Pecans And Dogs [All You Need To Know]

nuts by a log

You might be sitting in your living room one night, munching down on a bag of pecans while watching a movie, while all of a sudden Fido joins you and wants some of what’s in that bag! You’re a pecan lover and you like to snack on that from time to time, but what about your dog?

Can dogs have pecans? Are pecans bad for dogs to eat?

Are Pecans Good For Dogs? Are They Safe To Eat?

The short answer to this question is NO, dogs can’t eat pecans.

Even though pecans can be a wondrous food for people, pecans are very dangerous, poisonous and sometimes even fatal to dogs.

Why Are Pecans Bad For Dogs?

Pecans are bad for dogs because they:

– Contain a toxin call juglone that is toxic to dogs.

– Contain levels of a poison called Aflatoxin, which comes from the Aspergillus mold, to which dogs are very sensitive and easily fall ill to.

If your dog becomes poisoned by Aflatoxin, they might show very low levels of appetite, lethargy, start to vomit (and you might even see some blood in the vomit), emit urine that’s orange in color (and migh even contain some blood), and pass bloody/blackened stool.

cracked pecans

– Can lead to severe gastric intestinal upset in your dog.

– Can lead to an obstruction in your dog’s digestive tract because they are difficult for dogs to digest easily

– Easily develop mold on the shells which contain tremorgenic mycotoxins which lead to seizures, tremors and/or neurological damage to your dog.

– Are very high in fat levels, which puts your dog at a serious risk of developing pancreatitis and becoming obese

– Can cause diarrhea

– Can cause vomitin

– Are rich in sodium, which can be deadly to dogs in enough quantities

– Can cause your dog to choke on their shells

– Can lead to liver failure

– Can lead to the development of bladder stones

What Do I Do If My Dog Ate A Pecan?

If your dog only consumes one or two pieces of pecan nuts, you shouldn’t be too worried as that’s not an enough quantity to cause serious poisoning in your dog.

You do have alot to worry about, on the other hand, if your dog consumes a whole pecan nut with its shell or munches down an entire bag or bowl of pecan nuts.

sad dog sick at vet

What makes it even worse is if the pecan nuts your dog just consumed have been salted or had mold grow on them.

So, if you suspect your dog has eaten pecans, you should get them to your vet or an animal emergency care center as fast as possible, because if they consumed a large enough amount and you take too much time to get them to professional help, you can be sure that they’ll develop liver failure.

The more time you take to get your dog to professional care if they’re poisoned from eating pecans, the slimmer their chances of their recovery and the harder the treatment becomes, even requiring surgery at one stage.

In conclusion and because pecans are very dangerous to your dog, you should as safe as possible and refrain from giving any pecans to them, as there’s no real reason you should be anyway.

Also make sure you keep any pecans you have at home stored somewhere very hard for your dog to find and eat, because if it’s kept somewhere easy for your dog to find and they’re left unsupervised, there’s a big chance they’ll eat all the pecans they can get their hands on.

The fact of the matter remains that while some dogs might go crazy for some nuts, there’s no real necessary reason you should feed your dog any nuts as part of their diets. Nuts do more harm than good for your furry friend.

Watch this video for more information on not only how pecans affect your pup, but all kinds of nuts!

22 COMMENTS

  1. This is way over the top. Pecans contain only trace amounts of juglone (Black walnuts have much more), and mostly confined to leaves, shells and roots. Not a serious danger for dogs or other animals except in large quantity. Mold toxins are very dangerous but they can occur in many foods–pecans that are not moldy don’t contain aflotoxin–at all. I agree that dogs should not be fed large quantities of nuts, and likewise should not be fed large quantities of any high-fat foods. But I think a little moderation here is warranted–so as not to frighten people. Running to the vet, just because your dog ate a couple of pecans, is extreme, in my opinion, though I’m sure some vet’s could use the extra income.

    • Thank you! My puppy ate about 3 whole pecan meats. I read this and about cried. I was so worried MY gut hurt! This, and the next person that left a comment, really helped. I’m glad I scrolled down to comments!

  2. Wow, my dogs having been eating pecans forever. We have a giant pecan tree in our backyard and they eat them all the time. We have raised generations of dogs here, not one sick dog and i bet they eat more than the squirrels do. Our vet says it’s fine too. Just good protein and fiber to thier diets.

    • That’s what I am experiencing with my 12 week old lab pup. We have 2 pecan trees and there are nuts in the shell all over our yard. I can’t keep him away from them — it would be impossible — and he is constantly chewing on them. I am not sure whether he ingests the or merely likes breaking them open.

  3. Wonder if there is any difference if they eat the pecans from a pecan pie? Sure am glad I read the comments. I feel much better after letting my German Shepherd eat some from my pie.

  4. I have Chihuahua dogs and have been feeding them pecans because I eat them all the time and they’ve never gotten sick well don’t know what to think now

  5. bah not an issue at least not with my dogs i have a pecan tree on my back yard and usually i fight my dogs just to be able to pick the pecans lol. they love eating pecans as they fall of the tree in early Autumn they have been eating them for years they just know how to eat them without eating the shell. no problems with them whatsoever no upset stomach or pancreatitis or anything of the sort.
    but dont feed them grapes, raisins or chocolate if you can those will make them have an upset stomach. cinnamon also seems to make them have upset stomach mine ate a cinnamon roll…. and a few minutes later he vomited it out aside from that no issues. so while you can read that a lot of things are harmful for dogs in reality the only way they will be a threat is if they actually eat a lot of them. although body size does matter so if a small dog eats lets say 1 oz of chocolate it might actually make him sick but if a large 100+ lbs dog eats that it wont do anything at all

    • I beg to differ actually. I have a 157lb Great Dane who ate 3 pecans with the shell on them and she got sicker than a, well dog lol. She was throwing up, and had diarrhea and was very lethargic! I ended up taking her to the vet and she is certain it was the pecans because she didn’t have anything else different. So sometimes it doesn’t matter the size of the dog, but the sensitive the stomach is.

  6. It may not be an immediate reaction you see…could be causing slow damage you cannot see. Why risk It? My girl was diagnosed with Addisons disease a couple of months ago and I am very vigilant of ANYTHING that could compromise her in any way. Just sayin…

    • Yes, I totally agree. Out 157lb Great Dane was slowly killing herself and we had no idea. We have a pecan tree in our back yard and we have to rake them every year. Next year we are cutting the tree down.

  7. I have a 1 year old drawf Rottsky and shes my husbands service dog. I am so glad other people love their animals . We’ve got 6 dogs ,2 baby tortioses. I personally prefer their company more so than humans. lol
    Merry Christmas everyone..
    Dont forget to give plenty of belly rubs and kisses..

  8. So glad I read the replies. I was worried. My 10 lb baby just ate two candied pecan halves. Maybe less , she made a mess of crumbs on my bed. I left these two on the nightstand. She has never bothered anything before. I was ready to take her to emergency vet. Now I think I’ll just keep my snacks out of reach and just watch her. She seems fine.

  9. Since I can control what my dogs eat I believe that I will avoid pecans. I had one of my beloved pets die from cancer and will not take the slightest change with mine.
    For those with a tree I can understand some; however, I would still be picking up as many as I could.
    If I sit down in front of them with pecans I will choose to have a bowl of some treats they can have.
    My dogs don’t get a lot of table food. Only the things that I know are 100% safe for them. And then in moderation.
    I would not have let my kids eat loads of sugar or things that would endanger them so why would I take a chance with my pets.
    I am glad to know if they do manage to eat some that there is no need to panic. I still might call my veterinarian just to be safe.

  10. I have a pecan tree in my back yard, we have a Great Dane and this is the first year she has been around the pecans, well I have noticed she has been chewing the shells, but I can’t really tell if she is swallowing them or not, but she hasn’t been eating her food at all for the past 4 days, she sniffs it and walks away and lays on her couch. She usually eats most all of it that she can get. So I’m guessing it could be the pecans from the yard. Could this be true?

  11. This was the first I have learned of pecans being dangerous – honestly, never asked my vet. Been feeding our dogs snacks of natural pecans for years. Started as puppies and have had no threatening medical issues. We do not feed the shells … and I would say they were getting about 3-5 pecan halves a day. Its been a cold/long winter and our home has put on extra weight ~ pecans are no longer on the menu as we try to get back in shape. We now feed our dogs snacks of carrots or green beans. I would still treat them with pecans in the future.

  12. I love my dog more than anything in the world I would never ever take any chances of feeding my love ANYTHING that they say could be dangerous to her. Please take good care of your best friends. Why take the chance. Their life is so short as is.

  13. To every one saying this is no big deal, maybe your dog is chewing them and not swallowing them. You shouldn’t say it’s not a serious issue if you don’t even know if your dog is digesting them or not. My puppy actually ate the pecans and shells that fell from my tree and has bloody, red, water-like diarrhea, he’s vomiting and will not eat or drink, even when I force fluids.

    So even though it is nearly impossible to avoid this with so many pecans in the yard, maybe someone else who can avoid this situation can be helped.

  14. I agree, our dogs have been eating them for years, they crack them open and leave the shell, eat 1 or 2 in the morning and thats it. We have 2 big pecan trees that are constantly dropping them on the ground, it would be impossible to stop them, and they love them.

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