If you try to look for lists of healthiest foods for humans, and you will surely find avocado there. Known for being an amazingly healthy fruit, it’s no surprise if pet owners want to see if they can feed avocadoes to their pets. However, you have probably learned that not everything right for you is right for your canine too.
Can dogs eat avocado, then? Before you give in to those cute eyes begging for one bite, read on to discover everything about this healthy fruit. We also included necessary information on its health benefits and some suggestions on how to feed them suitably to your pet.
When pitted and peeled, avocados are great treats for your dog. It also contains amazing health benefits for you and your pet.
According to experts, avocados contain some anti-inflammatory fat. Avocadoes are generally healthy; thus, when given in smaller quantities, it is safe for your dog. They also noticed that avocados are a great source of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats. However, vets also agree that avocados are not something that canines must have in their diet.
A pet given with properly formulated and high-quality diet should not require any extra nutrients from other food sources. Professionals also claim that the avocado fruit must be treated more like a supplement instead of something that is part of their meal.
When your pet loves the taste of the fruit, you can use it as an occasional treat for them. The general rule for canines is that the treats should be the size of a blueberry. But because dogs don’t chew and they swallow their treats whole, they don’t care at all about how much they get. They always focus on how many they can get, so pet parents should be responsible for giving proper portions of their treat.
Is Avocado Good For Dogs?
Avocados are said to be a superfood. It gives both you and your pet several of the best nutrients.
Below are some of the notable benefits of avocados:
- An excellent source of dietary fiber
- High potassium content
- Rich in essential omega fatty acids and healthy fats
- A good help for the coat condition and skin health of your canine
- Anti-inflammatory
- Contains antioxidants which benefit your pet’s immune system
- Rich in vitamins A, E, and C
- A great niacin source
- Rich in folate
- One of the best protein sources among fruits as it contains 18 amino acids which are great for muscle development
How many avocados can dogs eat?
Avocados should never be your pet’s main meal. Instead, this should only be a tiny supplement in their daily diet.
You have to remember that avocados are among the fruits with the highest fat content. It only means that your pooch might end up eating more amounts of fat than recommended for them. Keep in mind that feeding them an excessive amount of avocadoes may also lead to a higher level of fat in your pet.
Although avocado is a fruit, its fat content can is similar to olives. And if you are not too careful, your pet might get fatten up quickly. More so, too many avocadoes an even lead to canine obesity. Your canines may also develop pancreatitis and suffer from this condition for the rest of their lives.
What Should You Do When Your Pet Eats Avocado?
There are times when your dog eats things you don’t want them to. As far as avocados are concerned, the pit is the most significant danger. Avocado pits are full of persin, which are a severe choking hazard. In case you suspect that your pet has accidentally swallowed the avocado pit, don’t think twice and call your vet right away.
While there is no lasting damage if your pet accidentally ate a tiny bit of avocado fruit, it is still a must to monitor him closely. It is also better that you play it safe and contact your vet.
How Safely Serve Avocado to Your Pet
Before you give a bite of avocado to your pet, don’t forget to remove its pits. Likewise, you should never provide avocado leaves, seeds, and bark to your pooch. Make sure that you are only feeding them avocado flesh and nothing more.
You must remove the pit before you feed the avocado to your pet as it can block his esophagus, intestinal tract, or stomach. It will then lead to serious health problems, which can be life-threatening.
As for the peel of the fruit, there are two reasons why you should not feed this to your pet.
One, it lacks any added benefit to your canine. Secondly, dogs that get to eat the peel face the risk of experiencing stomach upset and digestive problems.
Avocado Toxicity: Signs and Symptoms to Watch Out For
It is important to know that this fruit is also associated with a plethora of issues in many animals such as horses, cattle, sheep, goats, fish, birds, and rodents. Avocado contains persin that can cause heart failure, mastitis, and death. The highest concentration of Persin is in the leaves of this plant. Similarly, it is also present in the stem, seeds, and fruit. Dogs are more resistant to Persin compared to other animals.
On the other hand, it doesn’t mean avocados are safe for the dogs. Every part of the plant may cause diarrhea and vomiting. Also, avocados are among the top human foods that may cause harm to dogs.
If you have an avocado tree in your yard, ensure that you keep your garden free from avocado branches, debris, and leaves that your dog might access. If you are growing avocado pits in your kitchen, make sure that your dog will not be able to reach it. Once your dog ingests any parts of avocado, look for signs of toxicity like constipation, diarrhea, and vomiting.
The nutritional advantages found in the avocados are available in several pet foods. A known organization for dogs stated that pet owners be wary of avocado meals and oil present in commercial pet foods. These may pose hazards to your pet dogs and cats. Since there are dogs sensitive to persin, they may experience symptoms similar to avocado toxicity with these types of dog food. Therefore, pet parents must check dog food products to ensure that it does not contain any avocado ingredients.
Possible Side Effects of Giving Avocados to Your Dog
Avocado flesh may be good for dogs, but make sure to remove pits before feeding them to your pet. It’s the most dangerous part since this may cause an intestinal or gastric blockage. Vomiting is also the main sign associated with this obstruction. Another possible issue associated with giving avocados to your dog is its high-fat content.
Feeding dogs too many avocados could lead to weight gain and pancreatitis. This condition can become a severe and life-threatening health condition. Although avocados are safe for dogs, remember that it may be harmful or toxic to some animals in your house. Likewise, avocados are poisonous to rabbits, goats, birds, and horses.
If you have some questions regarding the diet of your dog, ensure that you talk to your vet, who will be able to help you determine an excellent food for your dog. In case the dog exhibits vomiting, lack of stool production, or diarrhea after consuming several pieces of avocado, contact your vet immediately.
Check for Avocado Ingredients in Dog Foods
Pet parents choose high-quality dog foods that are made just for them. Thus, you might also be wondering about dog food that contains avocado in the list of ingredients. Likewise, you might even be wondering whether dog food manufacturers consider the amount of persin from the avocado that goes into the dog food.
There are good news and bad news for dog owners. The good news is, once you stick to well-known names in the industry, you will get a product that is safe and healthy for your pet. These companies use avocados with a minimal amount of persin. Therefore, there ninety-nine percent guarantee that your dog won’t experience avocado toxicity. On the other hand, the bad news is, once you try to compensate for quality with a cheaper cost in dog foods, you risk having a sick pet. More affordable products may mean that the company did not test the amount of persin in its dog foods. It also means that the risk is there for dogs to suffer from the toxicity if there are high amounts of Persin in dog foods.
It’s especially true for the brands that are new and still making a name in the industry and those brands that will promise you everything just for you to purchase their products and disappear after they recall products for testing further. The best and reputable dog food manufacturers use avocados in dog foods, but ensure that they only included a particular amount of these fruits to avoid any problems that would affect the health of the dogs. In addition to that, they ensure that their dog foods have undergone a series of lab tests to make sure that they would provide nothing but health benefits for dogs.
Things to Remember If You Have a Garden with Avocado
Suppose you have a garden at home with avocado trees around, attention to the following essential points. Make sure that your dog doesn’t come into contact with an avocado tree or plant. If they do, there is a significant risk that they will chew or try to eat some of its parts. It is extremely dangerous for your pets. The leaves, pit, and bark of avocados pose of high toxicity risk for your dog.
Prevention is an excellent way to keep the avocados away from your dog. Talk to your children about the dangers of feeding particular human foods like avocado to dogs. You may also print out a list of vegetables and fruits that dogs can and cannot eat. Doing this will keep everybody in your household updated.
However, in some cases, the danger may come from elsewhere. Guests might try to offer your dog some bites of guacamole chips and dip while at your home. Also, some dogs have a way of breaking into the garbage can to sneak on some treats.
Thus, pay attention to your dog at the parties where they serve avocados. Also, you may invest in dog-proof garbage cans to keep pets away from hazardous foods.
The Bottom Line
You can still feed your avocado to your dog despite the rumors. The toxicity of this fruit comes from persin. This substance affects birds and horses much more than dogs. If you want to feed avocados to your dog and your dog loves it so much, you can give them small portions of it.
Make sure to remove the skin and seed before giving them to canines. Likewise, avocadoes are fatty and might pack on the pounds, minimize feeding portions.
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