Can Dogs Eat Eggnog? Keep It in Your Glass

Can dogs eat eggnog? Our answer is to keep it in your glass. A lick off a spoon is not a big event, but a cup poured for a dog, or a bowl left on the floor, is not something we would do.

Eggnog shows up at every holiday party we go to, and the question comes up when the glass is set down near a dog. This page walks through what is in it, why each part is a reason to skip it, and what to hand the dog while everyone else drinks.

What is in a glass of eggnog

Eggnog is milk and cream, sugar, egg yolks and nutmeg. Many versions also get rum, bourbon or brandy stirred in. Store-bought cartons sometimes leave the liquor out, and homemade batches often put it in, so you cannot tell from across the room which one is in the cup.

None of those ingredients is a dog food. Each one is a different reason to say no, and the glass has all of them at once.

Can dogs eat eggnog with milk and cream

The base of eggnog is dairy, and a lot of it. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control writes: "Because pets do not possess significant amounts of lactase, milk and other dairy-based products can cause diarrhea."

That is the plainest reason to keep the cup away. Eggnog is thicker and richer than a splash of milk, so a dog that gets a few laps is getting more cream than it would ever see in a day.

The eggs in homemade eggnog

Store-bought eggnog and homemade eggnog are not the same drink. Many homemade recipes use raw or only lightly cooked egg, and the batch sits in a bowl on the counter for a while. On raw eggs the ASPCA writes: "Raw meat and raw eggs can contain bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli."

If you make it from scratch, treat that bowl as people only. Keep the bowl on the counter and the dog out of the kitchen while it sits.

Sugar and nutmeg

Eggnog is sweet, and the sweetness is not an accident. A cup carries a lot of sugar, and a dog gets nothing from it that a plain treat would not give. Nutmeg is the spice on top, and spice is one more reason to skip the cup. We would not add it to a dog's food on purpose.

The rum or bourbon

This is the part that settles it for us. Spiked eggnog is a drink with alcohol in it, and a dog cannot tell the spiked glass from the plain one. The ASPCA writes: "Alcoholic beverages and food products containing alcohol can cause vomiting, diarrhea, incoordination, depression, difficulty breathing, tremors, changes in blood pH, coma and even death."

Even when you think the batch is the mild kind, the pour is rarely measured. We treat every glass at a party as spiked and keep it up high.

A lick of the glass or a bowl on the floor

A small lick off a spoon that was going in the sink anyway is a very different thing from a full serving. The trouble starts when a cup gets set on a low table, or a bowl of leftover eggnog is left out on the floor of the family room after the guests leave.

• Set glasses on a counter or a high shelf, not a coffee table.
• Carry the pitcher back to the kitchen when the toast is done.
• Empty cups into the sink right away instead of leaving dregs in the glass.

If your dog is on a special diet, or has gotten into a full glass or a bowl, ask your veterinarian. Do not wait to see how it goes.

What to hand over instead

Give the dog its own thing to do while everyone else has a drink. Our Freeze-Dried Beef Heart Dog Treats are one option. The only ingredient is beef heart, and we freeze-dry it in small batches in Malvern, Pennsylvania. It comes in 1.5 ounce, 3 ounce and 6 ounce bags.

The texture is firm and it snaps into small pieces, which suits a dog that is working for a reward at the edge of a party. It is milder than liver. The label says to feed it as a treat or meal topper, not as a complete diet, to provide fresh water at all times and to always supervise your dog while feeding. We list it for all sizes and for adult dogs and puppies. If you are putting together more for the holidays, our Christmas dog treats are all in one place.

For amounts, break it into small pieces and keep all treats to about 10 percent of what the dog eats in a day. The label lists about 75.3 kcal per ounce, so a handful of small pieces is more than enough.

Other holiday foods

Eggnog is one of several things on the table that a dog should not get. For the rest of the spread, we put together a page on Christmas foods dogs can eat.

Storing the treats

Reseal the bag after opening and store it cool and dry. Keep the bag away from the stove and the dishwasher steam, since moisture is what softens a crisp piece.

Eggnog questions

Can dogs drink eggnog?

We say keep it in your glass. It is dairy, sugar and spice, and a spiked batch has alcohol in it besides. Give the dog water in its own bowl and a few small pieces of a plain treat.

Is a small lick of eggnog okay?

A single lick off a spoon is not what we worry about. We would not pour any into a bowl, and we would not let the dog finish a glass.

What about eggnog without alcohol?

It still has milk, cream and sugar in it, and the homemade kind can still have raw egg. Taking the liquor out removes one reason to skip it, not all of them.

What if my dog drank a whole glass?

Call your veterinarian and tell them what was in it, especially if it had rum or bourbon. Keep the carton or the recipe nearby so you can answer.

Can puppies have eggnog?

No. A puppy gets the same answer as an adult dog, and a puppy is smaller, so a full glass is a bigger pour. Give a puppy a few small plain pieces of a treat instead.

Can cats have eggnog?

No. The same ingredients are in it, and the ASPCA quote on dairy covers cats as well as dogs. Leave the cup where neither can reach it.

Read next: can dogs drink beer.