Question: Can dogs eat waffles? And are waffles good or bad for dogs? The quick answer is that waffles generally are not toxic to dogs, unless they contain additives like chocolate or xylitol, which are toxic to dogs. However, as waffles pack a lot of calories but few nutrients, they still do not make the best treats for dogs.
So here you are one Saturday morning, making your favorite breakfast food: Waffles. Alas! You dropped one on the floor! As the owner of a particularly food-conscious black lab, my next thought is, “do I need to grab it before she can, or can I just let her eat the waffle?” Can dogs eat waffles? If you’ve had this conundrum in the past (or are having it right now) and are looking for an answer to this query, you’ve come to the right place.
Can Dogs Eat Waffles? More Information
As I already said above, waffles are not poisonous to dogs, unless you’ve added something that is (e.g. chocolate chips). That being said, much like for us humans, waffles are not exactly “good for you.”
Let’s take a look at what your average waffle is made from: flour, sugar or brown sugar, eggs, milk, a touch of salt, and a fat – either butter or oil.
Now, as we said above, there’s nothing toxic in that list of ingredients. However, the pure calorie content in a homemade waffle is quite high (often somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 calories per waffle), without having enough nutrition to make it worth putting in Fido’s belly. On the other hand, you have mass-produced freezer waffles. These have a much lower calorie content, but more additives and extra ingredients than you may not want your dog to consume.
Somewhere in between these two lay waffles made from a dry mix. These have a lot fewer calories than homemade, but more than freezer waffles, and they have more additives than homemade waffles, but less than freezer waffles.
So, perhaps don’t give the dog the waffles you slaved over from scratch unless he’s underweight and actually needs to put on a bit of weight.
Can Dogs Eat Waffles with Syrup?
If you’re wondering about syrup, again, not toxic in the least to dogs in general. The danger there would be if your dog was diabetic, in which case too much sugar could kill or seriously sicken them, or if your dog were to get too hyper and run around the house breaking things like a bull in a china shop (or worse, breaking themselves).
Syrups typically have a caloric range of 30 to 65 calories per tablespoon, with the least caloric being light corn syrup at 31 calories per tablespoon, and the most caloric being agave syrup (or agave nectar) at 60 calories per tablespoon.
Maple, blueberry, and dark corn syrups are all around 55 calories per tablespoon. Run-of-the-mill breakfast (or pancake) syrup has only 47 calories per tablespoon.
They all share another important factor in common, though: they are all 100% sugar. And, as there are no benefits to feeding your dog sugar, it’s best to avoid giving your dog any syrup.
Now, you might think that a sugar-free breakfast syrup might then be an option for your doggy, but no.
Sugar free syrups are usually made with sorbitol, which, unlike xylitol (the artificial sweetener most commonly used in sugar-free gum), is not toxic to dogs. However, sorbitol is still likely to upset a dog’s stomach and cause diarrhea and/or vomiting, so it’s still not recommended! Also, some sugar free syrups might still contain xylitol, which can be downright deadly to dogs.
Summary
All in all, the answer to your question “can dogs eat waffles?” is yes, but waffles are not particularly good for them. If you want to treat your pooch to something special, keep in mind that there are better things available than waffles. Treats made especially for dogs would be the best option.