Can Dogs Eat Orange Chicken: Is it Bad For Dogs?

After a tiring day at work, I tend to order my favorite food – orange chicken. However, the much-needed comfort meal soon turns into a guilty endeavor I have to endure with my two dogs staring at me, asking for a bite of the aromatic and delicious orange chicken.

If you are a pet parent too and have been in the same situation, I’m sure you would have thought about it. You might have considered giving a little piece of orange chicken to your furry friend when you can’t resist the longing of those innocent, puppy eyes.

But is orange chicken safe for a pup? In short, no, a canine cannot and should not consume orange chicken. The ingredients used to make this delicious snack might not be suitable for a dog’s health.

Let’s dive in to learn about feeding your pet dog orange chicken and how it can affect their overall health!

Is Orange Chicken Safe for Your Dog?

As I said before, orange chicken is not safe for canine consumption, and you must not feed it to your pets.

Since dogs love chicken, and you might already be adding it to the daily meals, you might think that giving orange chicken might also be okay. However, there are some ingredients present in this preparation that could prove unsafe for consumption and can even be toxic to your furry companions.

Your orange chicken takeout contains dark meat that is both battered and seasoned with salt, sugar, soy sauce, and even spices. All of these make it an anti-canine food!

Consuming too much orange chicken could lead to serious side effects, including diabetes, obesity, pancreatitis, and salt poisoning.

I’m sure there will be times when you are enjoying this food and can’t say no to the puppy eyes your dog is making at you. You can give a piece or two of orange chicken to your dog but make sure you don’t give too much of it! And, of course, not regularly!

Why is Orange Chicken not Suitable?

By name, orange chicken might seem like a very simple dish to you. But let me tell you; it’s not only complicated to make but also tough for the gut to digest.

Here’s what makes orange chicken a little unsafe for your pup’s digestive system:

1. Fats

As per The Takeout, 5.7 ounce serving of your favorite orange chicken contains around 18 gms fat, 610 mg sodium, and a total of 380 calories. Whopping figures!

Wondering what contributes to the high-fat content? Here are the ingredients:

Skinless Chicken Thighs

Made with skinless chicken, it is the only healthy aspect of this delicious snack. However, this recipe only uses the thigh region and other dark meat from the chicken and not the lean chicken breast.

It is for both taste and affordability since the breast can be expensive and less juicy and tender than the thigh. The dark meat from a chicken has more fat. And not just a little; dark meat can have around 3 times more fat than breast meat.

Cornstarch And Flour

You have to combine eggs with flour and use cornstarch to coat the pieces of chicken before frying.

You might wonder if cornstarch and flour have zero fat content, then how can these ingredients be unhealthy? Well, they majorly consist of carbohydrates, and if consumed in excess, it leads to the storage of fat and also weight gain.

Oil

Lastly, we can’t forget the oil used to fry the delectable pieces of chicken. The batter will absorb a lot of oil, which will be taken in by your pet.

What Happens When Your Dog Consumes Too Much Fat?

When it comes to fats and dogs, they have a love-hate relationship. While it’s necessary to consume a small to moderate amount of fats to stay healthy, too much of it can cause drastic and excessive weight gain.

Gaining weight can put pressure on bones and joints and even impact organs such as the liver, heart, and kidneys. You could see signs like difficulty in breathing, unwillingness to move, and heart disease.

2. Sugar

If I ask you what you like most about your orange chicken takeout, I’m sure you’d say it’s the sauce. The thick, sweet, and sour sauce with zesty spices takes the recipe a notch up.

But what you might not know is that it contains a lot of sugar. It contains two types of sugar, both brown and white, as well as orange juice, which contains fructose. Some chefs might even put honey, which adds to the sugar content of orange chicken.

What Happens When Your Dog Consumes Too Much Sugar?

Much like consuming a lot of fat, increased sugar intake can also cause weight gain in your pup and might pave the way for problems like obesity and diabetes.

Sugar could induce side effects like diarrhea and vomiting as it hampers the balance of microbes present in your dog’s stomach and causes GI upset.

It could also lead to cavities if you don’t clean your puppy’s teeth afterward. If I put it simply, sugar is the one ingredient that shouldn’t be a part of your dog’s diet.

What to do if Your Pup Consumes Orange Chicken?

In case your dog steals a piece or two of orange chicken off your plate, there’s no need to panic. Your pooch will most likely be fine, and it would just serve as a nice occasional treat your pup managed to steal.

Here are some things to remember just to be safe:

Don’t forget to keep fresh and clean water in case your dog feels thirsty.
To be extra careful, you can even feed your furry companion a basic meal of rice with boiled and lean meat the next day.
If your dog has consumed a large portion of orange-flavored chicken, you must keep a close check for a few hours for any side effects.
Look out for signs of salt poisoning and pancreatitis, which can be expressed in the form of stomach pain, vomiting, and signs of lethargy.
Seek immediate help from a vet in case you notice any of these symptoms.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

As a pet parent, you might want to give treats to your pup once in a while to show them affection or appreciation. You might feel giving your favorite orange chicken to the furry friend as a treat might not be such a bad idea, but it is!

The ingredients used to cook orange chicken contain a lot of sugar and fat, which could adversely affect your pup’s health. You wouldn’t want to make your dear pet suffer through all of this, so it’s best to keep your orange chicken takeout far away from your pup’s reach!