- ByStephanie C
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- 11 Nov, 2019
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Why do dogs never seem to tire of the licking and smacking that comes with eating peanut butter? Although many have tried to answer this question, we still aren’t entirely sure why our canine companions love gooey, sticky peanut butter so very much.
Is it the high fat, salt, and sugar content in most peanut butters (the ones we shouldn’t feed our pets), or do they really enjoy the contortions of the tongue that eating peanut butter requires? As it turns out, we really have no idea exactly why dogs love peanut butter so much. But the fact that they adore it remains nonetheless.
Salt?
Probably not. Dogs lack the salt-specific taste buds that humans have, making sodium less appealing. Dogs also don’t need much salt, and most dog foods contain a sufficient amount. To further remove salt as the factor, dogs seem to like natural peanut butter with no added salt just as much as the ‘loaded’ stuff.
Fat?
Peanut butter is full of fat, and dogs seem to love the flavor fat as much as humans do, since they do have fat-specific taste buds. However, these taste buds seem to only apply to fats that come from meats, not from legumes (peanuts) or vegetables.
Sugar?
Dogs tend to have a sweet tooth, and ‘sweet’ even registers on smell receptors at the tip of your dog’s tongue. However, sugar is probably not the winning factor because, again, dogs like natural peanut butters just as much.
It has to be the protein. Or does it?
Protein could be the component that dogs are drawn to when they get so excited about their peanut butter snacks. They need lots of protein, and peanut butter is loaded with it. Plus, it’s easy to digest. These two factors pull the most weight in answering our question.
So, what’s the verdict?
We, the dog lovers, find all factors in question guilty as charged for being potentially responsible for your dog’s zealous behavior in response to a peanut butter treat. Whether that really answers the question as to why dogs love peanut butter so much is up for debate. Ultimately, we may never know.
What we do know is that dogs absolutely love peanut butter. We also know that it’s fun to watch them eat it, and no matter how odd they look while eating it, they must enjoy it too.
Raw, natural peanut butter with no added sugar, salt, or preservatives, such as Poochie ButterDog Peanut Butteris fun to eat, healthy and safe, and adds hours of entertainment to your household.
And, that’s all we really need to know.
