Peanut butter

[ejano]

At odd intervals I've given the boys and Ladybug peanut butter stuffed bones.....it's just the regular stuff off the shelf, fat and sugar included. Now I"m thinking it can't be all that good for their teeth.....what do you think?

 

Is liverwurst a better treat for stuffing and freezing bones?

 

Liz

[bc4ever]

We give Scooter peanut butter sometimes. Low fat. Just the tip of a teaspoon. The vet did say that peanut butter was fattening, so we don't give it often, but as an occasional treat, I don't think it's that bad.

[Tommy Coyote]

I use it all the time to give dogs pills. Not a lot. Works like a charm.

[Lewie'sMom]

On special occasions I fill a Kong with peanut butter and hard treats; kind of like a peanut butter parfait.

[Maralynn]

If you're worried about the sugar, just get one of the natural varieties without it. A certain amount of fat is good for dogs (people too!) the problem comes when you're giving the dog more fat than he can exercise off!! I use PB fairly often for kongs or pills. I'd rather give my dog PB then many of the commercial dog treats out there!!

[juliepoudrier]

I use PB for pills too, and I noticed Willow was putting on weight and was puzzled by that. Then I realized that with all the pills she takes she was getting quite a lot of peanut butter! Other than the weight gain potential, I see no harm in giving peanut butter, and in Willow's case, I'm sure what she's taking all those pills for will get her before PB overdose does....

 

J.

[JohnLloydJones]

I presume dogs could have peanut allergy much like people, but I've never heard of anything serious connected to dogs eating peanuts or peanut butter. Senneca gets the runs if she gets a PB kong, so it's not on the menu in this house. We don't have any pill popping dogs, either, so we maintain a PB free zone.

[Alchemist]

I once took a course called "Biochemistry of Xenobiotics". (A great class; the instructor won one of those "MacArthur 'genius' grants" a few years later). Each lecture I'd come home telling DH about foods we'd have to eliminate from our diet. Of course, many years later, they've all now been re-introduced. (And yes, I do grill my steak - PAH's be hanged!). So take the following with a large grain of salt.

 

What I learned was that peanuts (among other foods) are prone to developing mold, and the molds can generate chemicals known as aflatoxins - which are among the most carcinogenic chemicals known. (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aflatoxins for more information). The USFDA does regulate how much aflatoxin is allowable in different foods (as well as in animal feeds, including dog food), the intent being to keep things at safe levels. Still, there have been some recalls when permitted levels are exceeded (and this has included dog food recalls). If I remember correctly, the professor teaching this course advised us that if we were worried about aflatoxins, we should stick to "name brand" peanut butters; the manufacturers can't afford the negative PR that would be associated with recalls. (Or maybe this was something DH read in Consumer Reports). So we always buy name brand peanut butter that only contains peanuts and salt - no sugar or hydrogenated fats added.

 

As far as liver goes, I've been more reluctant to make that a part of my regular diet since studying (in this class) how organic pollutants are metabolized in the liver. As an organ, it really is nature's "garbage disposal". I was anemic when pregnant with my older son (and iron tablets didn't seem to be doing the job); my gyn advised me to eat liver. I opted to consume it in the form of organic, hormone-free (etc.) chicken livers.

 

I don't have any proof that either of these is necessarily a "better" alternative to more conventional peanut butter or liverwurst, or that it reduces risk, but it did help relieve the unease I'd developed in learning more than perhaps I wanted to.

[JohnLloydJones]

What I learned was that peanuts (among other foods) are prone to developing mold, and the molds can generate chemicals known as aflatoxins - which are among the most carcinogenic chemicals known. (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aflatoxins for more information).

Way back in my childhood, my father was a sales manager for a company selling peanuts. On one occasion, a whole batch was recalled due to mold and we had a monster bonfire in the back yard burning them -- with all that oil, they really do burn well. I trace my dislike of peanuts back to that event.

[MagicGirl]

I know that this topic is a little old but I just got allergy results on my dog abd one of the things she is allergic to is peanuts. No more home made peanut butter dog bisquits