Orlovia
It is not uncommon for dogs to be seen in the garden nibbling off all the cherries that have fallen from the tree. No wonder, since the ripe fruits are juicy and delicious. But there are also fruits that are digestible for humans but poisonous for animals. So the question arises: Can dogs eat cherries?
The Most Important Things Summarized
- Cherries are a tasty and healthy in-between snack for dogs. The fruits contain a number of valuable nutrients.
- However, you should definitely remove the cherry stone before feeding. This contains hydrogen cyanide, the concentration of which can cause life-threatening symptoms of poisoning.
- If your dog has swallowed a cherry stone, react calmly. Most nuclei are simply excreted intact.
Feeding Cherries to Dogs
It’s best not to wait for your dog to help himself to the cherries in the garden, but to prepare them as a snack. The cherries should be ripe to overripe. Since cherries do not ripen, they are always freshly harvested, so you can only store-purchased cherries in the fridge for 2-3 days before they become inedible.
Soak the fruit in a bowl of water – not under running water. This could cause the thin skin to burst. Then pit the cherries for consumption.
Special treat: homemade cherry ice cream for dogs
Dogs also love cooling off when the thermometer rises in the summer months. Cherries are great for either freezing in small batches in an ice cube tray so you can feed them to your dog in batches, or for making ice cream.
Add some cottage cheese, quark or natural yogurt, some cherries, and a few oatmeals or coconut flakes if you like. Mix the ingredients in the blender to a uniform consistency. You can then put the mass directly into a suitable container and freeze it a little. Here is e.g. B. a Kong very well suited.
Beware of the Cherry Stones
Cherrystones contain a very high concentration of hydrocyanic acid, which can cause life-threatening symptoms of poisoning. As long as a cherry stone passes through your dog’s digestive system intact, this is absolutely no problem. The situation is different if the stone breaks and the hydrocyanic acid gets into the organism of the four-legged friend.
However, there are many dogs that spit out cherry stones on their own. As a dog owner, you don’t have to worry about anything here. The situation is different if your dog simply eats the seeds. The risk that the cores are still intact when they are passed out is quite real since the cores can sometimes open on their own or a dog can accidentally bite them.
How much hydrocyanic acid does a cherry stone contain?
Unfortunately, this question cannot be answered precisely. The question of how many cherry stones your dog would tolerate without problems is correspondingly bold. Estimates are based on approx. 2-3 cherry stones per kilogram of body weight.
Symptoms of Hydrocyanic Acid Poisoning
If your dog eats too many cherry stones and some of the hydrocyanic acids get into the system, symptoms of poisoning such as shortness of breath, cramps, diarrhea, fever, or vomiting can occur. In this case, it is best to go straight to a veterinarian.
Another clear sign of prussic acid poisoning is when your dog’s breath smells like bitter almonds. However, there are a number of people who cannot smell the smell for genetic reasons, so you should consult a doctor immediately if you experience symptoms.
An Ideal Snack for Dogs
Cherries not only contain sugar, but also a whole range of important nutrients.
- Vitamin A nourishes the eyes and helps build skin and cartilage tissue
- B vitamins are important for metabolism and the nervous system
- Potassium serves as a messenger to regulate the water balance and other vital processes in the body
- Cherries are among the few foods that have a balanced calcium-phosphorus ratio. Calcium is particularly important for the formation of bones and teeth.
- Folic acid plays a role in blood formation, growth processes, and cell division.
- Magnesium is important for muscles and nerves.
Cherries Also Contain Valuable Antioxidants
The composition of the nutrients in cherries is not dissimilar to the supplements for athletes and their combination may also help against stress. This makes them a healthy and delicious snack for your four-legged friend – although overweight animals should eat more cherries, as they contain less sugar than juicy sweet cherries.