Can I safely feed Kraft peanut butter to my dog?

"We asked Kraft directly and here is what they answered: Kraft Peanut Butter is considered safe for dogs and does not contain Xylitol. It goes for the creamy and the crunchy kind as well. You can safely feed Kraft peanut butter to your dog."

Can I safely feed Kraft peanut butter to my dog?

If you read our other article on Jif’s peanut butter, you probably know by now that veterinarians are okay with giving Kraft peanut butter to your dog.

In fact, most professionals and dog experts we asked confessed right away when we asked them if they ever fed their dog Kraft peanut butter. 

One veterinarian we spoke with did mention that he prefers recommending brands like Poochie Peanut Butter. According to him, they are making a better job of keeping all the ingredients natural.

That said, Kraft Peanut Butter is way more accessible and is doing a pretty good job in that regard. It is still considered one of the safest options you can opt for and let’s face it, one of the most affordable on the market. 

In short, no it doesn’t contain Xylitol.

 

What exactly is Xylitol and does Kraft Peanut Butter contains any?

 
 
Let me just clear the air, Kraft Peanut Butter does not contain Xylitol and they confirmed many times that it’s not an ingredient in any of their Kraft Peanut butter products.

For some, knowing that it’s not present in the product is enough. For the others, here is what Wikipedia had to say about Xylitol:

In dogs, Xylitol (in amounts greater than 100 mg per kilogram of body weight) generates a rapid, dose-dependent insulin release that can result in hypoglycemia, which can be life-threatening.

Low blood sugar can result in a loss of coordination, depression, collapse, and seizures in dogs as quickly as 30 minutes following ingestion.

 Intake of doses of Xylitol greater than 500 to 1000 mg per kilogram body weight has been implicated in potentially fatal liver failure in dogs.

Xylitol is used in comparatively much smaller doses, in the ingredients of two commercial veterinary drinking water additives, marketed to prevent plaque and freshen the breath of pets.

 

Better safe than sorry.

Reading about the side effects isn’t reassuring at all, I agree. But it is no time to panic. 

The sweetener is harmless to humans but after reading all about it, I don’t want any of it in my house right?

 I tend to agree with that. The first thing that comes to mind: I will look at the ingredients. But what if they don’t show it in their ingredients? Impossible.

 Since 2016, it is illegal not to disclaim Xylitol as an ingredient on the packaged product. If it’s not there, it’s not in the product. 

Even if Kraft told us all their products are Xylitol free, we checked pretty much all of them and couldn’t find anything. It’s conclusive:

 

Ok, Kraft doesn’t use Xylitol in their peanut butter, fine. Is there a peanut butter company I should avoid at all costs when it comes to feeding it to my doggy?

 

Here are the peanut butter brands and companies which include Xylitol in their products.

 

It’s important to mention that these companies and brands aren’t evil. Their products are perfectly fine for humans. Avoid feeding it to your dogs.

No Cow (Formerly D’s Naturals)

Go Nuts, Co.

Krush Nutrition

Nuts ‘N More

P28 Foods

Please note Hank’s Protein Plus brand is now safe as they removed Xylitol from their products.

 

 

What is considered a safe amount of Kraft Peanut Butter to feed my dog?

 

Before deciding the proper amount of peanut butter you should feed your dog, it’s important to know that peanut butter is a great source of protein and fat. However, too much of a good thing can also be bad. 

Generally, veterinarians and dog experts agree in saying that 1/2 a spoon up to a spoon a day is perfectly fine. 

This is a general amount and of course, it can vary based on your dog size.

There are various ways to physically feed it to the dog but we find that stuffing toys and treat dispensers with it is both effective and will stimulate the dog’s cognitive abilities.

 You are probably familiar with the Kong Extreme original toy but if you are interested in testing other similar toys you can stuff with peanut butter and other treats, my wife and I went thru the process of buying and testing all the toys we could find on amazon and we created a small Top 10 of toys you can stuff with peanut butter. 

Here is a link to check it out.

Kuoser Cozy WaterProof Reversible Dog Coat

Other safety issues to consider when feeding Kraft Peanut Butter to a dog.

 

There are a few other safety issues and tips you should consider before giving any peanut butter brand to your animal. You probably guessed it, I am talking here about allergies.

Symptoms of allergic reactions to peanut butter in dogs.

 

Here is a list of the potential symptoms you should look for when giving your dog peanut butter.

Symptoms of peanut allergy in dogs can include:

  • Skin irritation (redness and itchy skin)
  • Bald Spots
  • Hair Loss
  • Gastric Distress
  • Difficulty breathing (On rare occasion)
  • Hot spots
  • Excessive licking of the skin
  • Agitation and nervous excitement

 

 

You can test allergies in dogs. Here are the 2 ways to do so.

 

You probably guessed it, the safest way to determine if your dog is allergic to peanut butter is a thorough exam by your veterinarian.

It may seem like a hassle and a bit of an overkill for something as trivial as giving some peanut butter to a dog but you can never be too careful.

Meanwhile, you can ask your veterinarian to test for other food allergies, including different types of proteins. While being there, you can also have him test for flea allergies, contact allergies including many kinds of grass, plants, dust mites, and molds.

There are other tests for allergens that are less common in dogs but are available if recommended by your veterinarian or if you feel like it’s necessary.

The two main types of dog allergy testing are blood tests and intradermal skin testing.

 
 
 

 

How much do these kinds of tests cost?

 
The cost of testing for allergies varies on what you want to be tested for and what method you are going to use. We called 20 different places and asked our 12 experts for references.
Conclusion: the pricing is all over the place. There’s no way to tell if one is better than the other without either speaking with people who actually went thru the procedure or testing it ourselves. 


That being said, you can expect to pay between 50$ to 300$ for a skin allergy test and between $220 to $1000 for a blood test.
 

Is it accurate?

Almost all of them told us it was the only accurate way to make sure your animal isn’t allergic to anything.

However, most blogs and websites we found online seems to claim otherwise. We did speak with a couple of friends who went thru the whole thing and they seemed quite pleased with the results.

The veterinarian was able to diagnose a food allergy and gave them a bunch of tricks and a homemade recipe to prevent future outbreaks.

At your own risk

 

You can always do what we did which is giving an extremely small amount at the time for a few days and watch for reactions.

It does seem like playing with fire a little bit but when I told my veterinarian what I did, he laughed and called me a skinflint.

Of course, he did recommend to have our dogs tested anyway to make sure nothing else would pop-up, which we politely declined.

He also mentioned that this method is at your own risk but as long as you live at less than 10 minutes from a veterinarian, you are probably fine.

 

 

 

Is Kraft Creamy Peanut Butter safer than the Crunchy one?

 

To our knowledge, none is considered safer than the other. They both are considered safe. What else do you want from us? hehe.

We already established that none of the Kraft peanut butter products contains Xylitol. Both are perfectly fine.

It all comes down to personal preference and the ratio of fat to protein which is extremely comparable. I’ve read online on other blogs that the crunchy one could cause harm to small dogs but my small Chihuahua begs to differ.

Go with the Creamy one if it’s an issue for you but I really don’t think this is going to be a problem for any size dog.

In case you didn’t already know, you can buy it in bulk from Kraft on their Amazon store.

Click here to check it out.

 

What are the best dog toys to stuff with Kraft Peanut Butter?

 

Just like everything we do, we spent way too much time buying and testing all the treat-dispensing toys available out there.

As I mentioned before, evidently, The Kong original is always a no-brainer, but there’s a lot of other really nice toys you can put peanut (and other treats) in. You can check out our Top 10 Toys you can stuff with peanut butter by clicking

 

In conclusion

 

For those like me who always skip to the end, here is what you want to take away from this:

1. Kraft Peanut Butter is safe for your dog and does not contain Xylitol, a sweetener potentially deadly to dogs.

2. Do not feed anything which contains Xylitol to your dog or any animal for that matter or it might kill it.

3. Make sure your dog isn’t allergic to peanuts before feeding him half a spoon a day.

4. Check out our Top 10 toys you can stuff with peanut butter by clicking here.

 

Kraft Smooth Peanut Butter Ingredients

 

Here is all the information provided by Kraft concerning their creamy peanut butter. Obviously, when looking for a reliable source, nothing beats the official website. You can click here to be taken to the official website’s ingredients and nutritional facts & information section.

 

KRAFT Smooth Peanut Butter

 

KRAFT Smooth Peanut Butter

 

Nutrition

 

Nutritional Information

Serving Size Per 1 Tbsp. (15 g)
AMOUNT PER SERVING
Calories  90 cal
% Daily Value
Total Fat  8 g12%
Saturated Fat  1.5 g8%
+ Trans  0 g
Cholesterol  0 mg 
Sodium  60 mg3%
Carbohydrates  4 g1%
Fiber 1 g4%
Sugars  1 g
Protein  3 g
  
Vitamin A0%
Vitamin C0%
Calcium0%
Iron2%

* Nutrition information is estimated based on the ingredients and cooking instructions as described in each recipe and is intended to be used for informational purposes only. 

Please note that nutrition details may vary based on methods of preparation, origin, and freshness of ingredients used.

 

Allergens

  • Peanut

 

Ingredients

INGREDIENTS: SELECT ROASTED PEANUTS, SOYBEAN OIL, CORN MALTODEXTRIN, SUGAR, HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL (COTTONSEED AND RAPESEED OIL), SALT, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES. (1004L)

Top10canada.ca is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon website. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates
© Copyright Top 10 Canada - Powered by JMAGROUP

Scroll to Top