If you are a big lover of apple sauce like many people around the world. You might be wondering can dogs eat applesauce? The real question is should you be feeding them apple sauce or not.
Check out our below article where we go into depth about applesauce and dogs.
Can Dogs Eat Applesauce?
The short and simple answer is yes. You can give apples to dogs without causing any side-effects. If you want to give applesauce to your pooch, go right ahead. Not all apple varieties are good for making a sauce out of them though. This is mentioned below.
Regardless, you must be watchful of what your dog eats and how he eats it. We cannot emphasize more on the need to be careful with serving the right treats to your pets.
Do not get carried away and mess with up the quantity. Giving in moderation and monitoring are as important as any, especially when your dog gets a particular treat for the first time.
Health Benefits of Applesauce
- It contains pectin which works like a charm in managing cholesterol levels.
- Apple and hence applesauce is rich in soluble fiber. In turn, it helps with overall digestion as well.
- Applesauce is a good source of vitamin K and C.
- It helps to keep blood sugar levels low when you are feeding the unsweetened version.
- Applesauce provides calcium, which is good for bone development.
- An unappreciated benefit of applesauce is it serves as a treat that can be frozen and used in moderation.
How to Prepare Unsweetened Applesauce?
If diabetic humans avoid sugar, the same practice should apply for dogs as well. Dogs cannot express their bodily discomfort vocally. Moreover, with their limited taste buds, they show less aversion to most foods. It includes foods that are harmful and even toxic to them. As responsible dog owners, we need to ensure our pets get the best. Do not give them added sugar, this will affect their suffering. Here we present a simple recipe to make the best out of your apples.
- Peel off the apple skin.
- Chop into smaller cubes or slice as per your preferences.
- Deseed the apples without fail. Along with the core.
- Add 1 cup of water for each apple. (Depending on the size or the apple)
- Boil the pieces in a pan for up to 15 minutes.
- Optionally, you can pressure cook to get the apple tender.
- Strain the apples enough.
- Mash them thoroughly using a blender.
- Cool it in the refrigerator or pour the sauce into an ice tray.
- Offer servings to your dog in moderation.
- Store it in the refrigerator for no longer than 7 days.
Monitoring Your Dog
It is not as simple as preparing and serving the applesauce to your dog. You have to monitor your dog carefully after they have consumed applesauce for the first time. Finding out that your dog cannot eat applesauce is not the end of the world. You need to ensure your dog does not have any problems when they digest it. This is just as important as them eating it properly. To do that you must keep an eye out, to make sure none of this happens.
- Your dog throws up out of the blue.
- Their suffering from mild to extreme diarrhea.
- They look dehydrated and weak.
How Much Is To Much?
We ask it whenever we try a new kind of food. Trying out applesauce is no exception. You can start with just one spoon and work your way up. Let them take their own time to eat and digest it. On an advanced level, we recommend doing a poop check. If everything goes fine, you can give them applesauce whenever you want to give them a treat. The reason we say this is because human foods are not always preferred by our pets. The digestive system of our canine friend is very much different from ours. Moreover, each dog is different from another. Every dog has a unique set of likes, dislikes, and forms. This is something that most dog owners overlook quite easily.
Hence, you must always keep a tab on your dog when you feed them anything new. Applesauce is no exception to it, regardless of how much the smell of fresh apples is tempting. Let’s face it. Applesauce is too delicious to be passed on.
Words of Caution
If your dog is diabetic, applesauce is not a good idea. Alternatively, you can go for unsweetened applesauce to get around the issue. Although if your dog does have diabetes you should ask your veterinarian about adding anything new to their diet.
We do recommend preparing applesauce at home to be sure no sugar is added.
Besides, never feed applesauce to puppies since it can make them dehydrated.
You should avoid purchasing the readymade ones from local stores. These products may contain color additives, added preservatives, and pesticides. These are not good substances for your dog to digest. Moreover, the readymade ones have a high amount of sugar, which needs to be avoided at all costs.
Another ingredient you need to keep an eye our for is xylitol. Xylitol is an articial sweeter which is deadly to dogs, it is very toxic!
Liver failure (and death) can also result from xylitol ingestion, and symptoms can take as much as eight hours to show up. Even a very small amount of xylitol can be fatal—in a small-breed dog, as little as two pieces of certain flavors of sugarless gum can cause problems
Read original article – Dangers of Xylitol
Xylitol is used to replace the high amounts of sugar that is used. They can be called various things from fat free, sugar free and lite products. Always read the labels on the products. Check out our other posts on what foods are good for your dog and what foods are toxic.
Which Apples Are Best For Applesauce?
Varieties such as Cortland, Gravenstein, Golden Delicious, McIntosh, and Jon gold are good to go. Dessert apple varieties such as red delicious, fuji, pink lady, and gala should be avoided while making apple sauce.
Creating Applesauce
Applesauce needs to be thoroughly cooked before being served. It helps with the dog’s digestion. While cooking, you need to be careful to avoid the seeds. Apple seeds wreak havoc in a dog’s stomach and digestive system. Apple sauce is easy to prepare without taking much time. You should never add any sugar or other ingredients except for water.
Can Dogs Eat Applesauce With Cinnamon?
Cinnamon is not toxic to dogs so they can eat applesauce with cinnamon in. You need to make sure there is not a lot of cinnamon in the product though.
Dogs cannot eat high amounts of cinnamon and when added to applesauce you should make sure it is stirred properly into it. As the cinnamon powder can irritate or upset a dog’s mouth and lungs.
Pet Poison Helpline has reported that Cinnamon and Cinnamon oil can irritate a dog’s digestive system and skin, especially if they have been eaten a large quantity of it.
Dogs should only be having a very small portion of cinnamon in their applesauce. We are talking less than a pinch of cinnamon, even less if the dog is a smaller breed.
We always say that dogs should only eat plain food, you do not need to add any extra ingredients to it. This is one of the reasons why. The more ingredients that are added to a treat or meal the higher the chances are of your dog reacting to it.
