One of our favorite ways to help our dogs cool down is to give them a frozen treat or two throughout the day. An easy thing to do in the summer is to cut up fruits and vegetables and keep them in an airtight container in your freezer. Give them to your dog as a fun treat plain, or put them in a Kong and freeze for a longer lasting treat. The best part, all of the fruits and vegetables below hold great nutritional value for canines too!
Although these snacks are great ways to keep your dog cool and healthy, keep in mind there are some fruits and vegetables that you should avoid feeding your dog including avocado, cherries, grapes (and raisins), tomatoes, asparagus, mushrooms and onions. As always, make sure to supervise your dog when feeding them any treat.
Oxbow Simple Rewards Freeze-Dried Banana Small Animal Treats
Made with 100% freeze-dried banana and no added sugar, these are a great source of Vitamin B6 and potassium and contain no artificial colors or preservatives. Feed one-to-two treats a day.
Fruit that Dogs Should Not Eat
Some fruits should be off-limits to dogs, as they can cause some serious health issues. These include:
RELATED: How to Know if Your Dog Has Eaten Something Toxic
This quest for the right diet and the right treats for your dog is not about strict regimens, unless youre working with a veterinary nutritionist trying to help your dog with a serious medical issue. Even for Prantil in those situations, its about compromise, she says.
“Some people say their dog loves kale,” Prantil says. “Others say fruit. Others say packaged dog treats. There are strong opinions about the main diet, but with treats, people are all over the place.”
So make sure that your fruit picks are non-toxic (see above and check with your veterinarian) and that they agree with your dogs belly (youll know soon enough). Then relax and enjoy some one-on-one time out there with a few pieces of Mother Natures sugary reward, just you and your dog.
Fruit Dogs CAN or CAN’T EAT?
If you’re like a lot of pet parents, you might have wondered at some point about what fruits can dogs eat. Maybe you accidentally dropped a piece of banana on the floor or were snacking on apple slices and felt tempted to give into pleading puppy eyes. Can dogs safety eat fruit? The happy answer is that yes, there are a handful of fruits that are perfectly fine to dish up to your dog in small amounts.
To discover what fruits can dogs eat —as well as a few fruits dogs should not eat—we reached out to two veterinarians. Here is their advice what’s okay, how to prepare these approved fresh fruits and how much of each to give your dog.