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There are lots of fruits available in the market, which are either safe for the dogs or poisonous for them. But the matter with plum is not as binary as with others. The plum flesh is safe for the dogs, while the rest of it, including its pits, stems, and leaves are highly toxic for them. So whenever you feed your pup plum, make sure you eliminate the poisonous parts of it before feeding them.
Are plums good for dogs?
Not necessarily everything, that is safe for you have to be healthy for yourself as well. Similarly, if you ask âcan dogs eat plums? Yes. But if you ask âare plums good for dogs?â Not necessarily. Plums are not enriched in nutrients, especially when it comes to dogs (although the flesh of the fruit contains good fibres and vitamins such as vitamin A and C).
But again, dogs do not require this kind of vitamin supplement, so feeding plum will not add any benefit to the dogâs health. But enjoying plum as an occasional treat is not bad either.
Health benefits of plum
Plums are highly enriched with Vitamin A and C. Vitamin A is responsible for good eyesight and skin while vitamin C helps the immune system to function properly, in addition to that, it makes the teeth stronger. The good fibres of plums not only help in digestion but also play a crucial role in maintaining the balance in the amygdalin level. If your dog occasionally suffers from constipation, the plum fibres may help them.
Health concerns for dogs
The principal concern about plums for dogs is how to feed your dog plums safely? What would happen if they accidentally swallow the pit or stem? Plum pits, stems, and leaves contain amygdalin, a toxic compound. When it enters the body, the compound reacts with the body and converts into hydrogen plum, a highly poisonous compound.
Consuming plum pits, leave, or stem in good quantity may cause severe plum poisoning in your pups. So before feeding them plums, make sure to be cautious.
Symptoms of plum poisoning
- Redness in their gums and tongue. Sometimes in the entire mouth.
- Consuming enough amount of amygdalin may cause the dogs difficulty in respiration. If not treated properly, it can result in respiratory system failure.
- If your dog starts panting and you notice their pupils are dilated after eating plums, take them to the vet immediately.
- plum poisoning takes control of the brain rapidly. So they can lose balance and may start vomiting. If your dog trembles and is in distress or loses consciousness, do not waste a minute. Because plum poisoning for dogs is as lethal as it is for us.
- The worst is death.
How much time will you have?
Well, hate to say this but you will not have enough time in your hand if your dogs have plums and have plum poisoning. The signs generally set in very rapidly, within an hour of poisoning. If you notice your dog having one of these symptoms after eating plum or suspect that they might have eaten it, rush to the vet immediately.
Be more cautious about plums for dogs
Although these are not the only things to be careful about, there are more. Let us talk about the plum pits, they are dangerous choking hazards.
Can dogs eat plums?
Oh, surely they can. But if your dog is overweight then they should not, except it is an occasional treat. Plums are rich in sugar. And hence, it is not a wise choice to feed the overweight or diabetic dogs plums more often.
To avoid excessive weight gain and imbalance of sugar level in the blood, do not give them plum except occasionally. However, if you want to feed your dogs plum, incorporate the pieces into treats or cut them up into small slices.
But do not make them eat prunes. The dehydrated fruit contains even highly concentrated sugar without the goodness of fibres.
How can dogs eat plums?
Firstly, do not push them if your dog does not seem to be interested in eating plums. Similarly, like us, dogs too might not like some food particularly or may have some underlying allergy to it. Do not push them to eat it.
Moreover, there are so many other fruits available that are nutrients and vitamin-enriched with low sugar level and most importantly does not have any lethal side effects. Banana, apple, mango, blueberry, watermelon, and a lot of other safe and healthy fruits are there.
Plum-treat recipes for dogs
However, if you are willing to add plums to your dogâs daily diet, you may try some plum treats. There are various plum treats are available for dogs commercially in the market that contain a safe amount of the fruit.
Or you can try fresh plums to feed them cut into small pieces. But just be careful! And remember, any treat or meal should not contain plum more than ten per cent of your dog’s routine diet.
Some home remedies for plum poisoning
Eating or swallowing a single plum pit or stem will not be deadly for dogs, if your pup is much younger then you may be alarmed. Even a small amount of plum poisoning could be fatal enough for them.
If your dog swallows plum pits, give your pup enough water and monitor them for any sign of poisoning. Do not induce them vomiting if they are not doing it by themselves, because plum pits have sharp edges, which can potentially cause blockage in their intestine.
However, home remedies are just to buy some extra time for you, rush to the vet as soon as possible.
Treatment of plum poisoning
The first step will be detoxification, to take the poisonous plum and other harmful toxins out of their body. Hospitalization is always mandatory in the case of plum poisoning for at least twenty-four hours to monitor and treat any further complications.
The recovery period of your dog depends on how many plum pits they have consumed. As the pits are not digestible, they can be stuck in their butt and make things more complicated. However, it might take a week to a month for your pup to be fine.
Conclusion
To conclude, of course, plum is safe for your dog, but not a healthy food source. Please do measure the risks and side effects wisely before feeding your dog anything that could risk their lives. They are too precious to take risks about.
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