The summer spirit is slowly changing my day-to-day habits. Instead of lazing about in the house, I find myself enjoying sunbathing and working in my backyard. I recently relaxed in my backyard chair while enjoying some dragon when I decided to rush inside and grab my outdoor umbrella stand to safeguard myself from the scorching sun. As I returned, I realized that my plate of dragon fruit is missing a few pieces, and I spotted my beagle roaming nearby. Once I called my beagle over, I noticed he had reddish-pink stains on this otherwise white snout. I asked him, “Charlie, have you been eating my dragon fruit?” Charlie responded by squinting his eyes and avoiding eye contact.
Can dogs eat dragon fruit?
The short answer is Yes. This fruit is non-toxic, and it offers numerous benefits. It is sweet and packed with vitamins. Some dogs love its soft texture and unique taste, whereas others don’t.
Health benefits of dragon fruit for dogs
Some of the benefits that your canine will enjoy after eating dragon fruit include high concentrations of vitamin c, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, iron, and calcium.
Vitamin C improves your dog’s immunity against numerous diseases, including canine cancers. Fiber helps regulate your dog’s weight and digestion while also trapping and removing toxins present in your dog’s digestive system. Omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammations in dogs and also improves cognitive development and coat condition. Calcium and iron promote healthy dog bones while also safeguarding your pooch from cardiovascular diseases. These two micronutrients also prevent anemia in dogs.
Can dragon fruits be harmful to canines?
Feeding unprepared dragon fruit to your dog can result in digestive complications. These tropical fruits typically have a spiky, leathery outer skin that is hard to chew and digest.
Also, allowing your dog to consume too much dragon fruit can cause stomach upsets and diarrhea. Since this fruit also has a high natural sugar content, too much of it can raise your dog’s blood sugar levels leading to weight gain, dental issues, and diabetes. Therefore, it would be best to moderate the amount of dragon fruit (pitaya) that your dog consumes.
What dragon fruits can dogs eat?
Dogs can eat pink, purple, red, and yellow dragon fruits. All of them provide similar health benefits, but purple pitaya has beta carotene, which is beneficial to your dog’s eyes.
In contrast, yellow pitaya tends to offer the highest vitamin c content among all other varieties. How to feed dragon fruit to dogs? When feeding your dog some dragon fruit, always ensure you remove its leathery skin first. Begin by giving your canine one tablespoon of pitaya fruit and see how they’ll react for up to 12 hours. After that, you can provide your canine with 2-3 tablespoons of dragon fruit every other day. You can quickly tell whether your dog loves this fruit by looking for the following signs when you start preparing or eating dragon fruit; lip licking, begging for more, tail wagging, and puppy eyes.
What foods can you give to your canine instead of dragon fruits?
By feeding your dog some fish oil, yogurt, green beans, sweet potatoes, strawberries, and steamed broccoli, they can gain similar nutritional benefits (vitamin c, iron, omega-3, etc.) associated with dragon fruit consumption. However, since all these nutrients are available in the pitaya and this fruit poses relatively few health risks, it would be better to feed your dog some dragon fruit instead of searching for all these other foods.
Are dogs allergic to dragon fruits?
Pitayas are typically non-toxic to dogs, but rare allergic reactions can occur. If your dog is allergic to dragon fruit, you’ll notice hives, vomiting, and other gastrointestinal issues such as diarrhea.
Suppose your canine suffers an allergic reaction to dragon fruit. In that case, your vet can prescribe antihistamine or steroidal medication to alleviate the issue and advise you on avoiding future incidents.
Can diabetic dogs eat dragon fruit? A
lthough pitaya is sugar, recent animal studies indicate that dragon fruit consumption helps to reduce hypertension also has an anti-diabetic effect. Dragon fruit promotes the regeneration of pancreatic cells that generate insulin, a crucial hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. Therefore, feeding small amounts of dragon fruit to your diabetic dog can prove beneficial. Also, your diabetic dog will receive numerous micronutrients that will improve its overall health.
