Avocado is it ok?

Hi! I've been Reading some conflicting reports on avocados & dogs; what is clear is that there is a toxic enzyme in them but some dogs don't get reactions from them! Alot of vets are more worried about the seed being swallowed!

I gave Penny & Des about a teaspoon or two of avocado the other day & they loved it, was I wrong to do this? Neither were suck after, but I didn't know it was toxic otherwise I wouldn't have!! Does anyone here give avocado to their dog, or has anyone had a bad toxic response...thanks

Hi Lucille


Haven't tried avocado yet but mine enjoy water melon and strawberry's and I normally end up with 2 pces out of 10 ,but def no seeds or pips.

Hi Brian,

tried strawberries but they weren't impressed! They do like melon & mango, and love their veggies particularly carrots & baby corn they'll eat them raw or cooked! I just thought avocado with it's oil would be good for their coats, it's good for our skin, thought it would be for for them too!

Hope you are keeping well, I'm great enjoying my 3 doggies :-D Binnie is a dote, she needs a little work but generally she is settling in without much fuss...although dinner time is difficult, I reckon she us used to figthing for hers & hasn't realised she doesn't need to fight anymore, she's only like that with the dogs, I can take good out of her mouth with no reaction, the dogs walk by her she growls at them...nothing a lite work won't rectify

thanks for info.

Luc

I looked into this as I thought this would help Dotty. Avocado is toxic it can damage tissue including but not limited to lungs and heart. The high fatty content in avocados can cause stomach problems or even worse pancreatitis. Avocados contain something called Persin. When I looked this up it said it is a fungicidal toxin similar to fatty acid and is dangerous to give to domestic animals.

Website on Persin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persin

here are two articles of human foods to avoid.

http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/health/dietno.htm

http://www.animalpetsandfriends.com/Article/25-Human-Foods-Toxic-To-Dogs/300

This is an interesting website:-

Hope this helps.

http://www.thebark.com/content/food-and-nutrition

A popular food we sell at the holistic pet food store I work for is Avoderm which has avocado's in it. I asked the Avoderm rep about this, and he said that it's only the skin and the seeds that can be harmful, not the actual fruit itself.

There seems to be a lot of doubt, the second article I posted clearly states
Skin, Fruit and Pip are dangerous

Hmmm..maybe its safe in dry dog foods since it's in a processed state? I see that link also lists tomatoes-I know the plant itself is toxic but I've heard many people give their dogs ripe tomatoes. I've also seen it in a few foods. From everything I've read, those seem to be safe. It's all so confusing!

A vet friend of mine told me that avocado is one the most toxic foods for dogs. I have seen it in various brands of dog food, and always wondered. But personally I avoid giving avocado.

Yeah I think I'll use my usual 'if in doubt, leave it out!' thanks for all the info guys. I was surprised to see how much they loved it, but as usual what you like is bad for you! Lol!!

Enjoy your Sunday everyone

I 'searched' this in a Yahoo Group I read about canine nutrition. The avocado itself is safe, like peaches, etc., just the pit/seed is toxic.

Here's another full article that definitely says all parts have the toxin with mixed feelings on whether it is dangerous in small amounts

http://www.thevillagenews.com/story/22205/

It seems less worrying than say raisins, but some dogs can also eat raisins without problems while some have died after eating as few as a half dozen. If a toxin isn't understood but known to be a toxin, it is best avoided I think. I do find it really bizarre though that a dog food company would actually be offering something with an ingredient that is widely indicated to have a toxic component regardless of whether it seems to be OK for most dogs to eat. That's like putting milk chocolate into dog treats because even though chocolate can kill dogs, it probably won't do major damage as milk rather than dark chocolate, in small amounts. I prefer not to give dogs a taste for any food that could be dangerous in quantity -- but then of course the problem with cavaliers is that the majority will eat just about anything remotely edible... :lol:

With tomatoes: vet sites I trust say that tomatoes are not a problem -- it is the stems and plant rather than the fruit. Same with strawberries.

Here is a picture of the bag from Avoderm. It is rather strange that they so heavily advertise their use of avocados.

Knew they were toxic for birds but not dogs. Interesting.