If you’ve got a dog, you’d know that they absolutely love munching on anything they can find.
While some dogs are picky, a huge majority of them just absolutely love eating anything they can see. And why wouldn’t they? Humans eat a lot of tasty meals.
Tomatoes and cucumbers are safe for dogs to eat providing that you observe some basic rules and cautions before you feed them to your dog. Like many human foods there are some risks associated with both tomatoes and cucumbers and to avoid any problems you should make yourself aware of them.
Can I Give My Dog Tomatoes And Cucumbers
Many human foods are potentially dangerous for dogs to eat.
Some of these toxic foods include onions, milk, blue cheese, figs and chocolate, and anything with alcohol or caffeine.
Since we know that there are foods that can be toxic to our pets, it’s important that we try, as much as possible, to make sure that what we do feed them isn’t toxic.
So, we arrive at the all-important question; do cucumbers and tomatoes make this list? Well, the answer is complicated.
Can dogs eat cucumbers?
First, let’s talk about cucumbers. When in their raw form, they are completely safe for dogs to eat. In fact, they are a healthy choice for your dog because they are low in sodium and calories.
But they shouldn’t be given to your dogs in their natural form. Instead, they should be cut into small manageable chunks to help your dog avoid choking on them.
You should also be very wary of feeding your dog too much cucumber at a time, as this could increase their risk of gastrointestinal upset.
If you want to give your dog cucumbers, keep it to a few chunks.
Don’t be tempted to feed pickled or processed cucumbers to your dog, the additives and preservatives used in the processing may be bad for your dog and could result in diarrohea or worse.
So, the answer for cucumbers is yes. You can feed them to your pet— as long as they haven’t been picked, are cut into chunks, and are in their raw form.
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What about tomatoes are they safe for dogs to eat?
However, tomatoes are a different ball game entirely. Unlike cucumbers, tomatoes aren’t so great for pets because they contain something called solanine.
This chemical is harmful to dogs because, well, it’s a poison. Now, don’t be scared. Solanine is only really high in green tomatoes.
Once the tomato ripens, the level of solanine decreases rapidly. That means you can give your dog ripe tomatoes as an occasional treat.
Dog owners with tomato gardens should be especially careful because solanine can be found in green parts of tomato plants like the stem or leaves.
Dogs should therefore be actively discouraged from going close to tomato plants, or the greenhouse entirely simply to minimise any risk.
Some of the symptoms of tomato poisoning (or solanine poisoning, as that seems to be the more accurate name), includes a change of heartbeat, muscle weakness, seizures, tremors, and gastrointestinal upset.
If your dog has been munching on green tomatoes— or any part of the tomato plant, and you find them displaying these symptoms, you should get them to the vet right away.
They just may be suffering from solanine poisoning. It is rare for dogs to suffer from this, but as a dog owner, you should always be on the lookout.
Conclusion – Can dogs eat tomato and cucumber?
So, to answer your question, you can give your dog cucumbers and tomatoes.
However, you have to make sure the cucumbers are chopped up and are raw (not pickled) and you have to make sure the tomatoes are ripe and are just an occasional treat, not a regular item on the menu.
