Can Dogs Eat Fruit?

The short answer to can dogs eat fruit is…yes!  Obviously, if your dog has particular dietary requirements, then it’s best to check with your vet, but on the whole, fresh fruit and veg is great.

HOWEVER, there is one caveat to that – for your dog to get the nutrition from the fruit and for him to be able to digest the produce, it ideally needs to be broken down…i.e. bashed, mashed, smooshed or grated and ground, to release the goodness.  A dog’s digestive system is a lot shorter than say, ours, so doesn’t have that much time to break things down.

In the wild, a wolf (our domestic friends differ by only 2%), eats the fruit and veg mostly from the contents of their preys stomach, where it is already semi-digested; so we need to replicate this as much as we can to benefit our pets digestion.

Can dogs eat fruit with the skin on?

Absolutely.  You may want to remove things like the skin from bananas, the peel from oranges and grapefruits, or the hairy outside of a kiwi – I don’t think anyone, or dog, would like to eat those.  But keeping the skin on things like apples and peaches adds to the nutrition.  HOWEVER…

Again, I have one caveat – that you use organic produce.  If you don’t,  then yes, remove the skin, as this is where most of the chemicals and pesticides will be held.

If you would like some ideas of using fruit and veg in treats for your dog, then check out our eBook, which gives you 7 great recipes and step-by-step instructions for creating the perfect, healthy treat

If you’ve got any ideas on fruit and veg recipes for your dog, or any questions, then let us know.

Stay fruity!