If you're enjoying a Friday night meal of spicy chicken wings, it can be hard to ignore the hopeful eyes of your precious pooch. After all, the poor thing wants you to throw him a bone, literally. However, spicy food and the canine species aren't exactly the greatest of matches.
Spicy Foods
The ASPCA recommends keeping all spicy fare out of your dog's diet, so that automatically rules out spicy chicken wings. "Hot" foods can really mess with a dog's delicate constitution, and may even lead to an uncomfortable upset stomach -- think tummy pain and diarrhea. As hard as it may be to turn your adorable pet down when he begs for a bite of what you're savoring, remember that it's even harder to watch him suffer the consequences later on.
Pancreatitis Risk
Excessive amounts of spicy foods in dogs can be a very severe situation, occasionally triggering the inflammatory disease pancreatitis. Simply not worth it. Essentially, dogs should never eat spicy chicken wings -- or spicy "anything else" for that matter.
If you're worried about the possibility of pancreatitis in your dog, take note of some of its common symptoms, including loss of weight, lack of thirst, reduced appetite, dehydration, exhaustion, feelings of weakness and stomachache. If you think pancreatitis may be your doggie's problem, schedule an appointment with the veterinarian immediately in order to check the situation out.
Bones
Spicy chicken wings aren't only potentially hazardous due to the "spice" factor, but also due to the presence of the chicken bone. Chicken bones often cleave and can get stuck either in your wee one's gastrointestinal tract or throat -- definitely not good. Spicy chicken wings are a possible choking hazard, so keep them far, far away from your doggie at all times.
Healthy Human Foods
Although spicy chicken wings aren't appropriate for doggies, that in no way means that your cutie can't enjoy a rare "human food" treat. If you want to give your dog the occasional "food reward," the ASPCA recommends safe and nutritious options such as baked potatoes, plain pasta, bread and green beans. Not a spicy flavor or bone in sight!