As an owner of a dog or someone who breeds them, you may have doubts and questions about their diet. This is because you want the best diet that can help them lead a healthy life and not attract any sickness of any sort. This can be said for any living being out there, not just these animals. A well-balanced diet is important to lead a good life. They should contain the necessary nutrients as well. For human beings, vitamin C is an important ascorbic acid needed for the body.
Can dogs eat lemon?
Vitamin C is an essential vitamin that the body cannot produce, so people consume it. It has many benefits, like reducing the risk of chronic diseases because it is rich in antioxidants. It can also manage blood pressure and lower the risk of heart ailments. One of the main benefits of vitamin C is also boosting immunity. This is why we need to have vitamin C as part of our food diet. Lemon is one such fruit apart from orange and strawberries with a high level of vitamin C. So eating lemons as part of a dish or making lemonade and drinking it is not only tasty to have but also healthy. Now the question arises, can dogs eat lemon as well? For its nutritional aspects and benefits?
To know the answer, let us first see the advantages and disadvantages of a dog eating lemons and any better alternatives to lemon for the animal.
Advantages of dogs eating lemon:
- Maintains a healthy weight – Since lemons are low on sugar, they can help the animals maintain a healthy weight and not gain any extra fat. But there is a low or very low chance that a dog will intake a large amount of lemon juice at once because of its high acidic nature. So it is better to feed a little amount, if any at all, to these animals.
- Protects against diseases like scurvy – As we know that lemons are rich in vitamin C, it can be one of the best natural medicines for dogs to protect them against scurvy. This is because the animal becomes weak from the disease. The common symptoms of scurvy are swollen joints and rapid falling of hair. This can even cause the death of the dogs. Vitamin C, or lemon, can help protect the dogs from such an illness.
- A boost in the immune system – Lemons and lemonade can help as an excellent source to improve or boost the immune system. This is one of the most popular perks of eating lemon for its vitamin C. It is a natural booster for the immune system, and the dogs can benefit from it if they eat lemons or drink the juice of the lemons.
Even if there are these benefits of lemon where dogs are concerned, it still does not mean they can take lemons as we humans do. dogs have different anatomy and bodily functions. That means that there are many aspects in which their taste buds or metabolism works than ours. This is because even though these cavies can pick up the sour taste of the lemon, they would still prefer the sweet taste of other fruits. Moreover, due to the high acid content of the specific fruit, dogs may be unable to take it because of their sensitive stomach. This may not be the case for every dog, but precautions are better than cure.
Moreover, even if you think it is okay to feed the lemon to the animal, do it once or twice a month after looking at the advantages above. Making lemons a staple part of the diet can cause serious and unwanted consequences for your pet. This is because the lemon may have beneficial and healthy vitamin C, but it is also brimming with ascorbic acid harmful to the dogs.
disadvantages of feeding lemons
- Lemons can give the cavies weak and corroded teeth – The citric acid of the lemon can weaken the dogs’ teeth. This is because the natural enamel on their teeth can weaken from regular contact with the acid of the lemon. And dogs need to have constant use of chewing and grinding with those teeth. If the enamel is weakened, then their chewing activity can become painful. The teeth may also start falling or crack, for all we know. Even if the lemon has vitamin C, it is not worth compromising their dental health for this.
- Mouth ulcers can occur – The tissues of the dogs’ mouths are delicate and sensitive to the acidic content of the lemon. Repeatedly eating lemons can damage those issues inside their mouth, leading to ulcers. The dogs may also not be able to eat properly because of the painful sore mouth. And if the bacteria spreads, it can get worse. So lemon is a no if you were planning to feed it to the long-term, regularly.
- Lemons can give stomach issues to the dogs – A dog has to have its digestive system moving. But if the animal gets a stomach issue or indigestion, they will probably refuse to eat and starve. This will lead to their death sooner than you would like. Now a lemon can be the culprit for this demise as its acidic nature may cause trouble for the stomach lining of the dog. As the owner of this animal, you have to be very careful about what they eat. You need to see what they are eating, especially with a dog, because dogs are constantly using their digestive system. If you feed them lemons that can trigger something unpleasant, it will make them stop eating. Moreover, the stomach issue can lead to loose stool.
You may think that the only problem with feeding lemons to the dogs is its acidic content, and that may be true. Even if the fruit has a load of health benefits, the most important one being the presence of vitamin C, it is not possible to separate the contents of the fruit to be selective about it. Moreover, lemon is not the only fruit with this essential vitamin. So many other better alternatives are edible and safe for the dogs to eat daily. Moreover, lemons are one such fruit last on the list of owners to feed their pets. The excessive quantity and content of the acid are harmful to the animal anyway. But does that mean dogs hate lemon or are allergic? Not really. It is just the sour taste of the fruit that leaves bad aftermath for these cavies. They would rather have something sweet.
The bottom line
it’s okay for dogs to eat lemon is that – it is not. Lemons, if taken frequently – have bad consequences that can lead to the animal’s death. Even if you give it to them rarely, it is recommended not to, as there are other options like mangoes, kale, kiwis, and bell peppers. They do not contain any dangerous effects, have vitamin C, and can be eaten by the animals without any worry.