Is it safe for dogs to eat walnuts?

Move over peanut butter, we have a new nut to talk about – walnuts. While we may love these crunchy snacks, we want to know if they are safe for our dogs.

If you have ever sat with a canister of nuts to snack on while watching a movie or a game on TV, you probably know that things fall. There is something about a handful of nuts that just screams “drop me!” And if you have a dog and you drop something like a walnut and they get to it before you can pick it up, you may be wondering if walnuts are actually safe for them to eat.

So of course, we did some digging. We needed to know whether or not it was safe for our dog to eat walnuts or if this was one of those treats that they need to avoid.

Can our dogs safely eat walnuts?

According to a blog from the fine folks at Chewy, it seems that the answer is a bit mixed.

In general, walnuts are not toxic to our pups (unless there is a legitimate problem with the nut, see below for more on this). And in moderation (as in one walnut that falls to the floor), this nut is perfectly fine. But that doesn’t really make it safe.

Here’s what you need to know about the mighty walnut in terms of why our dogs shouldn’t be eating them:

"The dangers for dogs of eating walnuts includes choking hazards, intestinal obstruction and upset stomach to more serious conditions like pancreatitis and illness from black mold that can occur on walnuts and can be toxic to dogs."

Basically, what this means is if you happen to drop a walnut on the floor and your dog eats it, they should be fine. We do recommend watching them just in case there are issues. But in general, a single walnut won’t hurt them, but we definitely won’t be letting them snack on these nuts for any other reason.