Have you ever thought about what dogs and coffees have in common? Humans! We love coffee, and for many people, our mornings are never complete without a cup of coffee. In the same vein, people have lots of love for dogs seeing as they are man’s best friends.
Starbucks decided to strengthen the connection between the dogs, humans, and coffee, by offering a special treat for dogs every time you go get yourself an espresso or cup of coffee. This special treat is known as Puppuccino.
Puppuccinos are special treats for dogs sold at Starbucks. It consists of whipped cream packaged into a small-sized Starbucks cup or an espresso. Starbucks listed it on its secret menu and is available in all Starbucks cafes and drive-throughs.
With this Puppuccino, you can give your dogs some special treats when you go to Starbucks. However, one question that many dog parents have asked in recent times is “what is the ingredient used in Puppuccino? And is it safe for dogs?
Puppuccino is simply a whipped cream served in a small Starbucks cup or a pint-sized espresso. According to Starbucks, the whipped cream in Puppucchino contains milk, cream, monoglycerides, diglycerides, and carrageenan.
Puppuccino is a special treat for dogs from Starbucks. It contains whipped cream and whipped cream only. There are no additives or harmful ingredients in the Puppuccino.
Puppuccino is safe for dogs, as long as it is taken moderately. The only problem that may arise from the intake of Puppuccino by dogs is diarrhea and this only occurs when your dog takes too much Puppuccino or is lactose intolerant.
Puppuccino is Safe For Dogs
The whipped cream contains milk, cream, carrageenan, mono- and diglycerides. While some of these components of the whipped cream may look confusing to you, there is nothing special or complex about them.
For instance, we know what cream and milk are. Carrageenan is an ingredient that makes sure that the whipped cream stays mixed. Also, mono- and diglycerides ensure that the texture of the whipped cream stays smooth and they also prevent the separation of the mixture.
There are no additives, coffee, or tea in a cup of Puppuccino. Just pure whipped cream. With this information in mind, we can get to answering the question, “ Are Puppuccino safe for dogs?”.
Going by the ingredients used, it is clear that you need not worry about your dog’s health when they take Puppuccinos. There are no harmful ingredients that could cause your dog harm in the whipped cream.
However, you should ensure that your dog takes Puppuccino moderately. What this means is that you restrict the intake of Puppuccinos to once in a while. You don’t want to feed your dog whipped cream every day, lest it gets diarrhea.
Another reason why you may have to worry about feeding Puppuccinos to your dog is if your dog is lactose intolerant.
Puppuccino and Dogs with Lactose Intolerance
Lactose intolerance is the inability of dogs to break down the sugar in milk and dairy products known as lactose. Lactase is an enzyme that breaks down sugar in milk and dairy foods. This enzyme is produced in abundance when humans, dogs, or any mammal for that matter are at an infant stage.
However, with adulthood setting in, the body cuts down on the production of lactase and this affects the ability of the body to process lactose. In some dogs, the production of lactase is so reduced that it becomes almost impossible for the body to process lactose. This situation is known as lactose intolerance
.
When this happens, it means that your dog will react adversely to the ingestion of milk and dairy foods. To confirm whether or not your dog is lactose intolerant, watch out for the following symptoms after feeding your dog dairy foods;
- Diarrhea
- Bloating
- Vomiting
- Toileting all around the house
- Abdominal Pain and Weakness
If these symptoms occur a few minutes after feeding your dog with dairy products, the dog is probably lactose intolerant. You can visit a vet to confirm your suspicion.
Once you confirm that your dog is lactose intolerant, it is better to keep them off Puppuccino. While the degree of intolerance may differ, once they start showing symptoms after a cup of Puppuccino, that means you need to stop feeding them dairy products which includes Puppuccino.
Starbucks Puppuccino is Free
It should excite you to know that Puppuccinos are free. You don’t have to pay a dime for a cup of Puppuccino. As long as you are getting a drink at Starbucks, you can get a free cup of Puppuccino for your furry pet if you want one.
However, you may have to pay for the Puppuccino if you are not buying any drink. Ordering for only a Puppuccino may mean that you have to let go of some money.
Notice the use of the word ‘may’, and this is because there are no strict rules around it. It all depends on the barista. However, if the barista doesn’t charge you for it, you should make sure you tip him or her.
In Store or Drive Through Only
For starters, Starbucks is the place you can get your Puppuccinos from. However, you cannot order the Puppuccino and have it delivered to your home. You need to walk into the Starbucks shop or a drive-through and order for one, in person.
Now, if you are in a place where there are no Starbucks in sight (which is highly unusual) you can get a Puppuccino from other cafes. While the name might be different, it is essentially a cup of whipped cream served in a small espresso cup for your dog.
Outlets such as Dunkin Donuts served what is known as Puppy Latte, and it is the same thing with Starbucks Puppuccino. Dairy Queen also sells Pup Cups, and this is a cup of vanilla ice cream with a smack dab dog treat in the middle.