Fruits and Vegetables Dogs Can Eat: 35 Safe Options

As dog parents, we all want the best for our pups, especially when it’s related to their health. While commercial dry foods provide all the essential nutrients, incorporating fruits and vegetables dogs can eat can add a delicious twist that’s healthy. Not all produce is safe for dogs, and figuring out which options are safe can get overwhelming. If you’re wondering, “What fruits and vegetables are good for dogs?”, we’ve got you covered! We’ll take you through our favorite fruits and vegetables dogs can eat.

The benefits of fruits & vegetables in your dog’s diet

We won’t spend long on this part, but wanted to touch on a few important points. If you’re reading this post, you probably already understand a lot of the benefits of fruits and vegetables. At a high level, most fruits and vegetables are high in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants, so they are great additions to your dog’s diet. Most of these will be present in your dog’s food, but not always at the optimum levels for your dog.

Incorporating fruits and vegetables dogs can eat into your pup’s meals or treats can also help diversify their food. I love mac and cheese, but I wouldn’t want to eat it for every meal for the rest of my life. Dogs, like humans, get bored or less interested in their food when they eat the same thing every day. Fruits and vegetables can help make it more interesting.

In addition, fruits and vegetables are lower in calories and high in fiber, which means they can make excellent treats if your pup is struggling with their weight. Fiber can help them feel fuller and aid in digestive health. Before she got diagnosed with hypothyroidism, we had a tough time keeping Prim’s weight normal because of how food-motivated she is. We routinely used carrots for treats and training, specifically in our DIY snuffle mats and stuffed hollow bones. She still loved both activities, and they helped keep her weight from increasing.

We have an article on low calorie treats for dogs, if you want some additional ideas on keeping your dog’s weight managed. Our dogs love them and don’t notice the difference!

Introducing new fruits & vegetables to your dog

We’ll keep the disclaimer part of this short, but if you have specific questions related to health issues for your pup, we recommend discussing them with your vet. This list of fruits and vegetables is safe for most dogs to eat, but every dog is different.

When introducing new fruits and vegetables to your pup, we recommend removing the skin, seeds, and pits or cores. These are generally not safe to eat, and even if they are, they are choking hazards. In addition, making the fruit or vegetable bite-size is a safe place to start.

We typically try to use fruits and vegetables dogs can eat as treats initially, because our pups like a surprisingly large amount of fruits and vegetables. Not all dogs will like this, especially picky eaters like Goomba, but some may. We routinely use vegetables as training treats for Primmie, and she likes them almost as much as cheese.

Even if your dog loves something as a snack, keep the servings in moderation, especially to start. If you ate half a pound of carrots, you’d likely end up with an upset stomach, and so will your dog. If your dog is extremely picky about new foods, try a limited-ingredient baked treat. This will allow them to get the flavor without getting an overpowering taste. Fruitables baked treats are one of our favorite options and our pups have liked each one they’ve tried.

If your dog has accidentally ingested a toxic food (or anything else!), take your dog to the nearest emergency vet immediately and call the ASPCA poison control hotline on the way! It will probably be a requirement from your emergency vet and will save some time when you get there. We used the hotline once when Prim got a hold of a local toad and had extremely concerning symptoms. We got lucky, and there was no genuine risk, but it was still a very scary experience!

Ways to incorporate fruits and vegetables into your dog’s diet

We’ll start this section assuming the use as an attempted treat failed, like it often does for Goomba. No worries, we have plenty of other options to sneak in fruits and vegetables.

If you’re wondering, “What vegetables and fruits I can feed my dog?” if your pup doesn’t seem to like any, the answer is still most of them! There are a variety of ways to sneak them in, even if your dog is super picky.

The easiest ways are baking treats or buying baked dog treats with your vegetable or fruit. We rarely bake treats for our dogs and typically opt for purchasing them. For this to be effective, we recommend finding relatively limited ingredient treats that have their fruit or vegetable high on the ingredient list. For example, if you’re testing out pumpkin, Fruitables baked pumpkin treats have pumpkin as the first ingredient and a moderate amount of total ingredients.

The next easiest option, which is our most common way of including fruits and vegetables dogs can eat in their diets, is to use them in frozen enrichment toys, like the Toppl or Pupsicle. Our dogs absolutely love their frozen enrichment, and it’s a low-effort way to sneak in some healthy treats without your pup noticing too much. Our dogs love it so much that they’ll go sit by the freezer when they know it’s time for their frozen treats. We prefer blending them, and even Goomba gets excited if his Toppl contains carrots.

We write a lot of articles on enrichment, but here’s a few of our favorite frozen options that work well with fruits and vegetables:

• frozen lick mat recipes
• frozen Kong recipes
• frozen Pupsicle rescipes
• frozen Toppl recipes

Our favorite fruits and vegetables dogs can eat

Now, to the reason you’re here: our favorite fruits and vegetables that dogs can eat! We’ll be grouping these into categories for fruits and vegetables as well as including some of the common unsafe options. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but includes our dogs’ favorites as well as commonly available options. If your dog has specific health issues, or you just have more specific questions, we recommend consulting with your veterinarian.

Fruits dogs can eat

For the first part of our list of fruits and vegetables dogs can eat, we’ll be starting off with fruits that dogs can eat! Fruits tend to be higher in sugar than most other foods. If your dog is sensitive to sugar or has weight issues, check with your veterinarian prior to using them as treats. We grouped these into our own categories that made sense to us.

Berries

Berries are out first category of fruits and vegetables dogs can eat and offer a lot of flexibility in their use. One of our dogs’ favorite options is using them in lick mat recipes, both whole and blended. Prim loves berries, and they are often in recipes for our favorite lick mats.

Blueberries are Prim’s favorite berry, and they make frequent appearances in our training and enrichment. Blueberries are a superfood and packed full of antioxidants, fiber, and Vitamin C, which means they’re a great option for your pup! They make great training treats if your dog likes them and they’re low in calories. Our favorite packaged treat with blueberries is Shameless Pets Blueberried Treasure! They’re relatively low-ingredient, smell like blueberries, and our pups both love them!

Unsweetened cranberries are another great treat for your pup, if your dog will eat them. Because they’re tart, manufacturers often sweeten cranberries, so be sure to get unsweetened cranberries that are safe for your pup. Cranberries contain many antioxidants, fiber, and healthy vitamins and minerals, which means they are definitely one of the healthier fruits and vegetables dogs can eat. We recommend trying a baked option first, such as Fruitables pumpkin & cranberry treats, because of their strong flavor.

Strawberries are one of our favorite fruits and vegetables dogs can eat, and Prim loves them! Like the other berries, they are full of antioxidants and fiber, but contain other vitamins and minerals as well. Strawberries contain a fair bit of sugar, so keep that in mind when treating your pup. We blend strawberries in some of our canine enrichment toys, like Prim’s Pupsicle, and she always loves it. One of our staple treat brands, Charlee Bear, makes limited ingredient treats with strawberry, and both of our dogs love them!

We use strawberries to flavor plain greek yogurt and make strawberry yogurt safe for dogs. If your dog loves dairy products, we highly recommend giving it a shot!

Citrus fruits

Citrus fruits are another common category of fruits and vegetables dogs can eat, although we don’t use them as much as some other options. When we do, they’re typically mixed in something else, like a Toppl or Kong, instead of hand-fed treats. Your mileage may vary depending on your dog’s preferences, but Goomba has zero interest in these. Prim loves them, but she likes almost all food!

Kiwi is a great fruit for your pup, especially in moderation. It’s extremely high in vitamin C, fiber, and potassium and can actually help with constipation as well. Make sure you remove the seeds and skin before feeding to your pup. We haven’t seen any dog treats with kiwi in them, but if you have, let us know your favorites! Our pups love to try new stuff!

Oranges are another of our favorite fruits and vegetables dogs can eat, but not every pup will be a fan. The strong citrus scent and taste can deter pickier eaters, like our Goomba, but they are extremely healthy fruits. Like kiwis, they are full of Vitamin C, fiber, and potassium, although they are more acidic and sugary than other options. We recommend removing the peel and any seeds prior to feeding, as both can be rough on your dog’s stomach. We recently tried out Herbsmith’s freeze-dried dog treats with oranges and our dogs are big fans of them.

Pineapples are a great option for trying with your dog, as long as they’re in moderation. Pineapples are full of antioxidants and vitamins, particularly zinc; however, they are also high in acidity and sugar. As with most fruits, remove the skin and core before feeding to your pup. Of the citrus fruits, pineapple has a more subtle taste than some other options, which means there’s a higher chance of your dog liking it. Our dogs haven’t tried any baked treats that contain pineapple, but let us know if you have a favorite!

Melons

Melons are a great option for fruits and vegetables that dogs can eat, but it’s hard to find them in pre-made treats. Most of these fruits are sweet and have plenty of water and healthy bits. A lot of pups will eat these as hand-fed treats, but they mix great, too. Watermelon can be a fantastic option for frozen enrichment or hand-fed to help with muzzle training!

Cantaloupe is a great fruit to start with melons for your dog! Like most fruits, it’s high in Vitamin C, fiber, and full of other nutrients with a sweet taste. Remove the seeds and skin prior to feeding, but cantaloupe is a perfectly safe option as a snack for your pup! We don’t have much luck with pre-made melon dog treats, but if you do, let us know your favorite!

Honeydew is similar to cantaloupe for dogs. It is sweeter and firmer, but the same guidelines apply! It’s also high in vitamin C, fiber, and has a very high water content. Remove the seeds and skin and serve as bite size chunks! Melons make great bases for frozen enrichment, and we’ve seen lots of Toppl recipes that use them. Similar to cantaloupe, we haven’t found a baked treat with honeydew that we like yet.

Watermelon is our preferred melon for our pups, and conveniently, it’s the most common. It has even more health benefits than the previous 2 melons. Besides all of their benefits, watermelon also has large quantities of Vitamin A and B6. Of all the melons, watermelon seems to be the most commonly enjoyed by pups, and it even comes in some pre-made treats. We haven’t tried these specific ones yet, but they’re currently in our cart on Amazon!

Stone fruits

For our next section of fruits and vegetables dogs can eat, we’ll be discussing stone fruits. A stone fruit is any fruit that has a large seed, or stone, at the center. They’ll be some of the more common fruits you’ve seen around and are typically staples at every grocery store. These fruits themselves are safe, but the large seed contains small amounts of cyanide and is a choking hazard. We’ve used a few of these in some of our frozen lick mat recipes, and our pups love them!

Apricots are a great option for a healthy dog treat, as long as you remove the seed, skin, and leaves. Like most stone fruits, you should avoid the seed, but the rest of the fruit is perfectly healthy. Apricots are high in potassium, fiber, and multiple anti-oxidants, which means you don’t have to feel bad about your pup enjoying this treat in moderation. Not every pup will like them, but if you enjoy them, it’s worth a shot to see if your pup will enjoy them!

Coconuts are one of the more surprising fruits and vegetables dogs can eat, at least to us, and a great option for your pup. Coconut has a wide variety of benefits to your dog’s health, and some of our favorite benefits are decreasing inflammation, anti-fungal & anti-bacterial properties, and antioxidant properties. We’ve fed our dogs coconut oil for years, and it’s helped dramatically with skin health and inflammation for both of our pups. It is high in calories, especially the oil, so be careful if your dog’s prone to having weight issues. If your dog isn’t as interested in coconut oil by itself, there are a ton of dog treats that contain it, such as Finley’s Dog Biscuits.

Mangos are another dog-safe fruit that can make a great treat in moderation for your dog. Packed full of a wide variety of vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, and potassium, but high in sugar, this fruit makes a refreshing summer treat. As with the rest of the stone fruits, remove the seed and skin prior to feeding to your pup. The tropical taste may be a bit off-putting to some pups, so if that’s the case with your dog, try a dried treat, such as Natoo’s crunchy biscuits.

Nectarines are another popular stone fruit that’s one of our favorite fruits and vegetables dogs can eat. Like most stone fruits, it’s packed full of nutrients, such as fiber, potassium, vitamins and minerals. It’s also high in sugar, so be sure to feed to your pup in moderation after removing the seed and skin. Nectarines can help with constipation, which is an added benefit if your pup is having some issues. We have found no good baked treats with nectarines yet, but reach out and share your favorite if you have!

Unsweetened peaches are a great option for a treat for your pup, but have a high sugar content, especially when in juice. We recommend using frozen, whole, or unsweetened pieces for your dog instead, as they are already sweet naturally. Peaches are full of Vitamin A, fiber, and antioxidants, which means you don’t have to feel bad about treating your dog in moderation. As with any stone fruit, remove the seed and skin prior to feeding. We haven’t tried them yet, but Dog Food Naturals superfood sticks are one of the next treats we’ll be trying out and contain peach! Another great option is peach baby food puree, but make sure you check the ingredients first.

Other fruits

We included anything that doesn’t fit into the other categories as well into this one. Apparently, a banana is a berry, but that doesn’t seem to be how most of us would categorize it, so it’s here. This is our most commonly used section of fruit, and we routinely use it in frozen enrichment recipes. Primmie loves her banana Pupsicle recipes and Goomba’s favorite Kong recipe is peanut butter and banana, even though he won’t eat bananas as a treat.

Apples are one of our favorite fruits safe for dogs, and they’re an extremely common ingredient in treats, too. They are high in vitamins A and C, fiber, potassium, and antioxidants while being low in calories. Be sure to remove the seeds and core, but they’re a high-flavor snack that most pups seem to enjoy. We’ve even used them in desensitizing training, such as harness training, and they work great! If you’d prefer a baked option, our favorite is Fruitables bacon & apple treats, and we’ve been using them for years!

Bananas are another great fruit for your pup, as long as they like the flavor. They’re one of my two favorite fruits and vegetables dogs can eat, which means they make regular appearances at our house. Bananas are high in potassium, fiber, and multiple vitamins, but are one of the higher sugar snacks on our list. This means they’re perfectly suited to be a treat, but shouldn’t be a staple of your dog’s diet. As you would for yourself, be sure to remove the peel before eating.

For us, Prim loves bananas, but Goomba won’t touch them. We use them in some of our DIY dog puzzles since she enjoys them so much! If your dog doesn’t like them straight, try mixing them in a Toppl or using baked treats, like Shameless Pets soft baked treats!

Although it’s not the most common fruit, papaya is a dog-safe fruit you can feed your pup. Like most fruits, it’s high in fiber, vitamin A & C, and potassium, which means you don’t need to feel bad about feeding it to your dog. We recommend removing the skin and seeds prior to feeding and only feeding in moderation. Small quantities can help their digestive system, but large amounts can upset it. One of Finley’s dog treats has a papaya option, and it’s a great place to start if you haven’t fed your dog papaya before.

For our final dog-safe fruit, we’ll be discussing pears. Pears are high in vitamins C & K, fiber, and copper, and are a great option if you remove the seeds and skin. Pears have the same prep guidelines as peaches, so make sure you find unsweetened or cut up whole pears. If your dog doesn’t like raw pear, trying a pre-made treat is always a great option. Fruitables are one of our go to options, and they have a salmon and pear dog treat that’s always a hit!

Vegetables dogs can eat

The first vegetables we’ll discuss are leafy greens! Compared with fruits, vegetables tend to have fewer calories and less sugar, which makes them a perfect option if your pup has weight or sugar-related health issues. For us, we used carrots and squash to help manage Primmie’s weight until we could determine her thyroid issues, and she still loved it!

Leafy greens

For our first section on fruits and vegetables dogs can eat related to vegetables, we’ll be discussing leafy greens. Full disclaimer: a lot of dogs won’t like this category of vegetable, but they are safe for your dog! Even Prim, our resident food drive pup, needs some encouragement to eat items from this category, but will typically eat these vegetables.

First, we’ll touch on Brussel sprouts and cabbage. Brussel sprouts are basically baby cabbages, so the same guidelines will apply for both vegetables. Brussel sprouts are full of antioxidants, vitamin K, and a variety of other helpful nutrients, which makes them a great healthy snack. The con? Both vegetables can cause a large amount of discomfort from gas. If you’re feeding either to your pup, make sure you start with small quantities and increase consumption slowly.

Kale is next on our list of vegetables dogs can eat safely. This vegetable is high in antioxidants, vitamins A & K, and a variety of other healthy substances. Kale can make for a great, healthy snack in moderation for your pup. For us, Prim will eat the leafy greens mixed in frozen enrichments, like her current favorite, the Pupsicle. Goomba has no interest in leafy vegetables. Darker green vegetables are associated with high levels of oxalate, a compound that can result in the formation of kidney stones, but not kale. Remy’s Kitchen makes freeze-dried pumpkin and kale treats that are a great limited-ingredient option for your pup.

Lettuce is our final leafy green of fruits and vegetables dogs can eat, and it’s perfectly safe for dogs! Similar to carrots, lettuce is a great low-calorie option for your pup if they struggle with their weight or sugar and has a high water content. It’s also a wonderful source of vitamins A, C, and K, as well as fiber. One thing to note is that iceberg lettuce, while still safe, has fewer health benefits than the other options and has very limited nutritional value.

If your pup enjoys shredding toys, you can allow your dog to shred up lettuce instead of toys! It makes a great, low-cost substitute for lower quality toys.

Seed & pod vegetables

Next up for our fruit and vegetables dogs can eat, we have seed & pod vegetables. This’ll include anything that’s a pod or has edible seeds. For our purposes, it’s essentially green beans, peas, and corn, all of which are safe for pups! Prim loves all of them, but Goomba won’t eat any of them unless mixed in something else.

First, we’ll touch on corn. A staple in dog foods, corn has a wide profile of vitamins and minerals, fiber, and a fair amount of protein for a plant. The high fiber content can even help with digestion for your pup, which is a great added benefit. This vegetable doesn’t have as great a nutrient profile as some others on the list, but is perfectly fine in moderation. Plain or limited ingredient popcorn can even be a great low-calorie snack for your dog, as long as you watch the ingredients. Prim loves popcorn and is super pushy about making sure she gets some when we eat it!

If you’re searching for a food option that specifically has corn, this Gerber pureed baby food is a great option. We use pureed baby foods if we want to try out a fruit or vegetable with our pups, but don’t want an entire piece of produce. As long as you’re careful with the ingredients, it works great!

Next up: green beans! If your pup is willing to eat them, green beans make a perfect healthy snack for your pup. It doesn’t matter how you cook them (or don’t cook them!), as long as they are plain and low sodium, they’re great dog-safe snacks! They’re low in calories, high in fiber, and contain a bunch of healthy components, such as vitamins A, B6, C, and K and iron and calcium.

We recently tried a green bean plant in our garden, and one plant makes the perfect amount for snacks for you and your pup. Pureed green beans is also an option, but we find blending the green beans is easier, unless you have small children.

For our last seed and pod vegetable, we’ll be discussing peas. This is one of the fruits and vegetables dogs can eat that is not one of our dogs’ favorites. There are a ton of different peas, and they are quite healthy options for your pup. They contain vitamins A, multiple B vitamins, C, and K and have a high fiber and protein content. Fresh or frozen peas are best, since they have much less sodium than canned ones. Low-sodium canned options do exist, they’re just harder to find.

Our pups are picky about green peas, but Prim will reluctantly eat them. Goomba has no interest but will eat the pureed green pea baby food as long as it’s mixed well in something.

Squash

Squashes are one of our most commonly used vegetables for our dogs, and they’re one of Prim’s favorite categories of produce. There are a lot of safe options for pups, and most have high fiber and water content, which makes them a perfect healthy snack. Zucchini and pumpkins are her current favorites, but she’s open to most options. Goomba only likes pumpkins from this category, but he’s extremely picky with produce.

For our first squash, we’ll be talking about butternut squash. Butternut squash contains vitamins A, B6, and C, as well as potassium and fiber, which means it’s a great high-fiber snack for your pup (or you!). It contains large amounts of Vitamin A, which helps cell health and has antioxidant properties. One of our favorite treat brands, Shameless Pets, has a salmon and butternut squash treat that’s always a hit! Butternut and most of the squashes are great options to mix into frozen Kong recipes and we use them consistently for that purpose.

Our next vegetable from our favorite fruits and vegetables dogs can eat is cucumber. Cucumber is a fantastic option, especially if your dog has issues with his or her weight. They’re loaded with vitamins and minerals, including vitamins B1, C, and K and copper, magnesium, and potassium. Cucumbers are even hydrating for your pup and contain very few calories. They have a strong taste, so we’d recommend trying small amounts out first with your pup.

Pumpkin is our pups’ favorite squash, and it has a ton of benefits for your pup, too! Pumpkin contains one of the widest nutrient profiles for a vegetable, including huge amounts of fiber and antioxidants. It’s one of the natural remedies when your pup is having stomach issues and is a frequent ingredient in supplements, treats, and dog food. We can’t say enough good things about pumpkin, but both of our dogs absolutely love it!

Make sure that you buy pumpkin puree (single ingredient of pumpkin) if you buy a can. If you’d rather do treats, one of our favorites is Blue Buffalo crunchy bars and they’re quite affordable.

Zucchini is another great squash, and it makes frequent appearances in Prim’s diet. It’s high in antioxidants and has a wide nutrient profile, which makes it a well-rounded vegetable. Its high fiber and water content make it a great snack for pups with weight issues, and we used it extensively for Primmie when she struggled with her weight.

We even use zucchini for training, as Prim thinks it’s a special treat and gets all excited for it. We typically just use raw zucchini that’s cut up, but some Gerber baby food contains zucchini if you’d rather have a smaller serving. Zucchini is a frequent ingredient in our Toppl recipes, especially when we blend it. In addition, zucchini plants are a great addition if you’re interested in produce that’s safe for your dog friendly backyard!

Root vegetables

Root vegetables are our most commonly used category of vegetables for our pups, and definitely one of the two favorites. There are a wide variety of options available, but our pups’ two favorites are sweet potatoes and carrots, which both offer a lot of flexibility in how you can use them. One of our favorite life hacks is to use carrots in stuffed bones, especially with peanut butter, when we need to distract our pups for a few minutes.

Beets are a fantastic option for fruits and vegetables dogs can eat, but few pups will like them. Essentially a superfood, beets are high in vitamin C, folate, fiber, antioxidants, potassium and more. Beets can get messy when you’re handling them and can stain your hands and kitchen equipment easily, but I have enjoyed them since I was a kid. We haven’t had a ton of success with raw beets with our dogs, but both our pups do love Shameless Pets Duck Duck Beet treats. If you’d rather try canned beets, make sure the ingredients are pup safe and that they are low sugar and sodium.

Carrots are by far the most commonly used vegetable for our dogs in our house. To start, they’re high in vitamin A, beta-carotene, antioxidants, and fiber. They’re also high in water and low in calories, which means they’re a great substitute for high-calorie treats. Prim gets as excited about carrots as chicken, and we still use them heavily. We’ve even cut them into pieces to use as treats for training, and she loves them!

Our most commonly used items with carrots are lick mats, Pupsicles, and Toppls, but we’ve even used them for our DIY dog agility courses, specifically when teaching the agility tunnel. If your dog doesn’t like them raw, there are a variety of carrot dog treats available.

Next up: sweet potatoes! One of our dogs’ favorite treats, sweet potatoes are great for digestive health, like pumpkins, and contain a variety of vitamins and minerals. Specifically, they’re high in vitamins B6 and C, fiber, manganese, and beta-carotene. They’re a great healthy vegetable that our dogs love and make frequent appearances in our canine enrichment toys. Plain cooked sweet potatoes are best, but if you’d rather have a treat, our dogs love Healthful’s sweet potato slices and we’ve been getting them for years.

Other vegetables

Our last category of fruits and vegetables dogs can eat is other vegetables. We used this as a bucket for anything that didn’t fit well into another category, but these are all great options, as long as your dog likes them!

For our first of the fruits and vegetables dogs can eat in this category, we’ll be discussing bell peppers. As with most produce, make sure you remove the seeds and core, but this vegetable makes a perfect healthy snack for your pup, and Prim agrees! They contain large amounts of vitamins A and C, antioxidants, and a slew of other vitamins and minerals. You should introduce them slowly, but they are a great tasty snack for your dog!

Broccoli is another healthy vegetable that is an option for your pup, if they are willing to eat it. This vegetable contains large amounts of vitamins C and K, potassium, and fiber, which makes it a perfect low-calorie snack for your pup. Raw broccoli can be tough and contains a compound that can cause GI upset in large amounts, so we recommend cooking this vegetable for your dog. Steaming is our preferred option, and our pups are much more willing to eat it when it’s soft.

Similar to broccoli, cauliflower is also on the list of fruits and vegetables dogs can eat. It has most of the same caveats as broccoli, but a different nutrient profile. Cauliflower is high in fiber, antioxidants, and has a wide nutrient profile, which makes it a solid snack for your pup. Its high water content also means it’s a great option for dogs who struggle with their weight. You should also cook your cauliflower to make it less tough, just like broccoli.

For our final vegetable of our favorite fruits and vegetables dogs can eat, we have celery. Celery is extremely healthy and contains large amounts of vitamins A, B, and C, as well as fiber and antioxidants. It also barely has any calories at all, which means it’s the perfect option for overweight pups. Celery can be tough raw, so cooking it will definitely increase the chance that your dog will eat it. We have to trick our pups into eating celery, but it’s a fantastic healthy option for your pup.

Fruits dogs cannot eat

In contrast to our list of fruits and vegetables dogs can eat, we wanted to list a few fruits and vegetables that are not safe for dogs. Keep in mind that just because a fruit isn’t on this list doesn’t mean it’s safe for your pup. If you’re not sure if something is safe for your pup, contact your veterinarian or another relevant professional. If your dog has eaten something that you suspect is toxic, call the ASPCA poison control center immediately.

For our first fruit that is not safe to eat, we’ll talk about avocados. The entire fruit contains a chemical called persin, a toxin that can cause vomiting, diarrhea, pancreatitis, and sometimes can even be fatal. The skin, core, and leaves have much higher levels than the fleshy part, but even that contains the toxin. This is one that’s best to avoid for your dog, even if it is safe for humans. We recommend steering clear of this fruit for your pup.

Our next fruit that isn’t safe for your pup: cherries. Cherries contain cyanide (yes, that cyanide) which causes issues related to a lack of oxygen in your pup. Think difficulty breathing, discolored gums, seizures and similar behavior. If that’s not enough, the pits can impact your dog’s digestive system and cause issues that way, too. If you enjoy cherries, discard them somewhere your dog can’t get to, like a closed trash can.

Grapes are next up, and they are definitely not one of the fruits and vegetables dogs can eat. Grapes (and raisins) are incredibly toxic to dogs, and even a small amount can result in kidney failure. If your dog consumes grapes or raisins, definitely call the poison control hotline and take your pup to an emergency vet immediately. Symptoms will vary, but common signs of grape poisoning in dogs include diarrhea, vomiting, lethargy, and increased thirst.

We’ll be grouping lemons and limes together because they are similar enough. Neither fruit is safe for your dog because of an extremely high acid content. Fortunately, most dogs will have no interest in a lemon or lime because of the sour odor. The rind is even more toxic to your dog, so you should avoid the whole fruit. There’s a variety of symptoms, but some of the more serious ones are weakness, lethargy, and sensitivity to light.

Tomatoes aren’t as toxic as some other fruits, but it’s best to avoid them either way. The green parts of tomatoes contain toxic substances, and even the fleshy part can cause GI upset. At best, they’ll cause stomach upset, and, depending on the quantity that they eat, more serious symptoms can occur. If you have them in your garden, it’s best to have them behind deer netting or Tenax netting. We use Tenax netting on ours, and it’s worked great for keeping our dogs out.

Wild berries are our last item on the fruits portion of produce that’s not safe. The issue with wild berries is that it’s extremely dangerous and challenging to tell exactly what type of berry you’ve found. You could find wild blueberries that are perfectly safe or yew berries, which can cause seizures. There’s too much unknown and no upside to this, and we highly recommend avoiding wild berries.

Vegetables dogs cannot eat

For our last section on fruits and vegetables dogs can eat, we’ll be discussing vegetables that dogs cannot eat. Keep in mind that just because a vegetable isn’t on this list doesn’t make it safe. If you’re not sure if something is safe for your pup, contact your veterinarian or another relevant professional. If your dog has eaten something that you suspect is toxic, call the ASPCA poison control center immediately.

First up: garlic. Garlic is one of the common toxic vegetables for pups, and we recommend staying away from it. It contains thiosulfinates, which are safe for humans, but toxic for dogs. Your pup would have to eat a large amount of garlic to have serious issues, but some pups are more sensitive than others, and it’s best to just avoid it. Thiosulfate can cause anemia in dogs, which has symptoms of pale gums, lethargy, rapid breathing, and weakness.

Wild mushrooms are the next vegetable we’ll be discussing. Wild mushrooms are similar to our section on wild berries, and most of the same guidelines and issues still apply. There are thousands of types of mushrooms that can range from healthy to potentially fatal, depending on the type. They aren’t always easy to tell apart either, so we highly recommend staying away from anything you find in the woods. Some of the worst types of mushrooms can have symptoms like organ failure, seizures, and death. As long as they are labeled correctly, you should be fine with most grocery store mushrooms, but we recommend avoiding them altogether.

Onions (and shallots) are our next vegetable that isn’t safe for your dog, and all the same concerns apply as garlic. It can also cause anemia in your dog and results in red blood cells rupturing, besides the other symptoms listed for garlic. Certain dog breeds are even less tolerant than most to onion and garlic toxicity, which means even a small amount can cause symptoms in your pup. We strongly recommend avoiding this vegetable, too.

Our last vegetable that isn’t safe for your dog for our guide on fruits and vegetables dogs can eat is rhubarb. This is a less common vegetable, but can produce some extremely unpleasant symptoms in your dog if ingested. Rhubarb contains calcium oxalate crystals, which can result in extreme pain and irritation if your dog eats any part of the plant, but especially the leaves. Consumption will result in a vast variety of symptoms, including kidney failure, tremors, and airway obstruction. If your pup consumes rhubarb, take them to the emergency vet immediately.

Conclusion

There are a ton of fruits and vegetables dogs can eat, but some are toxic, too. It’s important to know which are safe so your pup can enjoy as many options as possible while staying away from the dangerous ones. Not every dog will enjoy all (or even any) fruits and vegetables, and just like us, they all will have their own individual preferences. Prim’s favorites are bananas and carrots, while Goomba loves pumpkin.

Do you have other fruits and vegetables dogs can eat that we missed? Let us know by tagging us on Instagram @TheRulyBully! We (and our dogs) love trying out new foods, and we’ll give you a shout out if we include it on our post.

Have fun!