Should you feed bananas to your dog? Can dogs safely digest bananas?
Among all the kinds of fruit available on the market, it would be safe to say bananas are among the most popular. Tasty, oh so portable, and loaded with key nutrients like potassium, bananas are definitely a hit with us humans. But what about our furry four-legged canine companions?
Can dogs digest bananas? Are bananas even safe for dogs?
The short answer: ABSOLUTELY! If you think bananas are yummy, your pooch will have the same impression about these yellow packets of nutritional goodness.
Can dogs consume bananas?
Most dog owners love sharing their food with their canine best friends. In fact, many do it almost automatically. It seems that when dog owners enjoy a tasty, organic, and healthy snack under the watchful eye of their pet, they quickly start thinking about sharing their food with their dog.
Well, if you’ve been curious about the safety of sharing your tasty natural banana snack with your furry friend, wonder no more. Bananas are perfectly fine for dogs!
Of course, a little bit of moderation goes a long way. As naturally delicious as bananas may be, they do pack quite a bit of sugar so you might want to give Fido a modest portion and only once in a while. Your dog might pack on quite a few pounds if you feed him or her a banana every time you eat one. You might want to treat your pet to a banana only on special occasions.
Can Dogs Safely Eat Bananas?
Yes. Dogs can safely consume bananas. Indeed, these tropical fruits are loaded with lots of nutrients doggies need like potassium, dietary fiber, biotin, and so much more. Not only are bananas safe for dogs, they can also eat related products such as banana chips. Just make sure the fruits or banana-based products your dog eats have zero to very low levels of salts and sugars. Also, make sure not to overfeed your pet with bananas. Dogs can suffer diarrhea if fed too many bananas. Don’t overdo it. A little bit of moderation can go a long way.
Are Bananas Toxic Or Healthy? Here’s a Quick Nutritional Breakdown
Bananas don’t pose a toxic threat to dogs. Bananas don’t contain a compound that can poison your pooch. Instead, these curved pieces of tropical fruity goodness pack quite a bit of healthy natural sugar. As long as you feed bananas to your dog in moderation, the fruit’s sugar content won’t pose a health risk.
If your pet is physically active and generally healthy, it should be able to quickly burn up bananas’ sugar content for a quick burst of energy. Bananas may just be what your dog needs the next time you take your pooch to the beach or nearby dog park. Just make sure you base the size of your pet’s banana dog treats to his or her physical activity level.
Our canine companions need their daily dose of vitamins and minerals
Bananas pack quite a bit of health benefits. First, each serving contains the following nutrients, vitamins, and minerals:
- Protein
- Manganese
- Amino acids
- Copper
- Biotin
- Dietary fiber
- Electrolytes
- Potassium
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin C
Many dogs’ routine diets lack many of the nutrients, minerals, and/or vitamins listed above. To make sure our dogs stay in tiptop shape, we need to make sure they get their required minimum daily intake of key vitamins and minerals.
Even though you might just give your pooch an occasional banana snack, this odd tropical fruit treat goes a long way, nutritionally speaking. Bananas contain Vitamins C and B which, respectively, boost the immune system and fight anemia. These compounds help ensure your four-legged companion remains virile and in great shape.
Bananas are also a ‘go to’ source for potassium-an element crucial for bone strength and health. Paired with the manganese also found in banana, potassium helps keep your dog’s blood vessels healthy and its blood pressure normal.
If your dog is very high energy, you might be excited to discover the calming effect manganese has on the hyperactive canine.
Bananas contain relatively few calories on a gram per gram basis. In fact, it is a great low-fat, low-sodium, and zero cholesterol option.
If the benefits above aren’t enough to excite you, it also comes with its own easy to dispose of container that is bug-resistant, tamper-proof, and spill-proof.
As healthy and fiber-packed as the banana fruit is, its peel is also a great source of dietary fiber. Dogs need fiber to regulate their bowel movements. Be careful about feeding your canine companion banana peels though. This part of the banana fruit contains quite a bit of fiber and smaller breeds might have a tough time digesting peels.
Pay close attention to your dog after you feed him or her part of a banana peel. You’ll be able to see if this is a good nutritional option for your pet depending on how he or she reacts. First, don’t freak out if your pet throws up after eating a peel. Your pet might just be in the habit of swallowing its food instead of thoroughly chewing it first.
If your dog vomits after eating banana peels, learn from the experience. You might want to cut back on the number of peels you feed it. You might also want to feed your dog smaller peel pieces. This might give your dog a greater opportunity to chew the peel. Encourage it to chew the peel.
If you decide not to give banana peel treats to your dog, you can still use these banana fruit leftovers as skin rubs to help soothe inflamed or itchy skin after a bug bite.
If your dog has kidney disease or went through kidney failure, your pet will definitely benefit if you add more vegetables and fruits to your pet’s diet. Bananas can definitely be a very welcome addition to kidney health-boosting canine diets.
What Fruits and Veggies Can Doggies Eat?
Now that you know that bananas are okay for your dog, which seasonal veggies and fruit should you consider? The American Kennel Club advises you to AVOID feeding the following to your pooch:
- Grapes
- Cherries
- Apricots
- Avocados
- Apple seeds
Use the following fruits as alternatives to the ‘off limits‘ items listed above: (Just make sure to feed your pet moderate amounts of these)
- Blackberries
- Raspberry
- Blueberries
- Apples (with seeds removed!)
- Oranges
- Pumpkins
- Strawberries
- Carrots
- Cantaloupe
- Pears
- Broccoli
- Potatoes
- Pineapple
- Peaches
- Watermelon
What is the maximum amount of banana you can feed your dog?
You should feed your dog only a moderate amount of bananas. But what does this mean exactly? What is the maximum serving you can give your pet? It depends on the size of your dog. If you have a toy breed to the small-sized dog, less than a quarter of the average size banana fruit is enough. Serve this treat only one time or maybe two times a week. If you have a larger breed pooch, you can give your dog half a regular-sized banana for up to two times a week.
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Make sure to feed banana in small pieces. It’s a good idea to mash up banana pieces and mix this into your pet’s food. This ensures your dog will ingest the banana properly.
Be on the lookout for signs of a blocked intestine. You would need to rush your doggie to a vet if this happens. How would you know? Check for signs of a bad banana reaction like intestinal purging through diarrhea and/or vomiting or constipation. Make sure to tell your vet that your canine companion ate a banana. Give details on how much banana your pet consumed and your best guess on when your dog ate the item.
Potential Side Effects of Bananas Fed to Dogs
There’s no such thing as a perfect food and when it comes to feeding bananas to furry friends, there can be downsides. The key to avoiding these possible downsides is moderation. If you’ve been feeding bananas to your pooch to regularize it is ‘going,’ allowing it to munch down on large quantities of this fruit can actually produce opposite effects. Your dog might get constipated. Also, bananas are so loaded with potassium, your dog’s system might not be able to handle it well.
Which Healthy Banana Products Can You Get at Your Local Store?
Dogs can safely eat the most commonly available banana varieties stocked by stores. That’s right-even plantains! Just make sure the banana fruit you choose to feed your pet is ripe enough and good for eating. This means keeping an eye out for rotting or spoiled bananas. The good news is if your dog can smell that the banana is spoiled, it probably won’t eat it anyway. Still, you can’t be so sure.
The Ultimate Doggie Banana Treat Recipe List Your Pooch Will Love
Follow these tips if you want to make your pet happy with a great banana treat
Raw and Easy Options
Mash: Just mash up fresh banana slices for a quick messy yet tasty treat or mix the mash in with your pet’s food.
Frozen Slices: Slice up a banana and freeze the pieces for a cool treat in the middle of summer.
Cooked banana treat options
Banana chips
There are many store-bought chip products you can buy. Just make sure there’s no added sugar since bananas already contain enough sugar.
If you’d like to make your own homemade banana chips, just fire up the oven and load it up with a baking sheet lined with 1/2 inch banana slices.
Banana and Peanut Butter Dog Treats
You can find recipes for these amazing balls of peanut butter, oats, and bananas on the Web.
How to help your dog eat Bananas?
If your pooch is being picky with his or her banana treat, try the following tips
First, see if your dog’s avoidance of bananas is not health-related. If your dog is usually a hearty eater, check with your vet to get to the bottom of his banana avoidance.
Second, mash up bananas and mix it in with food your doggie normally loves! For instance, if your dog loves chicken meals, mix in some banana.
Are Bananas Good Enough to Feed to Dogs? Can Dogs Enjoy Bananas?
Whether you have a small toy dog a lapdog, or a big dog standing guard over you and your household ( Read: A Guide To Choose Dog Sizes), you can rest easy in the fact that your canine companion can enjoy a banana treat from time to time. Just follow the guidelines listed above and you and your pet should be fine.