One beautiful evening, while chatting with my family, I noticed my dog staring at a bowl of goji berries on the table, but I ignored it because we were having an interesting conversation.
After finishing up, I was about to clean the dishes but the phone rang! When I got back from the conference call, I could only see an empty bowl and my dog’s face covered in berries. It was cute, but I was worried because I didn’t know if dogs could eat berries.
Can dogs eat goji berries?
Yes, your dog can eat goji berries. Neither fresh or dried goji berries (or wolfberry) are toxic to dogs. They are high in vitamin A, riboflavin, iron, copper, and selenium. As with other fruits, they do contain sugar so only feed them as an occasional treat. If it’s your first time feeding your dog goji berry, observe them for any adverse effects. Goji berries imported from China may have high levels of insecticide and fungicide residue.
Benefits of berries for dog
Berries have high vitamin contents that keep your dog’s skin and heart healthy. It is high in fibre and supports a healthy gut also is low in calories and can be a great snack option for your dog. It not only protects cells from damage but also supports bone health.
Are there any danger associated with berries?
There are some berries that a dog should not eat that are toxic to them like gooseberries, salmonberries, dogwood berries, juniper berries, pokeberries, holly berries etc. Eating too many berries can also cause problems like vomiting.
How should I serve berries to my dog?
There are a lot of ways by which you can feed your dog berries but the easiest and yummy ones are.
- Frozen berries – it is the easiest way to feed berries to your dog in the days of summer, all you have to do is just to freeze them. You can give your dog frozen berries as treats for performing tricks.
- Yoghurt berries – you can mix berries with yoghurt and freeze them to make a perfect snack for your dog.
- Mashed berries – only giving your dog berries is not enough so you can mash berries with the dog food to make it more delicious.
How many berries should be given to a dog?
Portion control with every vegetable or fruit is important as the treats should comprise only 10% of your dog’s diet. If the dog is small then 8 to 10 berries are enough. If you have a large dog then try to mash the berries before giving them as they can eat the berries without chewing it and this can cause choking or stomach ache.
The food you can give other than berries to your dog
There is a long list of food items that you can give your dog instead of berries like apples, papaya, eggs, oats, banana, cranberries, nuts, quinoa, chia, seaweed, fish, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, carrots, parsley, chicken, turkey, lamb, duck, goat meat, beef etc.
Are dogs allergic to berries?
Technically it is safe to feed berries to dogs as they are not allergic to all kinds of berries but yes some berries are not good for dogs. The list of them is mentioned above.
What if a diabetic dog eats berries?
Berries are low sugar food and if a diabetic dog eats it in a small amount then it is totally fine. Make sure you keep your dog away from wild berries.
