these health problems don’t manifest immediately, they shorten your pup’s lifespan in the long run.

Wheat and All-Purpose Flour

Although flour isn’t highly toxic for dogs, it can cause severe stomach upset if over consumed. Additionally, wheat flour contains gluten which can be problematic for dogs with gluten intolerance.

So, be wary of giving your pup lots of ginger snaps because of their high flour content.

Artificial Sweeteners

Some manufacturers use artificial sweeteners, mainly xylitol, to substitute for natural sugar and make the ginger snaps tastier.

Unfortunately, xylitol is highly toxic to dogs, and even a very small quantity of it will cause more harm than the standard sugar. Xylitol poisoning causes seizures, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), and damages the liver.

Make sure that you read through the ingredients list and steer clear of ginger snaps containing traces of xylitol.

Lard or Butter

These are natural fats used to make ginger snaps, and while they aren’t toxic to dogs, a high intake causes stomach upsets, vomiting, and diarrhea. These ingredients (sugar, flour, artificial sweeteners, and lard) make ginger snaps unfit for your dog to eat in large quantities.

What Should You Do if Your Dog Eats Ginger Snaps?

In most cases, a few bites of ginger snaps won’t cause your pup any severe harm. However, if you suspect that he has had quite a number of them and begins to show persistent symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, general weakness, and seizures, immediately contact your vet for advice on what to do next.

Dog-Friendly Ginger Snaps Recipe

Most store-bought ginger snaps come with toxic ingredients, making them unsafe for large consumption by dogs. However, if you still want to share these ginger cookies with your pup, you can make homemade ones.

Making ginger snaps from the comfort of your kitchen gives you the free will to control what gets into them. Here, you can eliminate the toxic ingredients while replacing them with more dog-friendly alternatives.

For example, you can replace white sugar and xylitol with natural honey and lard with olive oil.

Here’s a simple recipe you can use to prepare approximately 25-30 yummy homemade ginger snaps:

Ingredients

4 cups whole wheat flour
¼ cup freshly shredded ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup molasses
1 cup water
¼ cup olive oil

Cooking Instructions

Preheat your oven to 325 °F (163 °C).
In a medium mixing bowl, add all your dry ingredients, flour, cinnamon, and ginger, and mix them thoroughly.
Add the liquid ingredients, and mix well.
Knead the dough to the desired consistency or until it becomes stiff.
Cut out equal pieces of the dough and roll them out on a flat surface to about ¼ inch (6.35 mm) thickness.
Cut out your cookies using your favorite cooking cutter.
Spread the cut pieces on your baking tin and put them in the oven for about 20-25 minutes.
Once they are ready, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool before serving.

You can now share your homemade ginger snaps with your furry canine friend while wearing a smile on your face. However, be careful not to give him too many of them due to the flour content that may upset his tummy.

You’ll want to limit the intake to occasional treats for the sake of your pup’s health.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have questions that this article didn’t answer yet? Let’s take a look at some of the frequently asked questions that most people have about feeding ginger snaps to their dogs.

Q: Are Ginger Snaps Harmful to Dogs?

Ginger snaps aren’t harmful to dogs unless consumed in large quantities over a single sitting. Additionally, if you make it a habit to give your dog ginger snaps regularly, you may put him at risk of obesity and diabetes in the long run.

Q: Can Ginger Snaps Help a Dog With Car Sickness?

For years, humans have believed in using ginger as a natural anti-emetic to reduce nausea and car sickness. And just like humans, dogs too benefit from ginger when it comes to car or motion sickness.

You can tell that your dog has car sickness if he shows signs of vomiting, yawning, uneasiness, whining, drooling, and licking lips during travels. To help him with this, you can give him a few bites of ginger snaps about 30 minutes or so before embarking on a journey.

Q: Are Homemade Ginger Snaps Better for Dogs?

Compared to ready-made or store-bought ginger snaps, homemade ginger cookies are quite safe for consumption by pups. This is because you get to control what gets into them, thus eliminating toxic ingredients such as artificial sweeteners and excess sugar.

Homemade ginger snaps can be a good option if you are skeptical about giving your pup store-bought cookies.

Q: Can Ginger Snaps Help a Dog With an Upset Stomach?

Unfortunately, ginger snaps won’t help much if your dog has an upset tummy but will instead worsen the case. This happens because some toxic ingredients in them, such as artificial sweeteners and sugar, are known to cause gastrointestinal issues.

However, natural ginger will help if your pup has an upset stomach.

Ginger is a natural remedy for upset stomachs where it helps with digestion and treats diarrhea, vomiting, and other gastrointestinal issues.

Ginger is your go-to solution if you are looking for a natural remedy for your pup’s upset tummy.

Conclusion

Dogs can eat ginger snaps but in moderation. Although these cookies aren’t toxic to dogs, a huge intake in one sitting or continuously over a long time can negatively affect your pup’s health.

Ginger snaps come with loads of sugar, artificial sweeteners, and flour. Excess sugar consumption can cause gastrointestinal issues, tooth decay, and obesity, while an excess of flour in your pup’s gastrointestinal tract can cause an upset stomach, diarrhea, and vomiting.

Xylitol, an artificial sweetener, causes seizures, hypoglycemia, and liver damage. Therefore, don’t be too generous to your pup when it comes to ginger snaps.

I Ran Out of Dog Food: What Foods Can My Dog Eat?

Sources

Mrdogfood.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. We also participate in other affiliate programs which compensate us for referring traffic.