Orlovia
Not everything that is tasty and edible for humans is suitable for our four-legged friends. Some foods can even be life-threatening since the digestive systems of humans and animals differ significantly from each other. This also begs the question: Can dogs eat strawberries?
The Most Important Things Summarized
- Strawberries contain a whole range of healthy nutrients and vitamins. Due to the high water content, they are considered a tasty and low-calorie snack.
- Slowly introduce your dog to strawberries. There are also four-legged friends who cannot tolerate strawberries.
- Overall, the proportion of fruit and vegetables when feeding should be around 10-20 percent. Therefore, use strawberries sparingly as a snack – not least because the sweet fruit with its sugar content can certainly cause excess pounds.
Positive Characteristics
Strawberries have numerous metabolism-stimulating dietary fibers, and vitamin C and have high water content. They also contain an enzyme that contributes to the natural whitening of teeth. Like other berries, strawberries have the property of acting as antioxidants in the body and thus binding free radicals, which are considered carcinogenic.
The large amounts of folic acid and iron are just as positive as the high calcium content, which strengthens the bone structure. Magnesium and potassium, on the other hand, promote heart health.
Feed Only in Moderation!
One of the reasons why strawberries are so delicious is that they are so sweet. But that also means that they contain a lot of sugar. And that can lead to excess pounds not only in humans but also in dogs.
However, strawberries contain around 90 percent water in total. This means that they only have 32 calories per 100 grams and are therefore one of the slimmers compared to other types of fruit. However, this only applies to fresh strawberries. Dried fruits lack water content, so the sugar content is correspondingly higher.
Therefore, only feed strawberries in small portions as a snack. Overall, they should not account for more than 10 percent of the total daily energy requirement. For small dogs up to approx. 15 kilograms, it should not be more than 2 strawberries per day.
Prepare Strawberries for the Dog
- Wash the strawberries as you would for your own consumption. This is how you remove dirt, but also chemical residues.
- Cut off the stems after washing.
- For large strawberries or small dogs, cut them into pieces to prevent your dog from choking on them.
Which Strawberries are Suitable for Dogs?
Basically, all strawberry varieties are suitable for dogs. Of course, it’s best if you only give your dog organic strawberries. If you’re collecting wild strawberries for your dog, make sure you wash them thoroughly to avoid transmitting fox tapeworm to your dog.
Canned strawberries are absolutely no alternative to fresh strawberries! The fruits are enriched with artificial sugar or syrup and are therefore an additional calorie bomb. If the packaged strawberries contain xylitol, they even pose a life-threatening hazard.
Strawberry Ice Cream for the Dog
In addition to fresh fruit, you can also prepare your dog delicious ice cream as a refreshing snack in summer.
- For example, you can puree the fruit and freeze the mass in portions in an ice cube tray.
- Alternatively, mix some strawberries with natural yogurt and some quark in a blender to make healthy dog ice cream.
- You can also freeze the fruits individually and feed your dog individual fruits in summer temperatures.
Not All Dogs Like Strawberries
There are dogs who don’t really know what to do with strawberries – or simply don’t like them. Start slow with a single strawberry and see if your dog likes it. If this is the case, you can mix some strawberries into the food.
Introducing strawberries slowly also has the advantage that you can find out if your dog can tolerate strawberries at all. Rarely, strawberries can cause an upset stomach or a digestive problem. Do you make changes such as For example, if you notice an increase in thirst, diarrhea, or intense scratching, strawberries are probably not the right thing for your dog?