If you’ve often caught your dog staring at your plate of melon slices and wondered, ”can dogs eat melons?”
The answer is a resounding: YES! Dogs can eat all types of melons. But moderation is the key.
Now let’s dive into the details!
Relax, we won’t judge you for getting into the trap of wagging tails, puppy eyes, and an aww-y smile. Instead, we will help you with everything you need to know about feeding your dog melons.
What Are The Benefits of Feeding Your Dog Melons?
Melons are packed with nutrients, vitamins, and minerals, along with 90% water content, making them a superfood for your dog!
But as a parent, you also must know if your pet is diabetic.
Some melons, especially watermelons, have a lot of sugar, which should be considered before feeding your dog.
Let’s discuss the benefits of feeding your dog juicy melons-
- Melons are fibrous and have low calories, so your dog will not gain weight by eating them.
- It has a high content of vitamins A, B, and C (article), which will be great for your pooch’s health.
- As melons have 90% water, they hydrate and help with digestion without adding much weight.
- It also has antioxidants that protect your doggo from getting diseases.
Lastly, THEY ARE FLESHY, JUICY MELONS! Why would anyone not want it? (duh)
Can Dogs Eat All Types of Melons?
“What is better than a melon? Cuddles while eating melons!” said every dog ever.
Melons come in all tastes and sizes, and with that comes different rules for each. Here are all the rules you need to know:
1. Watermelons
Juicy, delicious watermelons are a perfect summer treat for hoomans and their doggos. Although it is rich in vitamins and will hydrate your dog, it is not the best treat.
It has high sugar content, and sugar is nothing but poison for your pooch. Also, if you don’t want your pooch to choke on watermelon seeds or have their intestines blocked, remove the seeds beforehand.
However, a piece or two will not harm but ensure that seeds are removed.
Watermelon seeds have cyanide, which can poison your dog if consumed in high quantities.
2. Muskmelons
Yes, you can feed your dog muskmelons.
Just like other melons, Muskmelons also are filled with the goodness of vitamins A and C and contain 90% water.
The fur-mula for melon-munching success is to feed muskmelons within the limit, as because of high water concentration, they can cause runny stool or uncontrolled bowel movements.
3. Green melons or Honeydews
Dogs enjoy mushy, fleshy textures; if your pet has a sweet tooth, it’s time to hide all your honeydews.
In brief, yes, you can feed your dog honeydews or green melons, BUT, due to the sweetness of sugar, you should avoid making it a regular treat or letting them clean a big bowl of it.
4. Korean melon
This can be a healthy item on the menu, as it has vitamins A and C.
But, with all melons, it is essential to serve in a reasonable quantity that does not become a nightmare for your dog or you.
You must clear out the seeds (as their little paws cannot) before giving them a Korean melon treat.
5. Bitter melons
Bitter melon, aka Bitter Gourd, is rich in vitamins.
And apparently, it is the best melon on the list so far.
It has low sugar, so you can even sneak peek your dog’s medicines into a small chunk of bitter melon, and vóila!
However, before serving your dog anything new, start with small amounts and see if it works for your dog or not. Otherwise, too much consumption of bitter melons can cause problems as well (article).
5 Potential Risks of Feeding Your Dog Melons
No matter how tasty a treat is, health must always come first.
As a parent, you must know the fruits and ingredients your dog might be allergic to, so keep those food items away from them.
Firstly, if your veterinarian suggests not feeding your dog melons, it is probably for the best. Secondly, if your dog is not allergic to melons, there can still be risk factors involved while feeding your pet melons. Such as:
1. Choking on melon rinds
It is a HUGE NO for feeding your dog’s melon rinds. It can be difficult for their bodies to chew and swallow the peels. This way, they can even choke on it and lose their breath. Even if consumed, it will be hard to digest such a hard peel of melon.
2. Eating seeds
Watermelon seeds have cyanide, a poison if consumed in high quantities (article).
Although, for watermelon seeds to be fatal, it needs to be consumed in an awfully big amount (like 20 watermelons!). Remove the seeds before giving them a watermelon treat to avoid this possibility. Sometimes, if a small dog eats seeds, it can cause stomach aches.
3. Digestive issues
Picture this: a series of unfortunate choices that seem to follow us everywhere. Let’s break that streak and make a wise decision this time around. Feeding them large slices of melon is NOT GOOD!
Owners can sometimes be lazy to chop the melon into pieces, but it is VERY IMPORTANT. Otherwise, large chunks or peels can be hard to digest, and your dog might vomit everything out.
4. Diarrhea
Melons are not dog food– they react differently in humans and dogs.
Hydration is good, but too much water can cause an upset stomach or runny stool. Excess water, or if the watermelon is not fresh, can cause diarrhea, and you will need to consult a veterinarian for the medications.
5. Tummy troubles
After eating four large pizzas, coke, three burgers, and fries– you just cannot crib about your stomach pain! (You did it to yourself)
It gets hard for our digestive system to break down THIS MUCH food. Similarly, dogs’ tummies will hurt if they consume too much melon or its rinds.
It is important to note that if your dog shows any unusual signs after eating watermelon, you must consult a veterinarian, as the pain can be unbearable. But don’t worry, apart from melons, there are also other human foods dogs can’t eat as well!
How to Serve Melon to Your Dogs Safely
You feed anything chewy to your dog; and they’re like,”THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!”
But being a pet parent comes with the responsibility of being a full-time chef who knows about their dog’s health. Here are some delicious recipes that your doggo will love you for!
1. Watermelon ice cream
We all love ice cream! And if you don’t, sorry to break it to you, but your dog silently judges you.
For the best way to feed your dog a sweet, fruity treat, you can blend yogurt and watermelon (along with other healthy sweet treats) and make ice cream with the goodness of healthy treats, unsweetened yogurt, and their favorite gushy watermelon.
2. Melon chunks
For rewarding your doggo, small watermelon chunks can be a fun treat. Instead of serving them watermelon in the size of a meal, you can remove its seeds and serve it in small bite-size pieces.
3. Salad bowls
Give your furry friend a princess treatment by making a fruity salad bowl for them!
You can use melons and other nutritious dog treats for the salad, so there is a balance. Just chop everything into small chunks, and you are done. (Get ready for some lovey-licks on your face after this)
4. Melonsicles
We mean- Melon Popsicles!
You can blend and freeze the melon smoothie in ice cube trays. It will be all slushy when they bite into it; also, it will be small in size, and you can track the quantity.
Conclusion
To conclude, yes, dogs can eat melons. However, knowing how much your dog can eat and if it can have any side effects is never harmful.
It also depends upon the size of your dog; if your dog is big, it might be okay to eat more melons than a small dog would. But again, asking a vet will always be the safest option.
In addition, melons are actually very fibrous. The key here is to remove the seeds. If your dog ate 8-9 seeds, they will be fine! For cyanide to be fatal to dogs, it needs to be munched down in massive quantities. Moreover, there are several fun ways you can serve your furry friend delicious treats; be it ice cream, slushies, smoothies, or even salads.
Finally, if a strict balanced diet is followed, giving a chunk or two of melons will only make your dog love you even more!
Frequently Asked Questions
A BIG NO! Melon rinds are not there for consumption! Their body cannot break down large chunks of rinds. Melons can not only choke your dog but cause a blockage in their digestive systems. If your dog has consumed chunks of watermelon rinds, take them to the veterinarian.
Although watermelons are not harmful to dogs, feeding them daily is not a great option. Your pet needs a fiber-rich diet, whereas watermelons have little nutritional value to help your dog be fit. YES, if your dog follows a balanced diet, and has healthy treats, then the natural sweetness of watermelon will not cause any problems.
Absolutely yes! If your dog has a sweet tooth and they are not allergic to yogurt, you can serve them frozen (unsweetened) yogurt blended with watermelon chunks as a treat. Yogurt will minimize the sweetness level of watermelon! This will not give any nutritional benefits but is suitable for a cheat day.
YES, dogs can eat bitter melons, as they are rich in vitamins A and C with antioxidants. Bitter melon or bitter guard also has low sugar content, which also ensures the diabetes level of your dog. You can hide their medicine in a chunk of bitter melon and feed them. It will be a healthy treat for your pet if given in limited amounts and not like a regular everyday part of their diet.
Watermelon seeds have high levels of cyanide, a poison for dogs and humans. A few seeds will not be life-threatening, but as a parent, you should avoid or remove them before serving watermelon. Seeds can also get stuck in the windpipe or your dog’s throat, causing them to choke.
