If you are petting a dog, and are uncertain about what are the eating habits for a banana – then it can be tough to be a good dog parent. 

Confusion about eating habits can lead to poor selection of food. 

One question asked often is – Can dogs eat bananas? 

And the answer is – Yes, dogs can eat bananas, but in moderation. 

Frequent consumption of bananas can cause chemical imbalances for the dog. 

Bananas are a rich source of potassium, vitamins, and minerals. They are potentially very good alternatives to fat and salty food that your dog must consume.

A few factors to consider while feeding bananas to your dogs are listed in the next section. 

What should you consider when feeding bananas to your dogs?

• Age of the dog: Is your dog grown up or is it in an early stage? While the pups require a lesser quantity of bananas in their diet – the grown-up ones can eat on a more frequent basis. Bananas should be a treat to your dog – and not a complete meal.
  
• Breed of the dog: Not every dog breed is the same. Different dog breeds react differently to the food that they consume. While some of them result in not having any allergies or infections, others might suffer from pancreatitis and other ailments. One such example is the Golden Retriever. They are notorious for having stomach ailments and food allergies.
  
• Removing the peel from the flesh: The peel is often very difficult for the dogs to digest. Comparatively, the soft portion of the banana is easier and dies quickly. Rich with nutrients and vitamins, the soft, fleshy portion of the banana is something that you can consider giving your furry member. 

Nutrient content in banana helpful for your dogs

• When it comes to vitamins, bananas are rich in vitamin B6, and Vitamin C
• High fiber content in banana ensures that any gastrointestinal issues in your pup should be recovered
• Magnesium in bananas help in improving bone growth and vitamin absorption
• Banana peels contain high quantities of antioxidants and tryptophan the protect the bananas from cell damage and inflammation

Can we feed banana peels to the dog?

Feeding banana peels to the dogs needs to follow a clear procedure. Banana peels are often very high in fiber and they can cause Constipation which can result in either bloating or diarrhea. 

For this reason, it is very important to follow a particular procedure for every dog parent when they want to feed banana peels to their dogs.

Start by cleaning and washing the banana peels.

Follow it up by cutting them into smaller pieces. 

Banana peels are generally very hard by nature. For this reason you need to boil or bake the peeled banana leaves. 

Keep in mind that while you’re boiling or baking the banana peels, no seasonings are added as it can be very harmful for your dog. 

If it is the first time that you’re looking forward to feeding a banana peel to your dog, we suggest you take it slow. Understand whether the dog is able to tolerate the banana peel or not.

Keep a very close watch to look if they’re suffering from any allergies or reactions. If there are any signs that the banana peel is reacting in the wrong way, then it is highly recommended that you contact a veterinarian right away.

Tips to feed bananas to your dog

Feeding the banana to your dog can be quite tricky in the first place. Considering that it is a completely new fruit that you are putting forward to your puppy, it might not react as it does with others.

You can either consider mixing and mashing it along with the rest of the domestic food that you offer your dog.

Or you can cut it into very small pieces and then feed it to your dog. 

You can also try freezing the banana and then giving it to your dog. When you freeze bananas or any fruit as such, then it creates a new texture and flavor for your dog.

This gives a completely new experience for it as well as they can enjoy it in a much more prominent manner.

But if your dog is very young, it is important that you check with the vet regarding the consumption of bananas. 

Young puppies need to follow a particular diet chart in order for them to meet the calorie requirement. If banana is not only present since before within the diet chart, introducing it at a later stage can interfere with the calorie requirements.

Under such situations, contacting and communicating with the vet is always important.

How can Bananas be harmful to dogs?

On average, a medium-sized banana contains around 17 grams of sugar.

Now, how much is 17 grams, in reality?

Let us try to visualize this number with some realistic examples.

If we look into a sugar cube, a sugar cube contains around 4gm of sugar. With around 17 grams of sugar present in a medium-sized banana, it translates to 4 to 4.5 sugar cubes in an 8-inch banana. 

This comes close to 25% or one-quarter of a small-sized glass. 

This high content of sugar present in bananas is actually harmful to the dogs.

The natural sugar that is present in bananas often increases the deposition of fat for animals. This deposition of fat results in increasing the weight, thus leading to collateral health diseases.

These health diseases could be as high as increasing blood glucose level to as terrible as impacting the liver.

So it is very important to follow the 90/10 rule.

Dog food should be the main food that your dog eats 90% of the time. This will ensure that the metabolism of the dog remains in the right direction and will also make sure that there are no ingredients that are being missed out.

The remaining 10% can be the treats wherein you can include the food that is high in sugar such as banana. 

How much banana should I feed my dog?

The sizing of the portion of the banana that a dog should eat should completely depend on the weight of the dog. 

While the extra small ones can take 1-2 slices, the small ones should not eat more than 3 slices. When it comes to the medium dogs, at most 6 slices can be offered – while the large and the extra large ones can have a handful of the slices. 

Health considerations to check before adding banana to the diet

One thing that is highly necessary is to understand that health considerations must be checked of your dog before you add bananas to the diet.

Monitor closely the changes in the health of your dog and take necessary steps. Check if your dog is having diabetes or Constipation or digestive issues that can be impacted by the consumption of a banana.

Secondly, the dental issues should also not be ignored. When we talk about dental issues, what you are trying to refer to here is the fact that if the banana is being consumed, check for the plague formation. 

Banana is very soft in nature and if it gets stuck or remains stuck on the teeth can result in the formation of plaque. 

Hence, it becomes very important to clean the teeth of your dog to prevent it from getting affected by plague. 

Also, if you’re a new dog parent, it is important for you to understand the signs for overfeeding. When you end up over feeding your dog, it results in Constipation, vomiting, lethargy and other complications. Such symptoms are a warning sign that you are overdoing it and it’s time to stop and consult a vet.

Can bananas be used as a reward?

So if you are observing that the bananas are really liked by your puppy, it’s time to use it as a reward tool. Often puppies need to be trained so that they’re able to understand how to behave within a domestic household.

But such training also comes with a factor of rewarding them.

Keep the bananas as a tool for rewarding your puppies when they complete a particular task – diligently.

This will not only motivate them to do their task properly, but it also helps to improve their learning mechanism.

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