If you are looking to add some healthy nutritious and delicious fruits to your dog’s diet, you may be wondering – can dogs eat bananas?
In this article, we will look at how safe and healthy bananas are for dogs, and explore some creative ways to feed bananas to your pet dog.
In this article, we will discuss the following:
- Are bananas safe for dogs to eat?
- When are bananas not good for dogs?
- What to do if your dogs eat a whole banana with the skin
- What are the health benefits of bananas for dogs?
- How to feed bananas to dogs
Yes, dogs can eat bananas.
Bananas are high in potassium, vitamin B6, and vitamin C. Bananas are an excellent treat for your dog.
Are Bananas Safe For Dogs To Eat?
When it comes to feeding fruit to our pets, there are some fruits that we must avoid like the plague.
Grapes, for example, are toxic to dogs, and can be highly dangerous even in small amounts! Luckily bananas are one of the fruits that dogs can enjoy safely because they are not toxic, and most dogs love them.
Despite bananas being on the safe list of fruits for your dog, there are still essential things to consider when feeding this fruit, and we are going to explore some of these in the next section.
When Are Bananas Not Good For Dogs?
Bananas do not come ready to eat, as we all know, we must first peel back that tough fibrous yellow skin that protects the soft, sweet and delicious fruit inside, keeping it safe from bugs and birds.
Your dog, of course, isn’t able to peel a banana for himself, and so please don’t just throw your dog a banana and leave him to it.
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The peel of a banana is thankfully not toxic to dogs, but it is extremely tough and hard to digest.
This means that if your dog eats a chunk of the peel while trying to access the fleshy fruit inside, the peel could easily cause a blockage in your dog’s digestive tract, and this could be very dangerous for your dog.
We will look a little closer to this scenario in the next section of the article.
The fruit is also very high in fiber, and if your dog is let loose on the fruit bowl without any supervision if they enjoy them, they are likely to eat far too many bananas. This could lead to severe constipation due to the high fiber content.
You should also be careful to feed ripe bananas so that your dog can benefit fully from the nutritional content.
But don’t wait until the banana is fully speckled as this is the point when the banana will be at its sweetest, meaning that it will contain higher levels of sugar, which your dog doesn’t need.
Can Dogs Eat Bananas?
It is not advised to feed bananas to puppies, or at least not very often. This is because the added calories can interfere with the particular diet that a puppy needs, which is intended to help them fully develop as they grow into mature adult dogs.
Usually, when you add treats to a dog’s diets, you must reduce the amount of their main meal so as not to overfeed them and avoid weight gain.
When you do this in the case of a puppy, you could be depriving them of essential nutrients that they need from their leading food for healthy growth.
And if you don’t adjust their main meal, then the added calories can contribute towards weight gain, which isn’t suitable for their development either.
What To Do If Your Dog Eats A Whole Banana Including The Skin
You probably won’t ever intentionally feed your dog a whole banana with the skin on. Still, they are likely to help themselves to one from your fruit bowl if they have access to it, especially if they are adept at counter surfing or have the help of a feline friend to swipe one of the pile onto the floor for him – hey, it could happen!
If you do find yourself in the awkward situation of your dog eating an entire banana with the skin on, your first instinct may be to panic. Most likely, there is nothing to panic about, though.
See Also: Can dogs eat strawberries?
Neither the banana nor the skin is toxic for your dog, and providing that your dog is not choking, their body will probably reject the banana due to not being able to handle the high fiber content. This means that mostly your dog will vomit it back up again.
If your dog experiences vomiting or diarrhea, the symptoms should clear up within a few hours. During this time, you should keep an eye on your dog and make sure that he has access to water.
If you are concerned about your dog during this time, then calling your veterinarian for advice can help to put your mind at ease.
What Are The Health Benefits For Bananas For Dogs?
We have already mentioned that bananas are high in fiber, and this can be a good thing for your dog when fed in moderation, especially if your dog is suffering from gastrointestinal issues.
The magnesium content of bananas is very beneficial for healthy bone growth, as it assists the body in producing protein and absorbing vitamins.
Bananas are not as nutritious as you might think, however. This is mainly due to the minimal amounts of banana that you are likely to feed to your dog. These small servings will hardly make a difference to your dog’s overall health.
Bananas do contain potassium, which is suitable for dogs, and also vitamin C and B6, but if you are feeding your dog high-quality dog food, they will be getting all of the nutrients they need from their main meal anyway.
It is more realistic to think of bananas as a tasty treat that your dog will love, and that isn’t going to be detrimental to their health, like many of the other treats and snacks that people tend to feed their dogs in between meals because bananas are low in sodium and cholesterol.
Most other foods we sneak to our dogs as leftovers fro the table are either fatty or salty, let’s be honest now.
How To Feed Bananas To Dogs
There are many creative ways to feed bananas to dogs, and this is perhaps why they are such a popular treat or snack.
Here are some great ideas that you and your dog will love!
- Mash the banana up and fill your dog’s Kong or another hollowed-out dog toy so that your dog can lick the mixture out at a leisurely pace.
- Freeze your Dog’s Kong with the banana mixture inside of it so that it lasts even longer and provides your dog with a cooling treat and excellent boredom buster on a hot summer’s day.
- Freeze bananas and then mash them up in a food processor to make cold “nice-cream.” This is a great vegan ice-cream idea for humans, and an excellent doggie ice-cream too. You can get even more creative and add other ingredients such as peanut butter. Just make sure that the peanut butter is of the safe variety and doesn’t contain any added ingredients that may be toxic for your dog, like xylitol, which is an artificial sweetener found in some brands of peanut butter.
- Chop banana up into small pieces to feed to your dog as treats or use as training treats.
- Freeze small pieces of banana on a flat tray in your freezer, ensuring that there is a gap in between each one so that they don’t stick. Your dog will enjoy them even more, when they are cold and frozen. Freezing fruits and other foods for your dog changes the texture and makes them even more exciting.
- Mash the banana up and add it to your dog’s kibble to change the taste and texture of your dog’s main meal, making it even more enjoyable.
- Freeze a banana whole and then peel and slice it into coins afterward to serve to your lucky dog.
- Make banana dog treats, biscuits, cakes, and add other ingredients that your dog will like for even more fun, flavor, and texture.
- Mash up the banana and freeze into lolly molds for your dog using a dog-friendly chew as the stick.
- Hide pieces of frozen banana in the room for your dog to find, or for a less messy experience, chuck the pieces out into the grass for your dog to sniff out. This will provide your dog with great mental stimulation as well as a yummy treat, and there will be no mess when the pieces melt.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can dogs eat bananas?
Yes, dogs can eat bananas. Bananas are high in potassium, vitamin B6, and vitamin C. Bananas are an excellent treat for your dog.
Do bananas give dogs diarrhea?
Some dogs experience diarrhea if they eat too much banana, while others may experience constipation.
Can dogs eat banana peels?
Although banana peels are not toxic to dogs, it’s not recommended that you give your dog any. Best to peel the banana before giving to your dog.
Summary
Banana is an excellent idea for a healthy snack or treats for your dog. They are fun to serve up, and dogs seem to love them. If your dog isn’t keen on fresh banana, he will probably love it frozen instead.