Many of us, humans, like blueberries. They have a great taste and make a great snack. Being a superfood, blueberries are filled with antioxidants and other goodies. But, there is always that one question you ask all the time. Can dogs eat blueberries?
If you love your dog, then you’ve asked this question a lot more times than you can imagine. A lot of stuff we eat isn’t that great for dogs. Some may even be fatal and could lead to some dangerous ends. How do blueberries fare? Yay or Nay?
Can dogs have blueberries? Yes. Absolutely.
Like every other food, this one also comes with some strings attached. We care about your dog so we’re going to discuss pretty much everything you need to know on this topic. Go ahead and read the entire thing as it will come in handy sooner or later.
How Do Blueberries Benefit Your Dogs?
1. Strong Bones
Blueberries come with a good amount of silicon and Vitamin K. Both are responsible for the strength of your bones. Silicon strengthens the connective tissues in your dog’s body while Vitamin K maintains a healthy bone density.
If you are having an older dog in your house, then this is something you should keep in mind. Having strong bones in an old age is great for any dog and an occasional treat of blueberries could get that for your dog.
2. Effective Antioxidant
Blueberries come with plenty of antioxidants. This is great news for your dog. Antioxidants can do a number of good things for your dog like fighting ageing, improving the immune system, and even can fight that shady cancer.
The reason that this is an effective antioxidant is that of the availability of Vitamin C in the form of ascorbic acid. Vitamin E also takes some credit, thanks to its antioxidant abilities. It does a great job in cell respiration and fat metabolism.
3. Brain health in Dogs
Blueberries are great for our brains and it is a well-known fact. But do you know that the same true for your dogs as well?
Blueberries can be very useful in protecting the brain of your dog. It is filled with a good amount of phenols which is an excellent neuroprotective agent.
Brain degeneration is a silent problem in most dogs and this neuroprotective agent can help you here. Blueberries can be given in moderation to your dog, especially the older ones if you feel like they are not as sharp as they were before.
4. Improved Eye Health
Vitamin A is found in little amounts in blueberries. Though this may not sound like a lot, it still does a good job of improving your dog’s eye health. The beta-carotene of Vitamin A fosters good eye health. Blueberries aren’t the greatest source of Vitamin A but still taps its benefit to a good degree.
5. Vitamin B Goodness
Vitamin B is probably the most important Vitamin when it comes to growth in a dog. Blueberries come with small amounts of this significant vitamin. In fact, blueberries have a variety of Vitamin B meaning it can cater to a number of issues.
Vitamin B complex is necessary for cell functions and development. Be it the production of energy to cells, division of cells and also the regeneration of cells, Vitamin B complex plays a momentous role. Vitamin B can also help in the inhibition of bladder stone formation.
6. Metabolism Benefits
Zinc is found in little quantities in blueberries. Zinc plays a vital role in the production of many crucial hormones. All of these will help in maintaining good metabolism in your dog. Sometimes dogs can have some serious constipation issues. Next time, pop them some blueberries and see their metabolism on track.
7. Great for Diabetic Dogs
This may not look like a big benefit but it is. Blueberries are known to have much less sugar than most fruits. This means you can treat your diabetic dogs with blueberries without worrying about spiking their sugar levels.
They are also low in fat and high in fiber so your old dogs will thoroughly enjoy this blue treats.
How Many Blueberries Can I Give My Dog?
Now that we have confirmed that blueberries are great for your dog, we face the next question.
How much is good enough?
One key point to remember is that blueberries are great in moderation. Be sure to know how much is too much.
You can give ten blueberries to a mid-sized or a large dog. But if you are having a small dog at home, five or six berries should be sufficient to get all the above-mentioned benefits.
Another important thing to remember is the frequency. Blueberries must not be a part of your dog’s regular diet. This is best served as an occasional treat and that is what is best for your dog.
How to Serve Blueberries to Dogs?
Blueberries are a great treat not only in terms of benefits but also reduces a lot of work on your side.
You can simply pick them fresh and feed it to your dogs after a good wash.
Yes, you can give them also in the form of pies and pancakes. But let’s think here. These human treats are so full of sugar. Why would you want to feed your dog that much sugar?
Being a low sugar fruit, blueberries are great for diabetic dogs. If you have one such dog, why waste the goodness of blueberries in a pie or pancake?
Just give the fruit in its most natural form and your dog will love it.
Be sure to follow the below steps if you are feeding them as a berry.
- Remove any leaves or stems left on the blueberries and make sure you are feeding only the berry and nothing more.
- Wash your blueberries carefully in order to remove any pesticide on the skin of the berries. It is common for blueberries to have pesticides and that may not be good for your dog.
Any Side Effects in Giving Blueberries to Dogs?
Are there any side effects in giving your dog blueberries? In an ideal world, there aren’t any.
But we’re not living in one and so we have a few side effects. That is true only if you give your dog excess blueberries.
In some cases, you may not even know that your dog took a few extra berries from the bush when you weren’t noticing. In that case, you will need to train your dog a little more to not eat stuff on its own.
So let’s talk about the side effects.
Constipation
Blueberries come with a lot of soluble fiber content. This kind of fiber absorbs water from the dog’s body. As a result, the dog will have less water and this could lead to some constipation. To avoid this, always feed your dog a few berries less than what is recommended.
Diarrhea
This is the complete opposite of what we said above. There are cases when your dog might have had more water than necessary and that’s when this happens.
If you give a few more blueberries to your dog when there is a lot of water in its system, there is a good chance for diarrhea.
That’s why it is very important to keep in mind that you must give blueberries only in moderation.
Can Puppies Eat Blueberries?
The answer to this questions is a mixed bag. Technically, having a couple of blueberries should not hurt the puppy in any way.
But here’s the curveball. Blueberries are rich in fiber content. Puppies’ digestive system isn’t really prepared to deal with a lot of fiber.
So we would recommend you to stick with puppy food as that will have all the necessary nutrients. Blueberries are tasty but feeding them to a puppy is not worth the risk, in my opinion.
So, Can Dogs Eat Blueberries?
Yes, your dogs can have blueberries but in limited quantities.
Blueberries are great for dogs, especially the older ones. Their antioxidant properties are very beneficial in a number of ways.
Have you given your dogs some good old blueberries? Did your dog like it? Share your experience in the comment section below!