Can Dogs Eat Oreo Cookies? When it is or isn’t an Emergency

Dogs shouldn’t eat Oreos or any other cookies made for human consumption. A small amount, such as a single Oreo cookie or some Oreo crumbs, isn’t necessarily problematic for most dogs unless they are a puppy or of a smaller-sized breed.

What happens if a dog eats Oreos?

What happens largely depends on the amount of Oreo cookies the dog ate. For example, dogs can definitely get sick if they eat a whole box or whole pack of Oreo cookies. There are a couple of ingredients that Oreo cookies uses that are bad for dogs.

The most dangerous one is chocolate which is toxic to pets. A single Oreo is unlikely to trigger signs of chocolate toxicity but a whole pack most definitely could. Another problematic ingredient is the cream filling. It isn’t toxic but some dogs may have problems with it due to being lactose-intolerant.

Oreos are also high in sugar and calories. Dogs that end up eating too much sugar in one sitting may end up with digestive problems like diarrhea and stomach upsets. Eating Oreos may also make the dog’s stool a bit darker than usual. This could be due to the food coloring and chemicals used in the making of the packaged cookies.

What to do if your dog ate Oreos

First of all, don’t freak out. Try and get a sense of how many cookies the dog ate. If it was just one or two cookies, you may want to watch over your dog carefully for the next few days and make sure he isn’t showing any concerning reactions. Anything more such as a whole pack, however, may require a call to the vet for appropriate medical advice.

You can find out more about what human foods are or aren’t safe for dogs to eat by visiting our database of over 100 human food items.