If you’re a pet parent, you probably have teased your dog with creams, desserts, and confectionaries despite not knowing the impact on their health. If you love ice cream, you most likely have teased your pet with sherbet or sorbet.
Sherbet is a popular frozen dessert made from water, milk, cream, and sugar. It is flavored with fruits, which help enrich its texture too. Its pastel color, creamy texture, and rich flavor have endeared it to most ice cream enthusiasts.
Various fruits are used to change the texture and consistency of the sherbet, including mango, pineapple, and orange. Some berries could also be used to boost the flavor. Popular flavors include lime, raspberry, lemon, orange, and rainbow.
Sorbet is yet another typical dessert in various households globally. It is often confused with sherbet, thanks to similar ingredients, texture, and consistency.
Sherbet is eerily similar to traditional ice cream, albeit with less dairy and more fruit juices. While it is an excellent dessert, how suitable will it be for your dog? This article explores the reasons for and against giving it to your pet.
Sherbet Vs. Sorbet: Differences And Similarities
Sherbet and sorbet are popular desserts often confused by users. Their ingredients are standard, guaranteeing similar consistency, texture, and flavor.
The main difference between sorbet and sherbet is the milk content, where the former has no milk content compared to the high-dairy content in the latter. Sorbet has an icier consistency too.
Since sherbet has a high dairy content, it contains a little fat and calories. Each serving has about 130 calories and up to 3 grams of fat. On the other hand, sorbet is made of fruits, meaning it contains no fat, 120 to 150 calories, and high sugar content.
Is Sherbet Safe For My Dog?
Sherbet is excellent for your pet when offered infrequently in small quantities. Small amounts of this dessert would not cause significant health complications to your dog unless it had an underlying condition.
While you can feed your pet this dessert, it is not the safest choice. Its high-dairy content makes it unsuitable for dogs with lactose intolerance. It also contains flavorings and sugars that could harm your furry friend.
Is Sorbet Healthy For My Dog?
Sorbet is an excellent alternative to sherbet due to its minimal dairy content. This element makes it ideal for dogs with severe lactose intolerance. However, it is only safe when offered in small quantities since its sugar content is still high.
Dangers Of Eating Sherbet
Sherbet and sorbet are not the healthiest or safest treats for your dog, thanks to their multiple harmful ingredients. Here is a breakdown of the issues your pet will face once they eat sherbet or sorbet.
High Sugar
Sherbet and sorbet are rich in natural and artificial sugars, which cause significant health complications in dogs. On average, a single serving of sherbet contains approximately 24g of sugar, significantly higher than the maximum daily intake.
Excess sugar consumption causes inflammation in dogs, triggering arthritis, dermatitis, and pancreatitis.
The clinical symptoms of arthritis in dogs include:
- Stiff, sore, and swollen joints
- Reluctance to jump
- Stiffly walking
- Lameness in one or both legs
- Difficulty getting up or down
On the other hand, pancreatitis has the following signs:
- Abdominal pain
- Fever and lethargy
- Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea
- Decreased appetite
- The dog maintains the praying position during an attack
Suppose artificial sugars, including xylitol, are added to the sherbet. Then, your dog will experience a sudden decrease in blood glucose, resulting in vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, incoordination, and staggering. In extreme cases, your dog shall become significantly weak and collapse or suffer seizures.
Metabolic Issues, Obesity, And Chronic Ailments
Due to the high sugar content, excessive sherbet consumption causes metabolic imbalances in dogs. Increased sugar levels trigger weight gain and obesity, gradually resulting in diabetes and heart conditions.
Excess weight puts extreme pressure on the dog’s joints, causing pain and inflammation. Clinical signs, including breathing difficulties, trouble walking, and significant inactivity, show that your pet is obese. In addition, this dog shall have neither a waistline nor a distinction between the stomach and chest.
Obesity stems from excess weight gain. This condition implies that your dog shall not process sugar accordingly, thanks to a dysfunctional pancreas. Ideally, extra sugar in the body increases insulin production, making cells non-reactive to insulin. This change wears the pancreas down, making the dog susceptible to diabetes.
Dental Issues
The excess sugar in sherbet accumulates in the dog’s mouth, creating a conducive environment for bacteria and germs. They cause a change in pH, triggering a foul smell in the mouth.
Sugar produces acids in the mouth, causing dental cavities and caries. The acids often erode the enamel, leading to dental diseases. At the same time, inflammation of the dental gums will also happen.
Stomach Upsets
Sherbet contains a high amount of dairy, which is unsuitable for lactose-intolerant pets. Ingesting this dessert shall irritate the gastrointestinal system, causing nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and intestinal inflammation.
Various signs show that your pet is lactose-intolerant, including anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea, bloating, and flatulence.
Sherbet Flavors And How They Affect Dogs
You’ll find sherbet in multiple flavors, including pineapple, mango, rainbow, and orange. Each choice offers particular implications. The following are insights into how each flavor is suitable or unsuitable for your dog.
Orange Sherbet
Orange makes an excellent sherbet for your pet. Besides offering a desirable flavor, this sherbet is rich in dietary fiber that can significantly improve your dog’s digestive health. Its low sugar content will help protect your pet against obesity, gastrointestinal tract complications, and dental health issues.
Ensure that you use the right fruit size when preparing orange sherbet. While a quarter an orange is enough for a puppy, a peeled whole orange is what you should offer your adult dog. This orange sherbet is rich in vitamin C, an antioxidant that significantly reduces inflammation and harmful radicals in the body. Yet, you must still offer it in moderation.
Pineapple Sherbet
Pineapple sherbet is not the best choice for your dog, as it contains high sugar. You’ll need to minimize this dessert to avoid the various health issues that stem from excess sugar, including obesity and diabetes. In addition, pineapple sherbet should be given more infrequently.
Alternatively, you could reduce the sugar content in the sherbet, often by adding a little coconut oil to it.
Mango Sherbet
Mangoes are among the best fruits for your dog. The sugar content in this fruit is neither too high nor too low for your pup. However, excessive consumption contributes to high blood sugar levels eventually.
As long as you do not add artificial flavors and sugars, this mango sherbet will be a safer choice for your pet. The best move will be to prepare the sherbet at home since it gives you control over the ingredients to include.
Watermelon Sherbet
This will be your ultimate choice if you want a sherbet with minimal sugar content. It is safe and healthy for your pooch, making it the best choice among the rest. However, to avoid health complications, you should not add artificial sweeteners or flavors to this dessert.
Final Thoughts
Sherbet and sorbet are popular desserts across many households. While you can offer them to your dog, they are not the best treats. If you cannot avoid them, minimize them in your dog’s everyday diet to help prevent obesity, diabetes, and pancreatitis.