Can Dogs Eat Guava? Is Guava Good For Dogs?
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If you recently came home with a bunch of guava from your local grocery store, you might be wondering how to use that tasty fruit up before it starts to spoil. Some dogs absolutely love to eat fruit as a treat, but how about feeding your pooch tropical guava?
Can you feed this to your pup without worrying about it making them ill?
We’ll look into all the information that you need to know in a moment, but to start with, guava is safe for your dog to eat — in moderation. This shouldn’t be something your dog regularly gets each day or even every week. But as an occasional treat if your dog seems to love the taste of this fruit, it’s totally safe for them to eat guava.
Is Guava Good for Dogs?
Guava contains plenty of beneficial nutrients for both humans and dogs! Let’s take a look at each of them in more detail.
Guava contains plenty of vitamins, especially A, C, and K. In a 100-gram serving, guava contains 228.3 mg of Vitamin C. This vitamin acts as an antioxidant and helps boost your dog’s immune system. Guava also contains smaller amounts of vitamins A and K. These can help keep your pup’s eyesight, skin, red blood cells, and bones in great condition.
Also, 100 grams of guava contains 5.4 grams of fiber. Your dog needs fiber in their diet to help their digestive system function correctly and reduce the chance of them suffering from either constipation or diarrhea.
Guava also contains good levels of both magnesium and potassium. Magnesium helps your dog’s body absorb other nutrients, but it also helps keep your dog feeling healthy and relaxed. Potassium is needed to help your pup build strong bones and teeth, but it also keeps their organs in good health.
What’s bad about guava?
So, what’s bad about guava that would stop us from feeding this fruit to our dogs every day?
Guava contains quite a large amount of carbohydrates and sugars. Every 100 grams of guava contains 14.32 grams of carbohydrates and 8.92 grams of sugar. Too much sugar in your dog’s diet can lead to obesity, which isn’t a good thing!
Feeding your dog too much guava if they’re not used to it can easily cause an upset stomach, and your dog may vomit or have diarrhea as their gastrointestinal system struggles to digest this new food.
How to feed your dog guava
It’s best to peel the skin from a guava before feeding the soft inside to your dog. Some dogs don’t seem to mind the skin, so try both ways and see which your dog prefers. Cut this up into small to medium-sized chunks.
Some dog owners also prefer to remove the seeds, as these can contain trace amount of cyanide. They can also cause diarrhea if eaten in large quantities.
Start with feeding your dog a very small amount of guava, and then watch them over the next 24 hours to see if they have any reactions or adverse effects. If not, you can continue feeding them this fruit, but we wouldn’t recommend more than 100 grams per week.
If your dog is a particularly small breed, then you’ll probably want to feed them a smaller amount.
You can try feeding pieces of guava to your dog by hand or sprinkle small chopped pieces over their dinner as a special treat.
Wrapping it up
So, guava is safe for your dog to eat in small amounts.
It contains plenty of beneficial vitamins, minerals, and fiber, which can all help your dog feel and look their best.
Guava does also contain sugar, so you won’t want to feed your dog too much, in case it causes them to put on weight.
It’s best to remove the skins and seeds, as well as feeding only a small amount each week. As with any new food, start off feeding a small amount and watch out for any signs that your dog is having trouble digesting it. If your dog has cramps, diarrhea, or constipation, then don’t feed them any more guava.
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Featured Image Credit: Anna Kucherova, Shuttertock
