Can Dogs Eat Candy Canes? Check for Xylitol First
Quick answer
Keep them away from dogs. Blue Cross says sweets, including candy canes, can contain xylitol, which is poisonous to dogs, and the ASPCA says xylitol can cause low blood sugar and liver damage. Sugar-free candy canes are the ones to worry about most; if a dog has eaten any, check the label and phone your vet.
Taken from this page and its sources. Not veterinary advice. If your pet has already eaten some and seems unwell, see who to call.
Has your dog already eaten some? Phone your vet, an emergency vet or your national animal poison line now, even if your dog seems fine. Keep the packet or recipe, and note roughly how much was eaten and when. Find an emergency vet · What the vet will ask
This page is not veterinary advice. Paw Multiverse is not a veterinary practice. We cannot examine, diagnose or treat your animal. There are no doses here, no portion sizes, no feeding amounts and no treatment steps, on purpose. If your pet has eaten something you are worried about, or has changed in a way you cannot explain, ring your vet or your nearest emergency clinic and let them decide. Full disclaimer.
Candy canes hang on trees at exactly dog height for weeks. The question that matters is not the sugar but what kind of sweetener is in them.
On this page (6 sections)
What is published
Blue Cross lists sweets, including candy canes, among the Christmas dangers for dogs because they can contain xylitol, which it says is poisonous to dogs. Source: Blue Cross, Christmas dangers for dogs (reviewed 22 November 2022).
The ASPCA says xylitol can cause low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) and potentially liver damage, depending on the amount eaten. Source: ASPCA, People foods to avoid feeding your pets.
Sugar-free is the one to check
Ordinary candy canes are sugar and flavouring; sugar-free ones replace the sugar with sweeteners, and xylitol is one of them. The label is the only way to tell. More on what xylitol does and why it matters: xylitol and dogs and the xylitol page.
On the tree
Blue Cross warns that tree decorations can cause a dangerous stomach blockage if swallowed, and edible decorations are the ones a dog is most likely to go for. The Christmas pet safety page covers the tree as a whole. Source: Blue Cross, Christmas dangers for dogs (reviewed 22 November 2022).
What we could not source for this page
- No publisher we read addresses the plastic wrapper or the hooked shape of candy canes specifically.
- No publisher we read gives an amount of ordinary, sugar-sweetened candy cane that is safe for a dog.
Where these facts come from
- Blue Cross, Christmas dangers for dogs (reviewed 22 November 2022), read 6 November 2026.
- ASPCA, People foods to avoid feeding your pets, read 6 November 2026.
Sources last checked 6 November 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
Where to go next
Every food on this site is on the dog food colour chart, and the whole holiday table is on Thanksgiving pet safety and Christmas pet safety. If your dog has already eaten something, go to my dog ate something and the poison control directory.
