Dogs love food and always want a piece of whatever we happen to be eating. Their puppy dog eyes might make you want to give them a little piece of your food every now and then, but dogs have different digestive systems and cannot handle all human food.
Having a small bite of durian is usually okay, but you need to be careful while feeding your dog durian. Here’s everything you need to know about your dog eating durian:
Is Durian Safe for Dogs?
Dogs are omnivores and can eat fruit. However, not all fruit is suitable for them and they cannot handle large quantities of fruit either.
Durian is a very famous fruit in Asia but is very popular all over the world as an exotic fruit. It is called the ‘King of fruits’ and is a very large and smelly fruit.
Durian is spiky and hard from the outside and fleshy on the inside. It has a lot of nutrients and has a lot of health benefits for humans and dogs alike.
Dogs can eat durian, but you need to be extremely careful that they don’t eat durian seeds. The seeds contain cyanide, which is a toxic compound and extremely dangerous for dogs.
Consumption of cyanide can be fatal to dogs. If you suspect that your dog has eaten durian seeds, take him to the vet immediately.
Also Read: Can Dogs Eat Dried Apricots?
How to Give Durian to Dogs
Cut the fruit open and carefully remove all the seeds. Remove the fleshy orange part and give a small amount to your dog.
Throw the seeds and rinds away and make sure they are out of reach of the dog. The odor of durian is very strong and your dog might go digging through the trash if he smells it.
If your dog has never had durian before, he may have an upset stomach after eating it. Symptoms like vomiting and stomach pain are the most common.
Consult your vet if the symptoms persist for more than 24 hours.
Some people say that eating durian makes dogs bark more than usual. This is possibly due to the strong odor of the fruit and isn’t a cause for concern.
What to Avoid
Durian has a lot of health benefits, but you need to be extremely cautious while feeding it to your dog. It can be very dangerous if your dog ends up swallowing even a bite of the wrong part of the fruit.
Avoid the following while giving durian to your dog:
Seeds
The seeds are the most dangerous part of the fruit. Almost all fruit seeds are toxic to dogs as they contain cyanide. It is extremely dangerous in large quantities and can cause serious damage to your dog’s body.
One seed does not have enough cyanide to prove fatal to your dog. Seeds have very small amounts of cyanide and your dog would have to eat a lot of seeds to ingest a fatal dose of cyanide.
Cyanide is effective as a poison when it is concentrated. However, it would be very irresponsible and risky to let your dog eat durian seeds.
This is because a dog’s digestive system is not meant to handle seeds. They can block his intestinal tract and cause diarrhea, stomach pain or vomiting.
Rind
Durian rinds are tough and spiky. They do not contain cyanide or any other toxic elements, but you should keep them away from your dog anyway.
It is very thick and hard to chew. It is also covered in spikes that can damage your pooch’s food pipe or digestive system.
A dog’s digestive system isn’t really meant to handle things like thick fruit rinds, so it is best to keep it out of reach of your dog.
Overeating
Durian has a lot of beneficial elements, but that doesn’t mean that your dog should be eating a lot of it. It contains a lot of sugar and fiber which aren’t good for dogs in large quantities.
Durians should be fed to dogs in moderation. If you give them too much, it could cause conditions like diabetes, constipation and obesity.
Also Read: Can Dogs Eat Avocados?
Training to Eat Durian
Now that you know how to feed durian to your dog and what to avoid, it is also important that you train your dog to eat durian the right way.
You never know what might happen and it is best to be prepared for any scenario. Your dog needs to understand that durian is a treat and not something that is going to be a part of his daily diet.
Step 1 would be to make sure that your dog knows the commands ‘drop it’ and ‘stop’, so that even if your dog gets his paws on some durian seeds or sneaks away more durian, you will still be able to control the situation.
You won’t need to run around the house chasing after the durian thief, you can just ask him to drop it and he will follow your command if he’s already trained to do so.
The trouble with giving treats like durian is that dogs get used to having them and eventually refuse to eat their meals unless they come with a side of durian of whatever treat they are drooling after.
The best way to deal with this is to follow a rigid schedule for mealtimes. If your dog doesn’t eat his breakfast within half an hour of you setting it down, pick it back up and don’t give him any food till it is time for lunch.
You don’t need to starve your pooch but he does need to know that durians are not a part of his everyday diet. He will start eating soon even if you don’t give him durian with his meals.
Also, make sure that durian or any other treats are sufficiently out of your dog’s reach. Food is a huge motivation for dogs and they can go to great lengths to get a piece of their favorite treat.
Signs of a Bad Reaction to Durian
When you give your dog durian, you need to keep a close eye on him to ensure that he is not having a bad reaction to it. Even though it is not poisonous to dogs, it isn’t the easiest thing to digest for them.
If your dog is unusually energetic and can’t seem to calm down after eating durian, you’ve probably given him too much.
It is the natural sugar in the fruit causing the energy spike. Try feeding him a smaller amount next time.
If your dog is unusually lazy or experiencing diarrhea, vomiting, bloody stool or stomach pain after eating durian, it is possible that durian isn’t agreeable to his digestive system.
In this case, it is better to avoid giving him durian at all. Find other fruits or treats he likes and substitute them for durian. If the symptoms get worse or last more than 1 day, consult your vet as soon as possible.
Durian seeds can cause serious damage to your dog’s health, so rush to the vet if your dog has ingested them.
Also Read: Can Dogs Eat Kiwi?
Parting Thoughts
Durian is safe for dogs, but the seeds and rinds should be kept out of their reach. Durian can be enjoyed by dogs in moderation and should remain an occasional treat. It shouldn’t become a constant part of their diet.
