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Can Dogs Eat Pistachios

Can Dogs Eat Pistachios? Everything You Need to Know

Updated on July 18, 2024
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Reviewed by Petco’s Animal Care
Education and Compliance (ACE) Team

Can dogs eat pistachios?

No, pistachios are not good for dogs.  Remember to consult your veterinarian before adding any new food to your pup’s diet to ensure it’s an appropriate snack for them.

If you drop a couple of pistachios on the ground and they get gobbled up before you can sweep them up, don’t panic. Just note that they aren’t the most nutritious snack for your pet.

Are pistachios good for dogs?

There are no health benefits when dogs eat pistachios.

Pistachios—like most nuts—are high in fat. Quite simply, the canine digestive system is not well adapted to high-fat foods, nor is it designed to properly digest nut proteins such as:

  • Pistachios 
  • Pecans
  • Walnuts
  • Cashews
  • Peanuts or peanut butter
  • Almonds
  • Macadamias

Eaten regularly or in large quantities, pistachios can cause gastrointestinal distress, obesity and pancreatitis in your pet.

Pistachio shells are especially dangerous to dogs, as they can be a choking hazard or become lodged deep within the digestive tract and cause an internal blockage. Worse still, your dog could bite into the shells and send sharp pieces down their throat and into their digestive system. This is potentially very dangerous for your pet.

Pistachios that have added salt or other flavors should never be given to your dog, as they can cause gastrointestinal distress and dehydration and may even be toxic.

Another way in which pistachios and dogs don’t mix is that the nuts are susceptible to aspergillus mold. This common mold can grow on vegetables and leftovers as well as on many types of nuts due to the way they are harvested. While not dangerous to humans, it can be toxic and potentially fatal to dogs.

If you have pistachios in a bag of mixed nuts, you’ll need to be especially careful since some nuts—macadamias in particular—are toxic to dogs.

In short, you shouldn’t feed your pet pistachios. There is no upside, and many significant complications can occur when dogs eat pistachios.

Symptoms of pistachio poisoning in dogs  

Dogs can experience aflatoxin poisoning if they eat too many pistachios. Symptoms of this can include:

  • Anorexia
  • Vomiting
  • Jaundice
  • Liver failure

How to feed pistachios to your dog 

Feeding pistachios to your dog is not recommended. If your dog happens to steal one or two unsalted shelled pistachio nuts on rare occasions, they are unlikely to be harmful to your pet

FAQs about feeding your dog pistachios

While pistachios are not toxic to dogs and highly unlikely to be fatal if eaten, it’s still best to prevent your dog from eating them.

All nuts contain compounds that dogs do not easily digest. Some nuts—macadamia nuts in particular—are highly toxic to dogs.

Nuts can also carry aspergillus mold, which is harmless to humans but toxic for dogs.

None. If your dogs eat pistachios in very small quantities, there’s no cause for alarm, but you shouldn’t intentionally provide them. Your pup doesn’t digest nuts the same way humans do, and pistachios can cause gastrointestinal distress, obesity and pancreatitis.

No, salted pistachios are not suitable for dogs either. Like most nuts, pistachios don’t typically agree with the canine digestive system. The salt is even worse and can lead to dehydration or even kidney failure if eaten in large quantities or too regularly.

A dog’s digestive system is not made to absorb the nutrients in nuts. More than a couple of nuts of any variety are unhealthy for your dog.

Yet, there is one variety of nut that is highly toxic for dogs—macadamia nuts.

Macadamia nuts are so toxic that even a small amount can have severe adverse effects on your dog. The most common symptoms of macadamia nut poisoning are weakness in the back legs, vomiting and diarrhea. Generally, dogs do recover from macadamia nut poisoning, but it can still be a scary situation.

Consult your veterinarian or pet poison control right away if you believe your dog has eaten a macadamia nut.

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