Can Dogs Eat Cake Icing?

By John Martin - August 7, 2021

Cake with lots of icing

If dogs end up eating a small amount of cake icing, they will generally be okay. However, beyond a small amount, they could face a few health issues due to the kinds of ingredients that icing is made from.

You can find out more about these ingredients and their impacts by reading further. Apart from regular cake icing, there are also several alternatives that we will list that you can consider when it comes to icing.

How Much Icing Can Your Dog Eat?

Sometimes, dogs can end up licking a bit of icing from the cake due to their curiosity. In case this happens, it is unlikely that your dog will face any major issues related to its health.

This does not mean that you should actively feed icing to your dogs. If they end up eating too much of it, they could deal with discomfort, nausea, vomiting or other digestive issues.

If you notice any such persistent symptoms in your dogs, you should take them to the vet to get them checked out to prevent any major problems from occurring.

Why Is Icing Harmful to Dogs?

Icing contains several ingredients that can be harmful to dogs. We can take a more detailed look at some of these in this section.

  • Sugar: Too much sugar can be bad for both dogs and humans. For dogs, a general avoidance of sugar is necessary since it can lead to dental health issues and diabetes while also making the dog overweight. In the short term, it might cause several digestive problems.
  • Dairy Products: Dairy products like milk and butter can cause several digestive problems as well if they are consumed in large amounts. This is because dogs do not contain enough enzymes to disintegrate lactose, which is why several dogs are also lactose intolerant.
  • Flavoring: Artificial flavoring or food coloring tends to contain a sweetening substance called xylitol that could release insulin and lead to nausea or vomiting. Other natural flavors from citrus fruits, nuts, cinnamon and more could also be harmful beyond a point, which is why they must be avoided at all costs.
  • Chocolate: Chocolate comprises methylxanthines which are toxic for dogs. Apart from digestive issues, it could also lead to faster heart rate, urine issues, trembling and more. The same goes for anything that contains caffeine or is derived from cacao.
  • Others: Sometimes, icing might also contain other ingredients like alcohol, fruits, dried fruits and more that can harm dogs as well. Sometimes, ingredients from the underlying cake could also blend with the icing.

None of these ingredients should be actively fed to dogs due to the small or severe health impacts that they can cause.

Also Read: Can Dogs Eat Pumpkin Seeds?

Potential Health Impacts

Let’s take a more detailed look at some of the potential health impacts that can occur if dogs eat too much cake icing.

  • Digestive Issues: Eating a certain amount of cake icing at some point could have several short-term impacts such as digestive issues, leading to vomiting, nausea, diarrhea or even general discomfort. These could either tide over within a couple of days or may persist for longer.
  • Dental Issues: Toothache could be a common concern in dogs if they eat too much cake icing. If you tend to feed them the icing on a frequent basis, it could also lead to a general decay or rotting of their teeth, making it difficult for them to go about their routines.
  • Heart Issues: Heart issues like rapid heart rate, swelling, shivering, panting, seizures and pain could also occur if dogs eat cake icing on a regular basis.
  • Weight Problems: Too much sugar consumption can cause dogs to become overweight, which could hinder regular functions like breathing, walking, running or any kind of movement. This could then also end up causing several chronic problems.
  • Diabetes: Diabetes takes place due to too much sugar content in the blood. Cake icing can definitely add to that in the long run if consumed too often, hindering the ability of insulin in your dog’s body to be effectively used.
  • Shorter Lifespan: Overall, when too many unhealthy eating habits come together, they could prove fatal for your dog as they can cause many issues that reduce the lifespan or healthy existence of your dog.

Of course, these health impacts can appear differently in the short term and in the long term, especially if your dog consumes this kind of food more often than not.

What to Do If Your Dog Ate Icing

If your dogs happen to eat the icing, you should first try to determine how much they have consumed. If it is only a small lick, then you won’t have too much to worry about.

However, if the dogs ate too much of it, you should definitely take them to the veterinarian so that they can ascertain if there is any kind of poisoning or other harmful impacts.

The vet will then be able to tell you how to proceed and whether your dog needs medicine or other assistance.

You must also try to figure out the ingredients or contents of the cake icing, if possible. If you think any of these are toxic or if your dog is allergic to any of them, you should contact the vet.

If your dog exhibits symptoms of digestive or other issues, you can wait for a couple of days to see if they die down. If they persist, take your dog for a check up.

Can Dogs Eat Cake?

The basis for dogs eating cake is nearly the same as them eating cake icing, leading to the same kinds of health problems in both the short term and the long term.

When it comes to cake, however, there are many more ingredients involved such as flour (with high contents of wheat), excess sugar, flavors, sweeteners, baking powder, baking soda, milk, cocoa powder, chocolate, eggs and a lot more.

All of these can increase the dangers of eating cake even more, which is why you should not feed cake to your dogs.

If they have a small bite, they will probably be okay, but eating more than that could lead to digestive issues, toothache, swelling or more.

If they are lactose intolerant or have any allergies, it would be a good idea to take your dogs to the vet in case they ate cake to ensure that the issue is not too severe.

Also Read: Can Dogs Eat Carrot Cake?

Alternatives to Cake Icing

Instead of cake icing, you can opt for alternatives that can be better for dogs and their health.

  • There are several pet stores or small businesses that you can search for that make cakes or cake icing specifically for dogs. These usually make use of ingredients that are safe and healthy for dogs to consume.
  • You can mix in cauliflower puree with dog treats or liquid ingredients to create a more savory icing.
  • Using carrots and turning them into frosting by combining them with dog-friendly products can be a healthy choice.
  • Using unsweetened yogurt or cream cheese can also be a good choice unless your dog is lactose intolerant.
  • You can use a substance called carob, which is a good alternative to chocolate with a similar taste. Combining it with yogurt, cream cheese or any other ingredient could work well as icing.
  • Blending bananas in with liquid can be a great solution as well.

Establishing Food Standards

From the very beginning, it is important for you to establish healthy food standards for your dogs so that they know what to eat and what to stay away from.

If you feed icing to dogs regularly, they might develop a taste for it and seek it out more often, leading to the aforementioned health problems.

A lot of these standards take time to develop. You can use various training tactics to get your dog to obey your commands so that they can stop eating something when you tell them to.

Moreover, you should also maintain a balanced and nutritious diet for your dogs that can improve their health.

Also Read: Can Dogs Eat Roast Beef?

Final Remarks

That was nearly everything that you should be aware of when it comes to dogs and eating cake icing.

To sum up, small licks of icing will not cause problems for your dog. Large amounts of it could cause certain short-term problems whereas frequent feeding could be quite toxic.

You can try out some alternatives to cake icing listed above but on a general basis, you should try to establish healthy food habits for your dog.