Can Dogs Drink Green Tea?

If you are an avid green tea drinker, you probably already know about all the health benefits it gives you. Have you ever wondered if dogs can drink green tea? In this article, we will find out the answer to can dogs drink green tea and what benefits it will give your dog.

Can Dogs Drink Green Tea

Can Dogs Drink Green Tea?

Technically, yes, your dog could drink small amounts of green tea. However, it is important to be aware that green tea does contain caffeine. Caffeine is actually quite harmful to dogs. Dogs that consume too much could actually die.

If you do give your dog some of your green tea for the health benefits, it should be done in extremely small amounts. If you can find decaffeinated green tea, that would be even better because then your dog can get those amazing benefits without the harmful caffeine.

Green tea has been used to give dogs more antioxidants to help with overall digestive health. Usually, the contents of the teabag (after been used) are added to your dog’s food.

Benefits of Green Tea for Dogs

Most of the benefits that your dog will get from green tea are the same that humans get. Some of the ways that green tea is beneficial are:

Helps Digestive Health

Does your dog experience constipation or upset stomachs? Green tea is known to help move along the digestive system allowing your dog to go to the bathroom. In addition, if your dog experiences frequent stomach upset, it can also help alive some of those symptoms.

Reduce High Cholesterol and Blood Pressure

Does your dog have any issues with its cholesterol or blood pressure? If so, you will be happy to know that green tea is naturally known to lower cholesterol and blood pressure. Your dog will most likely still want to be on medicine for these things, but you can help your dog by adding green tea into the diet.

Antioxidant-Rich

The last thing you should know about green tea is that it is full of antioxidants. Antioxidants can actually do many things for your dogs, such as making your dog’s coat and skin healthier. It can also support the immune system to make it better. Most people already know that antioxidants help fight free radicals and help to prevent cancer.

Green Tea For Dogs

Is Green Tea Good for a Dog’s Skin?

Yes, you can actually purchase shampoo products for your dog that already have green tea extracts inside of them. This is absolutely great because your dog can enjoy some of the benefits without having to drink it.

If your dog suffers from dry skin, then I would highly recommend using a green tea soap product or giving your dog green tea to drink. This can be done by adding a little bit of brewed tea to the dog food.

How Much Green Tea can I Give my Dog?

Dogs do not need much green tea to provide them with these benefits above. First, you want to get your hands on decaffeinated green tea. This will ensure that you don’t have to worry about the harmful effects of caffeine in dogs.

Your now ready to steep the tea. Combine four cups of hot water with one tea bag. Let the tea steep according to the directions on the package. You can certainly let it steep longer if you wish. After that finishes, you can put the tea in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.

The amount you give your dog will depend on its size. Small dogs will only need little amounts, such as ¼ of a cup, for the entire day. Medium-sized dogs can have up to ½ of a cup. Of course, the biggest dog breeds can have the most up to 1 cup.

Symptoms to Watch out For

Too much of anything can be bad, so it is important not to give your dog too much green tea even if it is decaffeinated.  Below are some symptoms that you should watch out for incase your dog is not handling the green tea beverage well.

  • Faster heart rate than usual
  • Your dog is overly hyper
  • Vomiting
  • Seizure
  • Your dog won’t relax
  • Tremors

If you notice any of these unusual symptoms, I suggest calling your veterinarian’s emergency line and seeing what they say to do. Especially if your dog is unresponsive, you need to take action right away and take your dog in to be seen.

Loose Green Tea

Is Green Tea Good for Puppies?

If you have a puppy, I would not suggest giving your puppy green tea. Your dog is so young, and it doesn’t need that. Your puppy should be getting all of its nutrition from a puppy formulated food.

You absolutely want to keep regular green tea away from your puppy as that will be really harmful to their little bodies.

Key Takeaways

Below is a quick summary of this article and how your dog can benefit from green tea.

  • Decaffeinated green tea will be the best option for your dog.
  • Don’t give your dog too much because it can cause harm if your dog drinks too much.
  • Green tea is a great antioxidant that can provide your dog with some great benefits.
  • Your dogs’ size will affect how much green tea you let your dog drink.
  • Keep green tea away from puppies as they are still developing and growing.
  • Watch out for various symptoms to ensure your dog doesn’t have caffeine toxicity.

Overall

Most people absolutely love green tea, and we want to share things that we love with our dogs. So now you have the direct answer to can dogs drink green tea. Have you ever given your dog green tea before? Let us know in the comments below and what your dog thought of it.

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