Pineapple

Whether you’re sitting on a remote island or cozied up in your backyard, pineapple just oozes tropical charm. It’s the perfect combination of sweet and tart, and it’s great in a boozy cocktail or added to light desserts. Even though pineapple is a pain to cut up and prepare, the reward is always worth it. If you’re thinking about sharing your golden bounty with your canine, practice moderation in how much you’re giving them.

Is Pineapple Safe for Your Dog?

Pineapple is okay for your dog to eat if you feed it in moderation and prepare it properly. Common sense says you have to remove the spiky, tough shell from the pineapple. It is painful on your dog’s mouth and it will also be impossible for them to digest.

Pineapple does pose health benefits to your dog if you give it in small amounts. The natural sugar, fructose, won’t give your dog diabetes or weight gain like heavily processed sugars will. It’s also very high in vitamin C, which will strengthen the immune system. The amounts of fiber available in pineapple will help improve digestion and make their bowel movements more regular.

The biggest health benefit of this fruit is that it contains bromelain. Bromelain is is an enzyme that helps the body break down protein. As carnivores, protein is one of the most important nutrients a dog can have. Most dogs absorb protein perfectly, but there are rare cases of dogs not absorbing protein effectively. This condition requires additional veterinary care and nutrition support. If your dog utilizes their protein perfectly, however, the bromelain will simply increase their ability to absorb the protein. As this ability increases, they can also absorb more essential nutrients and minerals from their quality dog food.

Using Caution

Moderation is essential for your dog’s health. Even too much of their dog food will lead to problems like weight gain. Before you start giving your dog generous portions of pineapple, remember they aren’t built to eat a lot of fruit or vegetables. If they start consuming a copious amount of fruit, their digestive system is going to revolt, and you’ll see your pup experiencing gas, stomach pains, diarrhea, or even vomiting. Some dogs can’t handle fruit at all, so it’s possible that even small servings will give them diarrhea. If you notice any sort of digestive problems after they eat pineapple, you should stop feeding it to them immediately and consider pineapple a loss. Once the fruit leaves their system, their stool should return to normal.

You should also ensure the seeds are removed from the fruit. Many fruit seeds contain cyanide, and cyanide is very poisonous to your dog. It won’t necessarily kill them, but it can make them very ill.

Pineapple to Stop Coprophagia in Dogs

Coprophagia is a euphemism for stool eating. If you’ve watched your dog eating their own stool, you’ve felt the proper amounts of disgust and horror. Even though it’s completely disgusting, it’s considered normal medically. Even though it’s normal, it can lead to its own health problems. If your dog is eating another dog’s stool, they can become infected with intestinal parasites like roundworms. If your dog is visiting dog parks and eating feces, you should keep them on a leash and teach them a “leave it” command. If they’re eating the feces of dogs or cats in your household, ensure everyone is regularly dewormed to prevent any parasitic infections and pick up your yard daily.

Why do dogs eat feces?

Some research has indicated that it’s due to nutritional deficiencies, but there isn’t any solid research backing that up. Most likely it’s a compulsive habit that they started when they were puppies. If you’ve noticed it’s a recent development, you should consult with your veterinarian to rule out any health conditions that are driving them to eat feces.

There are a variety of powders and supplements you can add to their food or your other pets’ food to make the stool taste horrible to your dog. This is a fairly successful deterrent to most dogs. Pineapple, despite its initial sweetness, makes stool taste awful. Dogs that aren’t hard-core coprophagics might stop snacking on stool if they’re given pineapple every day. As it’s digested in the stomach, it creates an “aftertaste” that dogs find extremely deterring. Brussels sprouts and cabbage are said to also make stool taste worse because of the sulfur.

If the supplements or one or two slices per day of pineapple aren’t stopping your dog’s behavior, and they don’t have any medical problems, you should consider behavioral training. Getting the help of experienced dog trainers can go a long way towards helping your dog end compulsive coprophagia. In the meantime, only allow your dogs to defecate in one area and clean up immediately afterwards. If they’re stealing from the cat litter box, keep the litter box clean and in an area where your dog can’t access the contents. When there’s nothing to eat, it ends the behavior.

Feeding Pineapple to Dogs, Use Common Sense

As always, use common sense when you’re giving your dog human food. Pineapple comes in a few forms, and unless it’s fresh, it’s not the most ideal choice for canines. You should avoid giving them pineapple that’s been baked into desserts. Canned pineapple is very palatable, but it’s also soaked in sugar. It’s what makes the fruit taste good, but the added sugar can cause weight gain or diarrhea. It goes without saying that pineapples that have been sitting in alcoholic drink should never be given to your dog. Alcohol is one of the most unhealthy things you can give your dog.

As long as you aren’t making pineapple a huge part of your dog’s overall diet, it won’t hurt your dog. Consider the pineapple as a simple snack and your pup won’t see any negative side effects from it.