Are dogs allowed to eat fruit? And if so, which?
Small amounts of fruit can add a little variety to a dog’s diet and provide the four-legged friend with important vitamins. But which types of fruit are actually suitable for dogs and what should you look out for when feeding them?
Even in the wild, dogs would consume small amounts of fruits and vegetables while hunting via eating their herbivorous prey. If you have a four-legged friend at home who enjoys the apples in the garden or a dropped piece of banana in between, you probably still ask yourself the question: Is this actually healthy?
Fruit for dogs: not a must, but not harmful either
The high content of vitamins and trace elements makes fruit in small quantities also for dogs a healthy snack for in between. Fruits such as banana are appreciated by many dog owners as an addition to a diet when the dog has diarrhea.
So, if you want to please your four-legged friend with a piece of fruit every now and then, you usually don’t have to worry about the health of your favorite. Putting it on the daily menu, on the other hand, is not advisable simply because of its high sugar content.
Since fruit contains sugar, it is rich in carbohydrates – and it is precisely these that increase the risk of obesity in dogs. As carnivores, the four-legged friends should primarily receive protein.
Nevertheless, there is nothing wrong with fruit to round off the dog food. Especially since it also contains minerals and nutrients in addition to the vitamins and trace elements already mentioned – and can thus be an ideal supplement to BARF.
Dog and fruit: Which fruits are considered tolerable?
Not every dog likes fruit – so the question of whether he can eat some of it in between meals only arises for four-legged friends who like it. For most dogs, the fruits in the following list are popular and well tolerated:
Pineapple
Apples
Apricots
Bananas
Pears
Blueberries
Blackberries
Strawberries
Figs
Currants
Cherries
Nectarines
Plums
Peaches
Watermelon
Note: Fruit can be washed off, fed in small portions, without seeds, and of course unsweetened. Organic quality fruit is also a good idea for your faithful friend.
Caution: These fruits are not suitable for dogs
Although there’s nothing wrong with fruit for dogs, there are still some exceptions. Citrus fruits, for example, are rich in vitamin C, but they also contain a lot of acid, which can cause gastrointestinal problems for your four-legged friend.
Grapes and raisins also belong to the types of fruit with which you are not doing your pet any favors. You should not feed both, even if he would like to. Larger amounts can cause poisoning symptoms and kidney failure in dogs.
Also, since every animal is different, your dog may not tolerate a certain type of fruit. If you have made this observation, the fruit in question should not be on his menu from now on, even as an exception.
