Can Dogs Eat Tomato Sauce?

Tomatoes belong to the family of nightshade vegetables. These plants like eggplant, peppers, and potatoes comprise a few toxic substances apart from the edible parts. This means that though tomatoes can be a healthy food for your dog you should feed them tomatoes occasionally only. Tomatine is a tox8cates substance that is found in tomato plants and can be associated with solanine, which is another toxic element contained in other nightshade vegetables. These can be harmful to your dog if consumed in bigger quantities. The good part is that tomatine can be found only in the green part of the plant, particularly small stems and flowers. The small tomatine amount contained in the ripe tomatoes is regarded as completely safe to be consumed by dogs. 

The green part of tomato plants is known to have a good amount of tomatine, which is a toxic alkaloid. This can be harmful to dogs. But, the red ripened tomatoes contain a very small amount of this alkaloid which makes it harmless and safe to be consumed by dogs. However, feeding your dog tomato sauce cannot be recommended because they have many other ingredients which can cause potential harm to your dog. 

Can tomato consumption be beneficial for your dog?

If you feed tomatoes to your dog in small amounts, it can offer some really good benefits for the health of your dog. Tomatoes are overloaded with nutrients like beta-carotene and carotenoids lycopene which are very useful antioxidants that can help in the prevention of any kind of damage to cells in the body of your dog. It is a fruit with very low calories and has high amounts of fiber that helps digestion and is very rich in Vitamin C and A to help in boosting the vision of your dog and promoting healthy skin. 

Tomatoes can undeniably be a very good treat for your dog but you should only offer tomatoes to your dog on an occasional basis. It is healthy for your dog. But, too many tomatoes can lead to stomach upset. You need to mark that the tomato shouldn’t be included in the regular diet of your dog because your dog will be readily getting the required nutrients from a properly balanced diet. It is okay if you offer a few chunks of tomato as an occasional snack for your dog. If your dog is facing issues with the gastrointestinal tract like gastroenteritis, you must avoid the consumption of tomatoes because they can be harmful to a dog with sensitivity in the stomach. 

Can you feed your dog tomatoes? 

The answer to you can feed your dog tomatoes or not will depend on its type. If it is a completely ripe tomato that is red, it can be safe for your dog to eat. However, tomatoes belong to the nightshade vegetable family and contain organic chemicals like tomatine and solanine which can be harmful if fed in larger quantities to your dog. It is recommended not to feed tomato to your dogs if it is not ripe. Particularly, green tomatoes can be potentially harmful to your dogs so, even if you have homegrown tomatoes in your garden, keep your dog away from nibbling on the green tomatoes or any other part of the plant. 

How to feed your dog tomatoes?

When you are offering tomatoes to your dog, you will look for ripe, mature, and red tomatoes which have all stems, vines, and leaves removed completely. Many people want to consume tomatoes when they are salted, this kind of additives can cause severe harm to your dog, so the smaller pieces of plain but properly cleaned tomato are the safest way to feed them to your dog. You can give it a start by serving just one or two bites and seeing the reaction of your dog. If your dog enjoys consuming tomatoes and there are no harmful effects, then, you can freely continue to serve small amounts as treat. 

You must ensure to choose only organic and freshly picked tomatoes that are deep red. Before feeding tomatoes to your dog, make sure that you remove all green parts which include the leaves, vines, and stem. When this is done, you must wash all of them before serving so that all dirt is removed. At the initial stage, you must offer very small amounts to your dog and check their reaction. It is not so uncommon for dogs not to like the taste and texture of tomatoes though, so you shouldn’t be surprised to see how your dog reacts. 

Is tomato sauce safe for your dog? 

If you find that your dog enjoys eating fresh tomatoes, you must remember that he/she might also like to eat other food items which comprise tomato sauce. Tomato sauce and ketchup are not healthy for your dog because they contain added sugar and salt, as well as many artificial flavours and other chemicals which are contained in them. Little amounts of different tomato-related products such as sauce won’t be harmful to your dog. 

If you are thinking if your dog can eat tomato sauce or not, the answer will always be no. You should avoid the canned tomato sauces and jars as in general, these sauces will comprise of several additives which can cause harm to your dog. These kinds of ready-made food will contain salt, sugar, and other harmful elements like onions and garlic. Canned tomatoes must be avoided because they will be having several preservatives. 

Tomato sauce might appear to be perfect on the pizza, breadsticks, pasta, and other food items. But, can your dog eat tomato sauce? Just like ketchup, tomato sauce isn’t considered to be harmful to your dog but it contains ingredients that can cause harm to your dog. Onion, basil, oregano, salt, garlic, pepper, sugar, and red pepper are oftentimes used as a flavouring agent in the marinara sauce so, you must check through the retirement list of ingredients. Onion and garlic are most dangerous because they can be very harmful to your dog particularly the smaller dogs. Garlic and onions contain thiosulphate, which can kill the red blood cells causing, anemia. 

• In case of ingestion, the instant symptoms can be diarrhea, vomiting, weakness, and pain in the abdomen. The rest of the symptoms might show up a few days after such as loss of weight, paling of gums, and lethargy. If you see these symptoms, don’t delay any further and take your dog to the veterinarian. 
• Salt, sugar, and crushed pepper are not so alarming ingredients but can also e harmful if consumed too much. 
• Dogs are usually sodium-sensitive and a higher amount of sodium can cause sodium poisoning in your dog. 
• The high amount of sugar can also be harmful to your dog as it can cause heart issues and obesity. 
• Just like ketchup, it can be very bad for dogs to consume artificially developed sweeteners called xylitol as they can be toxic even when consumed in a smaller amount. 
• Red pepper in a crushed fork can be harmful because it is very spicy and can lead your dog to have an upset stomach. 
• The levels of toxicity depend on the size of the dog and the amount of consumption.
• Big dogs aren’t supposed to show any severe symptoms just by consuming a small amount of tomato sauce. But, smaller dogs may become ill even if they consumed a small amount of tomato sauce. 
• In case, your dog consumes a bigger quantity in comparison to its size, you must reach out to the veterinarian as they will make you aware of the symptoms to look for. 

So, these are some reasons why it is advised for you not to feed tomato sauce to your dog. It is better to not let your dog eat tomato sauce because it can become harmful for them in the long term.

Can tomato be harmful to your dog?

The most commonly found symptom of poisoning caused due to tomatine consumption is distress in the gastrointestinal tract, like vomiting or diarrhea but, if dogs eat a larger amount of tomato plants they might show symptoms of weakness in the muscle, depression, and dilation of pupils, hypersalivation, and abnormality in the heart rate. If you find any of these symptoms, you must go ask for your dog’s veterinarian to help immediately.

 Similar to humans, tomatoes can cause some issues related to the gastrointestinal tract like acid refluxing. So, it is always a reliable way to get prior consultation from your veterinarian before you start feeding tomatoes to your dogs. Tomatoes are also a commonly found allergic element in humans and even though, it is rare to find but your dog might show such a reaction. 

Sometimes, if your dog is suffering from tomatine poisoning, it can be due to higher consumption of the green parts of the tomato plant containing tomatine. He/she might show the symptoms like seizures, weakness, stomach upset, and abnormality in heart rate, tremors, and poor coordination. 

This was all you should know about whether digs should be given tomato sauce or not. Though tomatoes are known to be safe for your dog other tomato-related products like tomato sauce and ketchup can sometimes become harmful because of the other ingredients which are added in the manufacturing of these products. Even if you are feeding tomato sauce to your canine friend, make sure to check the quantity and size of your dog to be on the safer side. Dogs are our best friends and it is our responsibility to take care of their food and prevent them from consuming anything that can cause harm to their bodies.