Can Dogs Eat Banana Chips? (A Complete Guide)

Can Dogs Eat Banana Chips? (A Complete Guide)

Dogs can eat banana chips! Provided you are feeding your dog with healthy banana chips, there's no cause for alarm. However, you need to be careful given the countless varieties of banana chips on sale today that are covered with sugars, oil, and spices that may not be ideal for dogs.

Dried fruit is recommendable for dogs. Provided the banana chips are all-natural and given sparingly in small quantities (a handful), they can be a great source of fiber.

When given excessively, they can cause digestive problems such as diarrhea and stomach upsets.

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Do Banana Chips Have Health Benefits?

You should feed your dog something that is beneficial to their health. Besides offering a lot of dietary fiber, banana chips are a good source of potassium, vitamins (i.e., vitamins b6 and C) and minerals. The fiber content in banana chips can help your furry friend avoid gastrointestinal problems.

Minerals in bananas like magnesium can make your dog’s bones stronger and healthier. Magnesium also helps in the production of protein and absorption of vitamins. Your furry friend stands to enjoy a host of benefits associated with bananas.

However, there are some cons.

What Risks Do Banana Chips Pose To Dogs?

Excess Sugar Risks

Bananas are rich in glucose, sucrose, and fructose. If the chips are deep-fried, they will contain added fats. This explains why dogs shouldn’t eat a large amount of banana chips.

Dried banana chips or fresh bananas are a better alternative to deep-fried banana chips coated with sugar and other unhealthy additives.

Banana Peel Risks

Although dogs eat bananas, banana peels are known to cause upset stomachs and blockages. This problem isn't common with large size dog breeds.

Dogs can’t digest banana peels because of the tough skins and high amount of fiber content. It's therefore, advisable to choose or prepare banana chips carefully.

Some dogs vomit banana peels immediately or shortly after consumption. Others, mostly small dogs, and puppies may be unable to vomit. In such cases, a visit to the vet is inevitable.

Diarrhea Risks

Dried fruits can cause your dog to diarrhea because of high amounts of sugar. What's more, dogs also tend to diarrhea when fed oily foods.

You should avoid deep-fried banana chips at all costs (keep as human food ONLY).

Quality Risks

It also matters where you buy the banana chips from. There are countless banana chips on sale today, some of which are flavored and contain unhealthy additives like spices that are toxic to dogs.

Dog treats with myristicin aren’t safe for dogs. Such compounds are known to cause side effects such as increased heart rate and can also upset your dog's stomach.

Banana Chips

The Healthier Alternative: Preparing Banana Chips For Your Dog At Home

If you can’t trust the banana chips sold in stores today, you are better off preparing the chips for your dog at home. This is the only way to guarantee there are no unhealthy additives in the banana chips you feed your dog.

What’s more, you will save money and are free to add some additives in the chips to make them healthier and tastier.

Banana Chips Recipe For Your Dog

i. Dried banana chips recipe

You need basic ingredients like bananas, and peanut butter to make banana chips for your dog.

Step 1: Slice 2-medium sized bananas to medium thickness (not too thin/thick) and put them in a bowl

Step 2: Preheat oven to 120 degrees

Step 3: Add one tablespoon of all-natural peanut butter.

Step 4: Mix everything up

Step 5: Arrange the chips on a baking tray/sheet and put them in the preheated oven. Allow the chips to bake for two hours.

Step 6: Let the chips cool to room temperature before serving. 

This dog treat is ideal for two to three servings, one handful (5-10 chips) a day.

ii. Frozen banana chips recipe

Banana chips don't need to be dried. Instead, they can be frozen.

For this recipe, you'll need two bananas, some peanut butter, and additives like cheese. The additives must be all-natural. 

Step 1: Melt cheese and peanut butter

Step 2: Slice your bananas into chips and mix with the melted peanut butter and cheese.

Step 3: Freeze the coated banana chips.

Step 4: Serve a handful of this delicious treat to your dog.

Important: Banana chips are good for a dogs diet. However, they should be an occasional treat given a few times a week. You should also give the treat in moderation and served in small pieces for reasons discussed above.

Related Posts

Find out more about what your dog can and can't eat and how to feed banana to your dog in the related posts below:

Also check out our other blog posts covering what other fruits and vegetables dogs can eat and those they should avoid.

Let us know if you feed your dog banana chips as a healthy snack or if you have any recipe ideas in the comments below.

We would love to hear from you!

The information on this page is not a substitute for veterinary help. Please contact a vet for help with any concerns that you have.

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