Many people consider chocolate and grapes the problematic foods for dogs. However, there are many other deadly foods that should never be eaten by pets, and avocado is undoubtedly one of the worst for certain animals. You may have been eating guacamole with your faithful canine pushing his nose to examine the smell of food and suddenly pondered can dogs eat avocado? The simple answer is that it is not safe for almost any pet animal and possibly deadly.
Can Dogs Eat Avocado Without Rushing To The Vet?
While smaller animals, such as rabbits, and horses are particularly sensitive, emergency veterinary care may be necessary in other circumstances too. For example, if the pit is consumed, obstruction can occur in the intestinal tract requiring immediate surgery. However, the most common symptom is moderate stomach irritation.
The cause of illness is poisoning by the persin toxin from the avocado tree and found within the leaves, fruit, and bark. Extreme reactions could cause organ failure, difficulty breathing, and death. Although, canines do not generally have this severe poisoning. In larger quantities of consumption, stomach pain, diarrhea, and vomiting is much more likely. The only significant chance of death is the possibility of internal blockage by the large pit.
The safest strategy would be to discuss diets containing potentially harmful food with your veterinarian. If you do not want to risk certain possible side effects, limiting pet access to this fruit by knowing common food dishes and restricting local trees with fences or chicken wire is optimal. The following are products that could contain avocados.
- Mexican inspirations, such as guacamole, tacos, burritos, and others.
- Milkshakes from India and Brazil.
- Additions to hamburgers, sushi, and sandwiches, particularly turkey and chicken.
- Omelettes, deserts, and other uses based on geography.
If your pet does eat significant quantities of one of these dishes, the safe approach would be to travel to the local veterinarian as soon as possible to ensure no health risks.
Although, the premium dog food AvoDerm has very different philosophies behind the health risks. They state that using the meal and oil from this healthy fruit is nothing but advantageous with a supportive reference to the millions of pets served their products over many years without any problems. The pit is obviously removed preventing any possibility of obstruction in the digestive tract. Certain animal research and activist groups would certainly disagree though.
In conclusion, eating avocado can be deadly for certain pets. Fortunately, cats and dogs are not overly sensitive to the toxin, but large amounts can cause an upset stomach and even diarrhea and vomiting. Reactions can be significantly reduced by limiting access to this potentially harmful fruit, such as blocking any local trees and being careful with dishes that contain it. The effects may be exaggerated though, considering that a premium brand dog food uses this healthy fruit as one of the key ingredients without any supposed harm to the multitude of customers.