Have you ever noticed your dog eating your Chinese takeout from the trash can and wondered, “can dogs eat soy sauce?” If so, you’re not alone. The answer is, keep soy sauce away from your dog.
For ultimate pet safety, I recommend consulting with your vet about your dog eating soy sauce.
Can Dogs Eat Soy Sauce?
If at all possible, keep soy sauce away from your dog. It’s not that soy sauce is toxic by itself. The problem is the high sodium content.
First, we need to understand what soy sauce is and what’s in it. Then you’ll be able to understand why it’s so bad for dogs.
What is Soy Sauce Made Of?
Soy sauce is made by fermenting soybeans and wheat. In fact, the 4 basic ingredients in soy sauce are:
- Soybeans
- Wheat
- Salt
- Fermenting Ingredients (like yeast)
The problem for dogs is the high salt content. In one tablespoon of soy sauce, there is 902 mg of sodium. That’s a little more than a tenth of a teaspoon of salt.
It is around 0.18 teaspoons of salt in a tablespoon of soy sauce.
That might not seem like very much salt to you. But if your dog licks up a bunch of soy sauce in a bowl or cup, it could experience very bad physical side effects.
Can Dogs Have Soy Sauce?
No, dogs cannot have soy sauce. There is too much salt in it. In fact, there isn’t even a soy sauce for dogs that they can have. Just avoid it altogether.
If your dog licks up more than a teaspoon and there isn’t any water around for them, it could make them very sick.
All that salt without any water could cause salt poisoning or kidney damage. Watch out for salt poisoning. It can cause neurological issues.
Soy Sauce and Dogs Side Effects
If somehow your dog ate more than a small amount of soy sauce, watch out for these symptoms. Take your dog to the vet right away if you notice:
- Vomiting
- Increased Thirst
- Diarrhea
- Frequent Urination
- Seizures or Tremors
If you ignore minor symptoms, and your dog at an extreme amount of soy sauce, the salt poisoning could even lead to death.
That’s why it’s so important to take your dog to the vet if you think they got into some soy sauce packets.
My Dog Ate Soy Sauce, What Do I Do?
If you know your dog got into soy sauce, watch for serious symptoms. If they show any of the following symptoms, take them to the vet right away.
- Extremely lethargic
- Seizures
- Convulsions
- Muscle Spasms
- Respiratory Distress
- Walking like intoxicated
If you notice they are super thirsty and urinating a lot, this is a good thing!
Drinking a lot of water will help to flush out all the excess salt from their body. That’s why they pee so much too.
If you think they only ate a small amount of soy sauce by accident (like the amount sprinkled on some rice), give them lots of water and let them pee it out. Then watch for more serious symptoms, just in case.
Soy Sauce is Bad for Dogs
Keep the Chinese takeout and soy sauce packets away from your dog. It might take quite a bit of soy sauce to cause salt poisoning, but you want to do all you can to protect them from it.
Other Soy Foods
Wondering about dogs and other soy foods? Read these articles:
Additional Resources
Take a look at these great articles on other things dogs can and cannot eat:
- Fruits Dogs Can and Can’t Eat
- Vegetables Dogs Can and Can’t Eat
- Can Dogs Eat Bugs
- Can Dogs Eat Chicken Broth
- Can Dogs Eat Pesto
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My dog was laying with me but I believe the soy sauce was on my shirt but it was too dark to notice, but he licked my shirt and I of it thought when it spilled on my shirt, I took him to get water and he did drank .Will he be ok?
He should be okay. I doubt there was enough on your shirt to do harm. Just watch him and take him to the vet if you see any indication of a bad reaction or illness.
My 7 week old Aussie got into some steak that had soy sauce in it and ever since then she’s been throwing up and restless.. she was drinking water this morning but stopped and won’t drink nor eat. She pees but hasn’t pooped yet just throwing up on and off.
Please take your dog to the vet ASAP. That kind of reaction needs immediate veterinary care.
Our vet is closed and has been closed since last week.. we started forcing water down to help flush it out but we aren’t sure what else to do
Call different vets and try to find one that can either discuss it over the phone or video consult.
Please can you answer me???It’s night here and I can’t take my dog to vet.My dog ate steak and there’s soy sauce in it.I noticed he acting a little weird and I googled and I found out dogs can’t eat soy sauce.He’s not drinking a lot of water.But he licks my hand because my hand is wet.Help me please.Im going to cry
I am not a veterinarian so I cannot offer any advice. Perhaps there is an emergency vet clinic in your area that you can call. I hope your dog will be okay.
Curious as to what happened to your dog. We’re they okay after eating the steak??
my dog ate pieces of chicken skin dipped in soy sauce is she ok?
I cannot tell if she is or will be okay. You need to contact a veterinarian. Try to find a 24-hour vet or emergency clinic to call.
Please answer. I had chinese food and left the soy sauce in a container on the table and my dog jumped and got to it while i was out. Will he be ok? It was a lot of soy sauce and hes 10lb. He seems ok no symptoms and its been a few hours. The vet opens tomorrow should i be taking him? It was like 10 tablespoons
I am not a veterinarian and have no way of knowing if your dog will be okay after eating that amount of soy sauce. Please contact your vet asap or try to find a 24 hour clinic that you can call. I hope your dog will be okay.
My dogs ate some chicken that was cooked in soy sauce. The only ate a little bit. They seem ok but I’ve been giving them a lot of water to drink. Will they be ok. I don’t see any symptoms in them.
Hey Gwendolyn, please contact your vet to discuss your dogs eating soy sauce. I have no way of knowing if they will be okay because of too many factors involved.
My baby Kipling got into some soy sauce and I didn’t realize it. He’s had Addison’s disease for years and the symptoms he developed this time—lethargy, loss of appetite and no desire to drink—are the same ones he gets when it’s time for his monthly Zycortal injection. I gave it to him and also gave a little extra prednisone to kickstart his appetite and thirst. And then he was gone. He literally died within minutes of when I noticed something was very wrong. I’m still in shock. This is a terrible thing to go through with your babies. I’ve been hating on myself because I feel like if I’d noticed sooner, or just not left anything out in the first place, he’d still be here, or at least have a better chance. He was fine before this. Addison’s is not a big deal and easily controlled. It just never ever occurred to me he’d be even a little tempted to lap up soy sauce. I’m bereft.