Four Fruits to Never Give Your Dog

Are you thinking about giving your dog a nice, refreshing fruit treat? Fruits often contain healthy nutrients, minerals, and dietary fiber that are good for your dogs. Before feeding any fruits to your dog, however, you need to be aware of the dangers certain fruits pose to your dog. We will be discussing four fruits you should never give to your dog: two of which are very toxic to dogs and two that you should be cautious with.

Grapes

Grapes are incredibly dangerous to dogs, so it goes without saying that you should never let your dog eats grapes or raisins. Grapes are very toxic to dogs and can lead to acute sudden kidney failure. It is important to be mindful if you or family members are consuming grapes around your dogs. What is so toxic about grapes? Well, researchers are not really sure. Researchers have also found that seeded or seedless also does not affect toxicity. In some dogs, just a few grapes were enough to develop poisoning.

With raisins being included in many processed foods like jellies, trial mix, cereals, baked goods and health bars, it is important to know the ingredients before allowing your dogs to have a bite.

Cherries

Cherries, like grapes, pose a fatal risk to dogs because they are known to cause severe or deadly health issues. Cherries contain cyanide, which is extremely toxic to dogs. Cyanide is contained in the cherry’s pit. When a dog chews a cherry, they crush the pit and that releases the toxin. Cyanide toxicity can be deadly within minutes. Even a small amount of cyanide consumption will cause salivation, rapid or difficulty breathing, and even convulsions and paralysis.

If your dog consumes any amount of cherries or leaves from a cherry tree and begins to show symptoms, it is of vital importance to take them straight to a veterinarian for emergency treatment. Treatment for cyanide, if done in a quick enough time, is very affective. However, if a dog is left without treatment, cyanide toxicity carries a very poor prognosis.

Avocado

An avocado pit, skin, and leaves contain persin, a toxin that causes vomiting and diarrhea in dogs. Even the fleshy insides of the fruit still have lower levels of persin when compared to the rest of the fruit, but the levels are still higher than what a dog should consume. Besides the potential toxic persin, the skins and pit of the avocado can cause obstruction in the esophagus, stomachs, and intestinal tracts. Pancreatitis can also be caused by consumption of avocadoes, possibly due to their high fat content. With this said, you should avoid feeding your dog avocadoes. Should your dog happen to consume a small amount though, no emergency medical care is required.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes made this list because of the plant itself more than the fruit. A ripe tomato will not be harmful to your dog, but any green part of the plant is toxic to them. This includes leaves, stems, and flowers of the tomato plant, as these contain a toxin called solanine. If your dog does happen to consume some leaves or stems from your tomato plant, it is only concerning if they consume a large amount. Solanine toxicity in dogs results in severe gastrointestinal distress with symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, but can also cause lethargy, weakness, and confusion in your dog. Be careful before you throw your dog a fresh tomato from your garden.

Conclusion

It is important to remember that a dog’s digestive system is different than that of humans. Foods that are perfectly safe for us are not always safe for dogs and can sometimes be very poisonous. Considering that dogs are carnivores, they don’t need fruits as part of their diets, but there can be some health benefits to the occasional treat. If you decide to offer your dog a fruit treat, please be mindful of the four fruits listed in this article.

Thank you for reading!

Michael Cassatt, LCS Director of Marketing

Want to learn more about vegetables that you can give to your dog? Check out our 10 Vegetables For Your Dog.