What Happens When Dogs Eat Spicy Food?

While dogs can smell spicy foods, they don’t experience the burning sensation that humans do when they eat chili peppers or wasabi. This is because the capsaicin in chili peppers binds to the TRPV1 protein found in nerve cells. Humans have receptors for this protein, which is what triggers the pain response from eating spicy foods.

When dogs taste spice, it causes them to have a variety of different symptoms including:

The discomfort from the how do dogs react to spicy food in spices may cause your dog to vomit or have diarrhea as they attempt to digest this food. In addition, the burning from spicy foods can lead to excessive thirst and bloating as they drink water to relieve this feeling.

Spice and Sensibility: Exploring the Effects of Spicy Food on Dogs’ Health and Behavior

Dogs also tend to be very uncomfortable when they eat spicy foods as the heat causes them to sneeze and cough. They may paw at their face or eyes, drool and foam at the mouth. They will likely also pant or lick their lips to try and stop this sensation.

Dogs don’t really enjoy bitter or sour tastes and they will probably only take a few bites of anything that is very spicy. This is due to their less refined sense of taste, as well as their sensitive digestive tracts. If a dog eats too much spicy food, it can cause stomach ulcers and even serious illnesses like canine pancreatitis. This can be fatal for toy breed and small breed dogs.