Humans love dogs and bananas. But do dogs love bananas? A question that will not trouble most of us. However, those of us who have pet dogs are certainly curious to know more about the topic. Sharing food with their pets is one of the most common ways through which humans show their affection for their pets. Tossing and chucking everything you eat in their dinner plates, however, is hardly a laudable thing. Your pets’ digestive system might not be able to digest all the foods that you eat. Hence, it is advisable to do a bit of research on food items that you plan to introduce into your pets’ diet. In today’s discussion, we explain in-depth, the curious case of bananas. Please do keep in mind that it is the Cavendish variety, which we are talking about in this discussion.
What do dogs normally eat?
If you do not have a dog as of yet but are planning to pet one soon, there are a few things that might startle you in this discussion. For example, you might be wondering why bananas are such a big deal for a dog. Well, it is so because they are not usually part of the regular diet of dogs. This leads to another question. What do dogs normally eat?
We are sure that you already know that these furry cuties are plant eaters. They belong to the herbivore group of animals. They would kill for hay and alfalfa. Sometimes, the alfalfa is provided in the form of pellets, but that is hardly the point. Apart from certain other fresh vegetables, dogs need an adequate amount of freshwater as well. This prevents them from dehydrating, especially in summers. Through stuff like hay, these furry friends of yours get the required protein content. Certain other vitamins are obtained courtesy of other vegetables. These vegetables include lettuce, kale, and spinach. The addition of other vegetables must be carefully controlled and observed. Best if they are served as an occasional treat.
Can dogs eat bananas?
Now, we shift our focus to the main topic. Can dogs eat bananas? The short answer is yes, they can. If you are in a bit of a hurry, you can leave reading the article here. However, you will miss the finer aspects of feeding dogs bananas. The sweet treat that you are thinking about feeding to your beloved pet must be fed in a controlled manner. Not only that, but you also need to be aware of the nutritional consequences of feeding bananas to your pet dog. To know all of this, you need to stick with us for just a little longer. We promise you, you will not regret it!
What do bananas have to offer to your dog?
You must have practically grown up listening to the benefits that fruits have for humans, especially bananas. It may surprise you very much that bananas are good for dogs as well. Yes, the quantity must be moderate; we will come to this point a bit later. However, they are beneficial, let us see why.
First, the vitamins make this sweet treat very healthy for your furry pet. Bananas have vitamin C. The regular diet of your pet dog must contain a sufficient amount of vitamin C. This particular vitamin is important in preventing certain diseases like scurvy. dogs are bad producers of vitamin C, hence you will have to find sources of supplementation on your own, for your pet dog. Apart from vitamin C, your dog also needs potassium, magnesium, and copper for the proper functioning of its different body systems. An adequate amount of fiber found in the fruit suggests that it is ideal for the digestive system, and prevents the rodent from developing conditions like constipation. Please note that all these benefits are possible only if your pet is eating or given fresh and ripe bananas. If the fruit is of substandard quality, or you use things like banana chips, it will do more harm than good.
Eating too many bananas is not good!
Well, moderation is the way to go with these sorts of fruits. The question that we need to answer is why too many bananas are bad. Well, bananas are enriched with a somewhat high sugar content. You do not want too much sugar flowing in the blood of your beloved pet, do you? It can lead to complications of the most severe nature, including diabetes. Yes, diabetes, you read it right. Excess sugar contributes to the development of diabetes in many ways. One factor that influences the multifactorial development of diabetes in dogs the most is sugar. It can lead to obesity, which then interferes and disturbs the metabolic processes necessary for sugar breakdown. If your pet dog is suffering from this awful condition, you must try to make your beloved pet lose some weight. It will help in overcoming diabetes. Diabetes is not the only condition that dogs might suffer from if they have too many bananas. Excess sugar can also lead to the development of conditions like diarrhea.
We have established that too many bananas are not good for your dog. How much of it is good then? We suggest that you feed your pet this fruit as an occasional treat only. Nothing more than that. At most, a slice or two once a week. Oh, and do keep a closer eye on your pet in the early days. If you feel something is wrong, get your vet on board as well.
dogs and banana peels
Just as a bit of banana is ok; banana peels are also OK, only in smaller quantities of course. Why would you want to feed banana peels to your pet in the first place? Well, these are enriched with antioxidants. Antioxidants are extremely crucial in the ridding body of all the cancer-causing radical molecules. Hence, you can see why a bit of banana peel might be good for your furry pet. Not only antioxidants, but the peel also has most of the advantageous elements found in a banana. These include vitamins like B6 and B12, and certain other micro and macronutrients.
You need to be careful with the peel though. Just like the fruit, too much peel can do more harm than good. Your dog might not even like that stuff, it is better to let the pet sniff it first. Feed small pieces of the peel only if you get the green light.
Conclusion
There is so much to this topic, we wish we could have incorporated all that we know in this article. However, the limitations of time and space force us to conclude this discussion here. We hope that your knowledge about dogs, their diet, and how bananas will affect them is significantly improved. The key things to remember are of course the freshness of fruit and the quantity in which your pet gobbles up bananas. How you feed the fruit also matters a lot. You can incorporate it into the pets’ diet, or serve it separately as well. Your pet might like it so much that you would be tempted to feed it more, but you must exercise caution!