Today I’m sharing some ideas on fruits to feed your dog. While dogs get most of their nutrition from animal products such as chicken, beef or insects as high-quality protein sources… About one-third of their diet should consist of vegetables, fruit, oils and herbs. So what fruits to feed a dog?
Dogs eat fruit, providing additional, valuable nutrients as part of a species-appropriate dog’s diet. After all, the wolf, as the dog’s ancestor, ate the whole prey animal and thus also the grasses, herbs, and fruits in its gastrointestinal tract.
Fruits to Feed Your Dog
Before I get into fruits to feed your dog, I want to stress that I am not a vet. This post is compiled based on 5 years of Boxer dog ownership and lots of googling, mostly. Now that’s been cleared up, read on to find out which fruits to feed your dog.
Berries
Can dogs eat berries and other questions like that are helpfully outlined at Belle & Duke, one of the UK’s leading raw pet food retailers. But we’ll do our best here, too, to briefly answer that question.
The answer is you can also give your pooch blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. These are soft fruits, easy to chew, and free of toxic substances for dogs. These are the best fruits to feed your dog.
Blueberries contain many minerals such as iron, magnesium and potassium and can help maintain a healthy cardiovascular system. Here, too, an excess can lead to diarrhoea.
Cranberries are typical of North America but are also becoming increasingly popular in the United Kingdom because of the many secondary plant compounds and antioxidants.
They are a special treat for your dog in dried form, but you should feed unsweetened cranberries, sometimes hard to find.
Apples
The apple is certainly one of the most common and popular fruits to feed your dog. Apples contain a high amount of the dietary fibre pectin, which contributes to a healthy intestinal flora and can reduce cholesterol.
Apples have a neutralising effect on the pH value of the intestine and are well suited as supplementary food in cases of acid-base balance. Thanks to their sweet taste, dogs like apples, and since they have relatively few calories, they’re not going to have your dog jumping around mad.
Bananas
Bananas are extremely popular with dogs and provide important minerals such as potassium, calcium, and zinc with their sweet taste. They can help lower cholesterol and protect the stomach.
However, don’t feed dogs too many bananas, as they have high sugar and energy content and can cause constipation. This is one of the fruits to feed your dog in moderation.
Melon
Especially in summer, a chilled or frozen piece of melon is a special treat for your dog and will give him a nice cooling feeling. Melon contains many healthy nutrients, such as vitamin A, potassium and calcium.
However, melon also has a dehydrating effect, so too much of it can cause diarrhoea. Bloating can also happen when eating melon, so you should give your dog a little at first until you are sure he tolerates it well. Or add it to the list of fruits to feed your dog as a rare treat.
Pineapple
Pineapples contain high levels of potassium and zinc, plus the enzyme bromelain. These agents help your dog’s digestive functions, making pineapple a healthy fruit for a dog.
You should only feed your dog pineapple when it’s overripe, as the acid it contains can have a laxative effect or lead to stomach cramps. So it’s not one of the fruits to feed your dog regularly.
Fruits That Are Bad For Your Dog
So you’re good to feed your dog a wide variety of fruits if you keep a few things in mind. However, there are some fruits you should steer clear of as they are very toxic for your dog.
Grapes & Raisins
This includes grapes and sultanas, which are highly toxic for your dog. Although it’s not yet clear exactly what’s so toxic about grapes for dogs, ingesting as little as 200 grams can lead to acute kidney failure.
Sultanas are even more toxic because they’re toxic in smaller amounts. So never leave your dog unattended around sultanas or grapes, and consult a vet immediately if you think your dog has eaten either.
Nuts
Although not all nuts cause problems for dogs, you ought only to give them a small amount, even if they are edible. Nuts are very high in fat and can promote obesity, and Macadamia nuts, walnuts and bitter almonds are particularly dangerous for dogs.
Bitter almonds are also toxic to dogs because they contain amygdalin, which converts to prussic acid during digestion. These nuts are likely to give your dog much more than an upset stomach and should be avoided.
Since bitter almonds are sometimes mixed with normal almonds in packages and cannot be visually distinguished, you should only feed them to your dog in very small quantities. We’d say don’t give any nuts to dogs, and then you’ll always be on the safe side.
Don’t Get Too Fruity
It’s a bit of a mixed bag for fruits, but as long as you know what you’re doing, you have some options when giving your dog a tasty treat. Fruits are high in nutrients so that the dog will get a nice sweet taste and some vitamins too.
Don’t forget there are recommended dog treats that contain vitamins, too, so you could also go for one of them instead of a piece of fruit.
So long as you give the dog a safe fruit in a safe amount, all will be well with the world. I hope this post has explained which fruits to feed your dog clearly enough for you. Let me know in the comments if you have any other suggestions.
