Can a Dog Taste Soda?

Let's face it. If your dog were given a lick of soda, they would probably love it. It is sweet and bubbly...just like your pup! Although a lick of soda off of your finger is not going to seriously harm them, you should avoid giving soda to your dog often, and ideally, never give it to them at all. 

Soda is filled with chemicals, artificial flavors, artificial colors, and loads of sugar. If you buy brands like Coke, Pepsi, and Sprite, they are made with GMO sugar. Plus, we are all familiar with the videos of soda taking rust off of metal. Can you imagine what it is doing to your dog's sensitive stomach? 

In short, never give a can of soda to your dog. There are absolutely no nutritional benefits. It will only do harm to your dog's health. 

Soda can do a lot of scary and harmful things to your dog's body. Soda is filled with a chemical cocktail of artificial ingredients your dog's body was never meant to handle. This is similar to a human's body as well. Your dog is not designed to handle heaps of sugar well or efficiently, and soda has alarming concentrations of sugar. 

Although it is true a lick or two likely won't harm your dog, it is unnecessary to share with them anyway. All sharing a lick of soda will do is make your dog beg for more and it could lead to you oversharing your can of soda with them.

Whether your dog gets into a can of soda by accident or if you have made a bad decision to feed your dog too much soda, there are a few signs to keep an eye out for that suggest your dog is having a bad reaction to soda. Too much sugar can cause your dog's blood sugar levels to spike to dangerous levels. This could lead to fatigue, weakness, vomiting, and excessive thirst. 

Soda can also upset their stomach, which leads to bloating, gas, diarrhea, vomiting, and severe stomach pains as well. Soda also contains caffeine, which is highly toxic to your pooch. Too much caffeine can actually be fatal, so soda must be avoided at all costs. 

Have you ever wondered where soda got its start? Surprisingly, soda was first formulated as a drink that could cure certain medical conditions and it was often prescribed by doctors. It was believed to treat indigestion, headaches, and various psychological disorders. 

Knowing what we know about the dangers of soda today, it is incredible to think soda was seen as a healthful item! People believed the bubbly and carbonated water had healing effects on the body. Flavors and medicines were then added to the bubbly water to create tonics to heal the body. Soda shops began to pop up all over the United States and soda became a popular household beverage. 

Today, soda is definitely not used as a medicine as we know the harmful effects that soda has on the body. Its high sugar content and cocktail of chemicals and artificial ingredients make it something everyone should avoid drinking, especially your dog.  

Even though soda was thought to heal various ailments, dogs would not have been treated with soda beverages. Soda was a commodity many years ago, so people would not have willingly shared this new drink with their family dog. Dogs would have been treated by vets with other medicines or with other holistic and natural means. 

Soda is definitely bad for your dog due to the reasons we have discussed above. Soda contains sugar and caffeine, both of which are bad for your dog's health. In fact, caffeine is highly toxic to your dog and can put them in the hospital if too much is consumed at one time. Too much caffeine will lead to caffeine poisoning, which is fatal for a dog. 

Sugar can also cause serious weight gain and be a trigger for developing diabetes. If your dog already has diabetes, soda needs to be avoided at all costs. Even the smallest bit of soda can send their blood sugar levels into the serious and fatal levels. 

Soda also contains GMO sugar, artificial flavors, artificial colors, and chemical preservatives. Humans and dogs should avoid these ingredients as much as possible. They harm our bodies and can lead to a host of health issues and diseases. Dogs' bodies are especially not equipt to handle so much sugar and chemicals. Your dog is not fed these ingredients and foods on a daily basis, so their body cannot handle them as well as ours can. 

It will be your responsibility to keep your dog away from soda. This will include making sure you never share any of your soda with them and making sure your soda stash is not in reach for your dog. The last thing you want to happen is for your dog to break open multiple cans of soda and proceed to drink all of the liquid inside. This could be fatal to your dog and needs to be avoided at all costs. 

Keep your cans of soda in the fridge so your dog doesn't have easy access to the cans. If your cans are not in the fridge put them on a high shelf and lock them away behind a door. This will prevent any cans from being stolen by your dog. 

Also make sure to never purposely give your dog a can of soda, or even given them a small lick from your finger. This will create a taste for the soda and your dog will constantly want more. These actions lead to obsessive begging, which you want to train your dog to avoid doing most of the time. Yes, your dog may still beg for the can of soda you are drinking, but if they don't know what it tastes like, it is much easier to break the habit of begging. 

And lastly, if you have taken all of the proper precautions to keep soda from your dog, but are still worried they may get into it while you are not home, crate them for the time you are away. This will ensure they are in a safe place at home and do not have the ability to access your cans of soda!