When you live in a city boasting more breweries per capita than any other U.S. city (roughly one brewery per 8,000 people), its not a silly question to ask whether your furry little friend can kick back and enjoy at least a few tongue lickins' of a cold craft brew with ya on a Friday afternoon by the river. So... can dogs drink beer?
Its not so common knowledge that even small amounts of alcohol, especially in smaller dogs and cats, can cause life-threatening toxicity which is why we want to lap up the suds a little and dive into exactly why beer is poisonous to your lively little bud and how you know if your dog does in fact have alcohol poisoning (whether its from a tasty cold one or unbaked yeast from that birthday cake you were makingyep, thats alcohol as well).
So Why is Alcohol is Poisonous to our Four Legged Friends: It only takes 15 to 30 minutes from the first little lick of beer for your pets central nervous system to begin to show signs of depression, including staggering, slowed reflexes, and increased urination. Well, we could say the same for ourselves after we throw a few cold ones back, right? Most definitely! While that may be a good time for us two-legged party animals, we have to remember the immense size difference in most pets to our body weight and size. As time goes on, if a fatal amount of alcohol is ingested, our precious little ones are at risk for a slow respiratory rate, cardiac arrest, and even death.
If a 20 pound dog drinks one beer in 5 minutes, thats the same as a 200 pound man drinking 10 beers in 5 minutes. For dogs, that kind of shock can wreak havoc on their immune system. ~Tails to Tell Blog
In researching alcohol and its effect on our pooches sensitive tummies, we found that its not simply the alcohol that overwhelms our little loves systems, but the hops in beer as well that are 100% toxic to them. For those of you who dont have a bottle of bathtub brew simmering in your basement, hops are the female flowers of the hop plant, used primarily to add a bitter tanginess to beer and used as a stabilizing agent, to really round it out and give it a full, robust flavor. Eh... some of this Asheville beer drinking is coming in handy.
Yummy to us but unfortunately these bitter little guys are no bueno for our canine friends. Highly poisonous and fatal, whether the hops are on the vine growing in your backyard or in pelletized form on your kitchen floor, the cones absolutely must be kept away from your pets. Dogs that ingest hops will show signs of excessive panting, restlessness, muscle tremors and seizures. In severe cases your pet will experience a sharp increase in body temperature, known as malignant hypothermia, which causes severe fevers over 108 degrees Fahrenheit which can result in damage and failure of their organs and internal systems, according to the Animal Poison Control Center (ASPCA).
A great alternative, if you just love the habit of kicking back with your old pal and sharing the day's woes over a frosty pint, is a dog beer made especially for our canine pals called Browser Beer. A beefy, malty, hops-free and alcohol free concoction that comes in 4 different recipes, these tasty beverages were created especially for beer drinkers furry pals. Now happy hour and yappy hour can continue- party on! Check them out online at: https://bowserbeer.com/
And for the serious beer lovers out there, we feel ya and love our relaxation elixir just as much as the next guy and enjoy sharing that feeling with our bestest little buds too. And if you want your pet to really show off your combined love for malty, hoppy, yummy goodness, you can create a custom tag on our site showcasing your favorite brew or even a photo of you two kicking back one sunny afternoon enjoying one together! Check out our personalized pet tags, like this Pabst Blue Ribbon beer logo dog tag or this tag made from a local pub-house admirer for inspiration.
Just remember not to upload any copyrighted images directly from a brew-house. The last thing we need is a butt-whoopin from a few burley, bearded beer drinkers! Onward and upward friends- Woof Woof! (and a bow wow wow yippe yo yippe yay). View all of our pet id tags.
| Tiffany Narron is an Asheville dog owner and craft beer connoisseur which lead to her examing of the question Can Dogs Drink Beer? Together with her sweet little mountain hopper Bella Marie Blue they travel the hills, uncovering commonly held myths both in the pet community and in this wondrous little mountain town we call home. |
