Rambutan is a sweet and beautiful fruit native to Asia which is slowly becoming popular across the world. It is similar to the lychee from the inside but looks completely different from the outside.
If your dog has set its sight on this bright, colorful and strange-looking fruit then good luck keeping it from trying to get a bite. Let’s see how safe it is for your dog to eat rambutan.
What Is Rambutan?
Rambutan is a tropical fruit native to South-East Asia which is closely related to fruits like lychee, longan and pulasan. The covering of the fruit is brightly colored and has tentacle-like structures protruding from it, which gives the fruit its name.
Rambutan literally translates to hairy fruit. From the inside, the rambutan has white, leathery flesh that is sweet like the flesh of the lychee.
Can Your Dog Eat Rambutan?
Rambutan is a very visually attractive and interesting food that is extremely tasty and harmless for humans. It is very nutritious and is an especially great choice for making colorful smoothies.
If your dog sees you eating a rambutan, it might be especially interested in trying it out because of its strange and colorful appearance. However, it is important to be very careful when feeding rambutan to your dog.
While some parts of the rambutan fruit can be safely eaten by your dog, other parts are dangerous and can even be deadly. Hence, your dog can only eat rambutan under close supervision and with your assistance.
Though you can get rambutan in the US, especially in Asian markets, they are not very popular here yet. As a result, there is a lack of extensive information about whether dogs can eat rambutan as there is with other tropical fruits like lychees.
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Is Rambutan Safe For Dogs?
There is no conclusive statement from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals as to whether or not rambutan is safe for dogs to eat.
However, it is widely accepted that the flesh of the rambutan is safe for dogs to eat. The peel and the seed, however, can be dangerous and even deadly for dogs.
The seed of the rambutan is dangerous for dogs on two levels. Firstly, the physical dangers of the seed of the rambutan are similar to the dangers posed by the seeds of any fruit.
Though dogs can easily swallow seeds, they often end up blocking the digestive tract at some point inside the dog’s body. This can lead to indigestion or complete blocking of the bowels. The dog can also choke on fruit seeds.
You will notice signs of intestinal blockage on observation of your dog’s behavior. Your dog might experience abdominal pain and have trouble passing bowels. Your dog might also vomit as a reaction.
Due to the difficulty posed by the blockage of the intestinal tract your dog might also seem lethargic in terms of its behavior.
Intestinal blockage if not treated promptly can be life threatening. As soon as you realize that your dog might have an intestinal blockage you must contact your veterinary doctor immediately and get prompt medical attention for your dog.
Depending on how your dog is reacting to the ingestion of the seed, the seed could naturally pass through the dog’s bowels or it may be a very rare case that requires surgery. It is important to carefully monitor your dog’s health and be ready to call a vet if necessary.
Besides the physical danger, the seed of the rambutan is especially fatal for dogs because it contains cyanide. Thus if your dog eats the seed of the rambutan it can get cyanide poisoning.
Symptoms of cyanide poisoning include unusual salivation, rapid breathing or suffocation, convulsions, cardiac arrhythmia, diarrhea and dilated pupils. Cyanide poisoning can lead to death extremely rapidly.
As soon as you realize that your dog has eaten the seed of the rambutan, you need to contact your vet immediately as a few moments of delay in medical attention can be a matter of life and death for your dog.
Besides the seed, your dog can eat the flesh of the rambutan fruit. However, the flesh of the rambutan contains very high amounts of sugar. Eating too much rambutan or eating rambutan very regularly can lead to a spike in your dog’s blood sugar levels.
Thus, eating rambutan can lead to high blood sugar or diabetes and obesity in your dog which can be quite harmful to its health in the long term.
Keeping all of this in mind, it is important to never leave rambutan unattended where your dog can eat it on its own. If you want to feed rambutan to your dog, make sure to take out the peel or the shell.
Then, carefully remove the flesh and make sure to throw away the seed where your dog cannot reach it at all. Even if your dog does not swallow the whole seed and bites it once or twice or chews on it, the juices of the seed will be released in your dog’s mouth, leading to the release of cyanide.
Any amount of cyanide can be extremely fatal for your dog’s health and hence you must exercise caution regarding this fruit around your dog.
However, if not eaten in excess and if eaten safely without the seed, there is no reason why your dog cannot eat rambutan. In fact, eating rambutan can have a number of health benefits for your dog as well.
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Health Benefits of Eating Rambutan
Rambutan is not only delicious to eat, but it also has a number of health benefits when eaten in moderation. Rambutan is not only very nutritious for humans, but is also very healthy for dogs.
Rambutan is very high in fiber and can be very beneficial for the digestive system. If your dog struggles with digestive issues, rambutan can help improve its bowel movements greatly.
Eating small amounts of rambutan can help your dog overcome issues of constipation and ingestion and help make it more comfortable when it comes to digestive issues.
Around 11 of these fruits can have approximately three grams of fiber and it has no cholesterol. It also has a lot of protein and carbohydrates. Rambutan also has no fats or sodium, hence making it a good choice for fiber.
Rambutan is quite high in vitamin C, which has a number of benefits for dogs. Vitamin C is an important antioxidant that can greatly improve your dog’s immune system and reduce inflammation in the body.
Vitamin C in rambutan can also help improve its energy levels and in case your dog is suffering from a UTI, vitamin C can help provide a lot of relief as well.
Rambutan can help tackle the presence of bacteria and related diseases and reduce infections as well since it contains antibiotics.
Rambutan can also help prevent cancer in dogs as it contains a lot of antioxidants.
If your dog is suffering from intestinal parasites, then eating rambutan can help your dog naturally expel the parasites from its stomach as well.
Finally, rambutan also contains a good amount of phosphorus which is very beneficial for dogs. Phosphorus can help improve your dog’s bone health and give it strong bones and teeth.
In spite of the benefits of rambutan, it is important to remember that you cannot feed rambutan to your dog in high quantities because its high sugar content is still dangerous for your dog.
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Serving Recommendations
When feeding rambutan to your dog, it is important to consider the appropriate serving size and frequency. A small to medium-sized dog should only be given a few small pieces of rambutan flesh, while a larger dog may be able to handle a bit more. Be sure to consult with your veterinarian before introducing new foods to your dog’s diet, as each dog’s individual needs may vary.
As a general rule, it is recommended to serve rambutan to your dog no more than once or twice a week, as an occasional treat. This will help ensure that your dog doesn’t consume too much sugar and avoids potential health issues related to excessive sugar intake.
Bottom Line
Rambutan is a fruit that is very attractive to dogs and very delicious as well. The flesh of the rambutan can be eaten safely by dogs as long as it is had in moderation because it contains high amounts of sugar that can lead to diabetes and weight gain.
The seed of the rambutan is deadly for your dog because it can lead to intestinal blockage and cyanide poisoning. As a result, your dog can eat rambutan as long as you remove the shell and the seed of the fruit.
