Who hasn’t heard of the benefits of avocado for human health? These fresh and healthy fruits contain unsaturated fats, which is why doctors often recommend eating avocados every day. Not only do they taste amazing, but they also have significant benefits for our hearts, mind, and skin. But are avocados also beneficial for our pets?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this is the question that hundreds of dog-owners worldwide frequently ask. Yes, we do want to provide healthy fruits and snacks for our dogs to help them feel healthy. But can dogs eat avocados? Are avocados safe for dogs? If so, how can we prepare a decent meal for them or how can we avoid potential problems?
In this Happy Garden blog, we’ll try to answer these questions and cover all of the issues regarding the risks and benefits of avocados for your dog’s well-being. Let’s start with the most important question.
Even though it does not appear to be a difficult question, there is no single answer that applies to all situations. Avocados, like any other fruit or vegetable, can be eaten by your dog. But unfortunately, avocados can be dangerous for dogs and lead to possible side effects such as toxicosis.
The main reason why avocados are considered harmful for dogs is that they contain a harmful substance called persin. It’s an oil-soluble fungicide that is hard for a dog’s digestive system to process. Surprisingly, persins aren’t harmful to humans and, what’s more, based on some scientific studies, they are often used in the process of treating breast cancer. However, it’s considered toxic for dogs.
Nevertheless, not all types of avocados are considered risky for dogs to eat. The truth is that, if you make sure that the product is fresh and you prepare the meal properly, it can even benefit your dog’s health. Having said that, it’s important to note that people don’t eat the edible parts of avocados. Instead, the only parts of avocados that contain persins are leaves, seeds, skin, pits, and bark.
Therefore, you shouldn’t give your dog a completely peeled avocado, but a properly made meal is completely safe for them to eat.
According to the Animal Poison Control Center (APCC), avocado toxicity has become one of the most common problems among dogs in recent years. The reason is the increased popularity of avocados among people who try to live healthy lives. However, they rarely realize that things that are beneficial for their physical and mental health might be harmful to dogs. And avocado is a good example of this.
If you include avocados in your diet and enjoy sharing your food with your dog, then chances are that this will lead to serious symptoms in your dog, such as vomiting and diarrhea, as well as general weakness, mood changes, or agitation. In rare cases, the ingestion of avocado might even end fatally for some species of animals.
As you already understand that peeled avocados are safe for dogs to eat, you might naturally come to a question: is it safe for dogs to eat guacamole too?
Well, the answer still varies. Before we jump to a conclusion, you should know that sometimes even fruits that are prepared based on high standards can lead to gastrointestinal problems in animals. The reason is that not every dog is able to process food that contains high-fat content. And since 100 grams of avocado contains about 15 grams of fat, high quantities of guacamole or any other type of avocado meal can be harmful.
Consequently, veterinarians don’t consider guacamole a completely safe food for your dogs. It’s especially true when guacamole contains too much salt, onions, tomatoes, or garlic. The combination of these ingredients often leads to an upset stomach in dogs, which, in turn, can result in digestion problems.
If you’re an avocado consumer and feel worried about your dog’s health, it’s important to determine specific strategies to keep your dog away from avocados. In order to prevent your dog’s health adversaries due to eating avocados, here’s what you can do:
Since avocados aren’t really a proper choice of food for your dog, you may naturally wonder where you can get healthy treats for them or how you can satisfy their needs without any concerns.
Here are some of the most popular options for healthy snacks and treats for your dogs:
Overall, if you take all the necessary precautions when preparing avocado meals for your dogs, you can feed them this fruit. However, considering the dangers it contains for your dog’s health, vets never recommend dog owners include avocados in their pets’ diets.
That’s why we recommend getting other types of healthy snacks for your beloved pets. If you take a look at the Happy Garden shop page, you can easily discover various types of healthy treats for dogs, cats, and pets that come in different forms and dosages.
