For a low-sodium, high-protein, and high-fibre diet, chickpeas are one of the best foods. They offer essential vitamins and take care of the bones and muscles in the body. If you want to offer such benefits to your dog, you must know whether can dogs have chickpeas.
Dogs can have chickpeas in a limited quantity. Since they are high in protein, fibre, vitamins, and minerals, dogs can gain a healthy body from eating them. Like most other foods, you must cook chickpeas before serving them to your paw friend.
Anyway, the serving shall include some safety concerns if you want your dog to get the best benefits from them. So stay tuned.
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All About Chickpeas
Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, grams, chana, etc., are a type of legume. They belong to the Fabaceae family and were found in the Middle East. Chickpeas are mainly pulse, where the seed pod has two to three peas. Besides, they are found in varieties, like light-coloured, round, large, etc. The Desi-type chickpeas are dark and small, which we mostly see in India.
Can Dogs Have Chickpeas?
Dogs can have chickpeas as they do not have any toxic mixture but nutrients. In fact, some dog foods have chickpeas in their ingredients because they are high in protein. Your dog can feel fuller for a long time and gain health benefits from having chickpeas.
Chickpeas are safe for dogs, but that doesn’t mean they can eat them in any form or quantity. These legumes are not dog food, so dogs should eat them in moderation. Besides, chickpeas are hard, so you must cook them properly before adding them to your dog’s meal.
Can Dogs Have Raw Chickpeas?
Although one raw chickpea won’t cause trouble for dogs, you should not feed them chickpeas raw. According to specialists, raw chickpeas contain herbs, bacteria, and toxins that can disrupt a dog’s digestive system. Dogs will find them hard to digest since they are not cooked.
Rinsing off the raw chickpeas won’t offer your dog as much benefit as you want. This will wash off the germs, but not the toxins. Besides, the risk of choking hazards will be there.
Can Dogs Have Canned Chickpeas?
Canned chickpeas come with added salt, water, and other flavours. Dogs are already the victims of hypertension, and having more salt can worsen their condition. That’s why most don’t allow feeding dogs canned chickpeas. However, you can reduce the risk of canned chickpeas if you wash them off with clean water. This will lower the amount of sodium and rinse away all flavours (if any).
Some canned chickpeas don’t have salt or other ingredients but only water. If you can offer them to your dog, that is going to be the best. Hopefully, you will be able to feed such canned chickpeas to your dog.
Note: Always check out the ingredients mentioned in the can, as flavours in canned chickpeas can pose health threats to dogs.
Can Dogs Have Hummus?
Hummus is made from processed chickpeas that have several ingredients, like onion, garlic, lemon, oil, spices, etc. All these ingredients are toxic for dogs, as they can’t digest them.
Compared to canned chickpeas, hummus is more harmful to dogs as it is filled with flavours. Here, we can’t recommend feeding even a small amount of hummus to our canine friends.
Benefits Of Having Chickpeas For Dogs
Chickpeas are one of the healthiest legumes with natural elements. They are filled with nutrients like iron, fibre, protein, magnesium, selenium, vitamin B, etc. To enhance your dog’s muscle growth, chickpeas can help with their protein content. Again, their five will maintain healthy digestion in dogs. Magnesium will boost their energy and metabolic system, and selenium will promote their immune system. Lastly, its B vitamins will improve brain function, bone health, skin, coat, etc.
Chickpeas also contain antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. As a result, your dog can be saved from the risks of cancer, inflammation, diabetes, and many other health issues from having chickpeas.
The electrolytes, like calcium, phosphorus, and potassium in chickpeas, will improve your dog’s electrical impulses. These will not only make your dog’s muscles and heart healthy but also the nervous system.
Risks Of Having Chickpeas For Dogs
Chickpeas contain plant-based protein with no amino acids. Whereas dogs want proteins that have amino acids, which are found in animal proteins. Therefore, chickpeas are not always a good option for dogs. However, the risks associated with chickpeas arise when our canine friends eat them too much.
We know chickpeas have high amounts of fibre. Having more chickpeas means having more fibre, which can lead to an upset stomach. Also, they will get bloated, have flatulence, and have diarrhoea, which requires expensive medications.
Dogs can have adverse side effects from canned and raw chickpeas. Canned chickpeas are high in sodium and can raise dogs’ blood pressure levels. On the other hand, raw chickpeas are hard to digest and cause intestinal blockage.
Another reason to have side effects from chickpeas is when they are processed, also known as hummus. Even the slightest amount of humus can cause vomiting and flatulence in dogs in a minute.
Ways To Feed Chickpeas To Dogs
If you want your dog to gain nutrients from chickpeas, offer them fresh ones. In order to prepare them, you have to first wash the chickpeas and let them soak overnight. Then boil them in the morning for 5 to 10 minutes, until they become tender. It would be best if you mashed the chickpeas after taking them from the stove. If your dog is on a gluten-free diet, you may add some chickpea flour to the mashed chickpeas but don’t add any seasonings.
Another way to prepare chickens for dogs is simply roasting them after they are soaked. Some dogs prefer crispiness over softness.
When Can Dogs Have Chickpeas?
Whether it is chickpeas or any other food, don’t serve anything to your dog without your vet’s advice. As said earlier, plant protein doesn’t have the amino acids that animal protein does. If your dog needs amino acids, it would be better to skip plant-based foods like chickpeas.
Since chickpeas have a high amount of fibre, you may feed them to your dog when he is dealing with constipation. But if your dog is dealing with a sensitive stomach, he should skip chickpeas from his diet.
Frequently Asked Questions: Can Dogs Have Chickpeas?
How many chickpeas can dogs have?
Dogs should have chickpeas in moderation. For a small breed, the right amount would be one tablespoon, and for a large breed, the amount should be two tablespoons.
Can dogs have steamed chickpeas?
Along with cooked chickpeas, steamed chickpeas are safe for dogs. Just make sure you don’t add any flavour or seasonings to them.
Can dogs have chickpeas every day?
It is better not to offer chickpeas to dogs every day since they are plant-based foods. If your dog is obsessed with chickpeas, you may serve him half a teaspoon of chickpeas every day without expecting any risks.
Can dogs eat chickpea flour?
Chickpea flour is another safe alternative to include in dogs’ diets. They are high in fibre, vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, potassium, lecithin, etc. You may serve a teaspoon of chickpea flour with mashed chickpeas in your dog’s meal.
Final Thoughts
After learning about the merits and demerits of chickpeas, you must wonder, Can dogs have chickpeas? The answer is yes if you properly feed them. Always cook the chickpeas first after soaking them so that dogs can digest them easily.
Hopefully, chickpeas won’t pose any health threats to your dog unless he eats them too much. If that happens, take him to the vet and ask for treatment. Also, keep your dog away from hummus and canned chickpeas. Well, you can consider giving him canned chickpeas only if you wash them off and remove the salt and flavours. And of course, cook them again to make them more tender.
