It seems like avocados are everywhere right now. Most restaurants now offer avocado toast and guacamole, two popular dishes that feature this delectable fruit.
It’s safe to assume that you’ve considered feeding your dog avocado since we’ve developed such a taste for the fruit.
Avocados are often considered to be a poor choice for our canine companions and can be found on many lists of toxic foods for dogs. Avocados are a safe option for canines, contrary to popular belief.
Let’s put to rest the rumor mill about dogs and avocados and answer the million dollar question: can dogs eat avocados, and more importantly, should they?
Can Dogs Eat Avocados?
Although the pit, skin, and leaves of the avocado should never be given to a dog, the flesh is fine for them to snack on. Along with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, avocados are a good source of healthy fats, specifically omega-3 fatty acids.
That’s why some brands of dog food include avocados in their lists of ingredients.
Is Avocado Good for Dogs?
Think about the avocado’s nutrient profile. About 320 calories and 29 grams of fat can be found in a single medium-sized avocado.
Even though it’s the “good” fat, you still have to account for it as part of your dog’s daily calorie count. Therefore, if your dog has to lose weight or has pancreatitis, don’t give it avocados (always check with your vet first).
The Nutritional Benefit of Avocado For Dogs
Avocados’ widespread renown can be attributed, in part, to the abundance of beneficial nutrients in them.
- Alpha-linolenic acid and omega-3 fatty acids
- Vitamin A
- Niacin, a form of vitamin B3, is an essential nutrient.
- Nutritional B6
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
- Fiber
- Potassium
- Magnesium
- Antioxidants
- The Amino Acids
- Folate
Your dog’s skin and coat can’t be healthy without the right amounts of fatty acids, niacin, potassium, and folate. Bone, eye, skin, and coat health all depend on adequate intake of the fat-soluble vitamins A, B, 3, 6, and E.
While there may be health benefits to feeding your dog avocados, this is not to say that there is no risk involved.
The Risks of Dogs Eating Avocado
The avocado’s flesh is thought to be safe for your dog, but as with anything, too much of a good thing can be bad.
Due to their high fat and calorie content, feeding avocados in excess can cause pancreatitis and obesity in dogs.
In addition, your dog should not come into contact with any other avocado parts because they are also extremely toxic. The sections of an avocado that are toxic to dogs are listed below.
The Leaves, Stem, Seeds, and Skin
In small amounts, persin can be found in the avocado’s flesh as well as its skin, seeds, and stem bark. Avocados get a bad rap because they contain a substance called persin, which is mildly toxic to dogs.
Our canine friends are naturally resistant to persin, and it would take a huge intake of avocados for them to become sick from eating too many.
While avocado flesh is relatively low in persin content compared to the plant’s seeds, stem, leaves, and bark, it’s still best to keep your dog away from the plant just to be safe.
If you have an avocado tree in your yard, remember that your dog should not be allowed to gnaw on it, and that you should pick up any dropped fruit as well as any leaves or branches.
The Pit
Avocados pose a number of health risks to dogs, but the pit is where most of the harm occurs. The pit, or avocado seed, is the large, golf ball-sized object at the avocado’s center.
Most of the time it is removed and thrown away, but if you don’t do it properly your dog may try to get it.
Persin is present in the pit, but the greater risk is posed by the possibility of suffocation. Its pit is just the right size to lodge in your dog’s throat and prevent it from breathing.
If the pit escapes the esophagus, it still has a good chance of becoming stuck somewhere in the digestive system and causing a major obstruction.
You should rush your dog to the emergency vet clinic if it eats an avocado pit.
Can Dogs Eat Guacamole?
We now know that avocados are safe for dogs to eat in moderation, but what about the popular dip?
While guacamole may be a treat for you, it is not safe for your dog to consume due to the presence of many ingredients that are toxic to dogs.
- Onions
- Garlic
- Tomatoes
- Salt
These foods have the potential to give you an upset stomach at best, and could potentially give you a life-threatening illness at worst. An excessive amount of onion or garlic can cause anemia and kidney failure in your pet. Your dog should not eat guacamole or any other human food.
How to Safely Feed Your Dog Avocado
Make sure there is no danger to your dog’s health from giving avocado to your dog. What follows are three generalizations to keep in mind:
- Reduce serving sizes if at all possible. There is a risk of poisoning from persin if you feed your dog an excessive amount of avocados, and the high fat content may also be harmful to your dog.
- Don’t bother with any juicing; just give your dog the whole fruit. Never give your dog anything from the avocado plant, including the fruit, leaves, or bark. To avoid your dog choking, you should peel each avocado completely and throw away the skin.
- Keep your dog’s avocado diet simple. Never feed your dog guacamole because it likely contains onion, garlic, or salt, all of which are toxic to canines.
How Much Avocado Can A Dog Have?
How much avocado your dog can eat depends on its size. Dogs of larger sizes can safely consume more avocado. However, keep in mind that treats shouldn’t replace your dog’s regular dog food as its primary source of nutrition. Your dog should not consume more than 10 percent of his or her total caloric intake from treats.
Commercial Avocado Dog Food
Is there such a thing as dog food with avocados? More and more dog and cat food manufacturers are touting the health benefits of avocado oil and avocado meal as reasons to feed these products to your pet.
Avocado oil and avocado meal (avocado “meal” is simply dried and ground avocado flesh) are both safe for dogs because they do not contain persin.
Is there any evidence that avocado dog food provides any additional health benefits over other premium dry foods for dogs?
To determine if an avocado-based dog food is appropriate for your dog, you should feed it to your dog and observe his reaction over the course of a few days or weeks, just as you would with any commercial dog food.
If you notice he is having an adverse reaction, such as diarrhea, vomiting, or itching, you should switch him back to a food he has eaten in the past without any problems.
But remember that avocado oil or meal typically constitutes a small percentage of ingredients in foods containing it, so it may not have been the avocado itself that caused his reaction.