Is vanilla bad for dogs? Get Your Pet Thinking

Can Dogs Have Vanilla Extract?

Some recipes, including those for natural dog treats, call for the use of vanilla extracts. Vanilla extract is made by softening the vanilla, typically using a mixture of ethanol and water. The alcohol extraction process leads to a liquid that contains at least 35% alcohol, and this can be very dangerous for dogs.

What is Vanilla?

Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus of the same name. The vanilla orchid is a vine-like plant that grows up trees. The plant part that is used is the pod, commonly referred to as the bean.

Vanilla is a powerful ingredient, and there are a variety of forms and uses. There are a couple of main species used to produce the vanilla beans grown around the world for culinary use. They have subtle differences in their flavors and aromas and the Madagascan bean is the most popular variety.

When the beans are harvested they go through a long drying process and, from there, they can be used in a variety of different ways.

Vanilla beans: Each long, thin vanilla pod contains thousands of tiny seeds within their shell. These are purchased whole and dried, and the seeds are scraped out of the pod to be added as a natural flavoring.

Vanilla powder: Created from ground-up, dried vanilla beans. It is commonly used as a natural sweetener.

Vanilla extract: This is a concentrated liquid solution made by soaking vanilla pods in water and alcohol for about two months. It is used more often in baking than the beans themselves as it is less expensive and more convenient.

Vanilla bean paste: This a combination of vanilla powder and concentrated vanilla extract.

Vanilla flavoring: This is also known as “imitation vanilla,” and is made from synthetic vanillin and other ingredients to mimic the taste of real vanilla.

Vanilla Health Benefits For Dogs

Vanilla does contain a lot of antioxidants, but it is used in such small quantities in recipes that it does not really offer any benefit to humans or dogs. While it is safe to feed to your dog, if it is straight from the pod or is an extract made from vegetable glycerin, there is no physical benefit to feeding it.

Is vanilla toxic to dogs?

You are cooking treats for your canine friend, you know that sugar wouldn’t be good for your dog’s teeth, so what can you use for flavoring? Vanilla extract? But can dogs eat vanilla extract?