Dogs are one of the most famous pet animals around the world. But they require constant care and attention. Sometimes people are confused about the daily diet of a dog. It is important to know what you can feed to your dog and what you can not.
Today, we are going to discuss watermelon seeds and find out whether one can feed them to dogs or not.
Dogs eat watermelon seeds
It is believed by both animal and medical experts that watermelon seeds are not safe for dogs to consume. Watermelon seeds have been known for blocking the intestinal passage of dogs and creating health complications. Dogs should only be fed seedless watermelons.
Table of Contents
Let’s look at different varieties of watermelon seeds and see if dogs can eat them.
White watermelon seeds:
Watermelon as a fruit provides lots of nutrition for dogs. But watermelon seeds are not so nutritious. The important thing to remember here is that the immature version of watermelon seeds are the white seeds.
If given enough time, the white seeds turn into black seeds.
But it does not mean that the white watermelon seeds are not harmful for dogs. If a dog manages to eat a lot of white watermelon seeds, then the seeds will mess up the dog’s digestive system. Dogs have a sensitive digestive system which can be easily damaged.
Eating the wrong kinds of foods which have no nutritional value can be quite detrimental.
It is not okay to feed white watermelon seeds to your dog. You will need to get rid of the white seeds before feeding watermelon to the dog. You will need to remember that the health of your dog should be your first priority.
Black watermelon seeds:
Black watermelon seeds are the most harmful version of watermelon seeds for dogs. The seeds of water turn black when they fully mature. At this stage, the seed attains its most dangerous form.
The digestive system of a dog is not strong enough to break down the content of a black watermelon seed. The dog will struggle physically if it eats too many black watermelon seeds. Black watermelon seeds do not hold any nutritional value whatsoever for dogs.
It is wise to get rid of the black watermelon seeds before feeding watermelon to your dog.
Dogs are not aware of the dangerous effects of the black watermelon seeds. So they will not hesitate to eat watermelons with black seeds inside them.
You will have to be careful about what parts of the watermelon you feed to your dog and take the consequences into account.
Yellow watermelon seeds:
The seeds of yellow watermelon are also harmful for dogs. You can feed yellow watermelon to your beloved dog. But you will need to get rid of the seeds before you do that.
There are both black and white seeds inside a yellow watermelon. Both types of seeds are bad for your dog. The seeds of yellow watermelon can do damage to the digestive system of your dog.
A dog’s digestive system does not have the ability to dissolve the seeds of yellow watermelon.
So experts have recommended feeding seedless yellow watermelons to the dog. The seeds of yellow watermelon do not add anything positive to the daily diet of a dog. Moreover, the seeds of yellow watermelon can mess up the digestive system of a dog.
Is it harmful?
According to animal experts, watermelon seeds are considered to be harmful for dogs. There is medical evidence available in support of this claim. First of all, watermelon seeds can create problems for the digestive system of dogs by creating interruption in the intestinal passage.
The important thing to remember here is that one or two watermelon seeds can not create this problem. A dog will have to eat a lot of watermelon seeds for this to happen. So you will be required to remove the seeds from the watermelon before you feed it to your dog.
Experts have even gone on to suggest that watermelon seeds can cause stomach upset in dogs. Sometimes the impact of watermelon seeds in dogs can be so severe that the dog needs to be taken to a veterinary hospital and operated on.
So it might be okay for a human being to eat a watermelon with seeds in it. But a dog can only digest seedless watermelon as watermelon seeds are harmful for it.
What happens if my dog eats watermelon seeds?
There are a lot of things that can happen to a dog when it eats watermelon seeds based on the amount of seeds. Let’s discuss in detail about some of the consequences of eating watermelon seeds for dogs.
Nothing happens:
Sometimes a dog can end up eating one or two watermelon seeds from spilling over watermelon. This small amount of watermelon seeds will do no harm to dogs at all. Dogs will be perfectly fine after digesting one or two watermelon seeds.
Problem with stomach:
However, large amounts of watermelon seeds can definitely mess up the stomach of a dog. It is believed by animal and medical experts that too many watermelon seeds can upset the stomach of a dog. This will require immediate medical attention.
You will need to get your dog checked by a vet if this happens.
Blocks intestinal passage:
The effect of eating watermelon seeds for dogs does not end here. It has been noticed that eating a large number of watermelon seeds can even harm the digestive system of dogs. It does not require thousands of watermelon seeds to block the intestinal passage of dogs.
Blocked intestinal passage can be a painful experience for your dog.
Might require an operation:
In the worst case scenario, eating too many watermelon seeds can lead to an operation for dogs. Watermelon seeds can harm the digestive system of your dog in such a way that only an operation will be able to save it.
So it can be said that feeding watermelon seeds to your dog is not safe at all. It can harm your dog physically in a number of ways. The important thing to remember here is that you will need to take your dog to a vet as soon as possible if it ends up eating watermelon seeds.
How much watermelon seeds can harm a dog?
How much watermelon seeds a dog can eat before the seeds start to cause problems depends on the size of the dog. A large dog will be able to digest two or three watermelon seeds without any problem. But a small dog will struggle to digest the same amount of watermelon seeds.
Another important thing to remember here is that large numbers of watermelon seeds are bad for both small and large dogs. It is safe to say that a large number of watermelon seeds can cause damage to the digestive system of both small and large dogs.
It is not possible for dogs to handle the consequences of eating watermelon seeds irrespective of their size.
What to do if my dog eats watermelon seeds?
Sometimes people become confused when their dog ends up eating watermelon seeds and can not decide what to do. However, there are some steps and methods you can try if your dog manages to eat watermelon seeds. Let’s discuss in detail about some of them.
Observe the symptoms:
You will need to observe the symptoms shown by your dog upon eating the watermelon seeds. If the dog has eaten one or two watermelon seeds, then it will show no signs of illness.
However, your dog will end up showcasing many alarming symptoms such as vomiting, lethargy if the number of watermelon seeds is too many.
Feed it water:
It is difficult for dogs to digest watermelon seeds. Most of the time, the watermelon seeds end up creating damage to the whole digestive system of dogs. You can feed water to your dog as an immediate measure.
The flow of water will help the dogs to digest watermelon seeds more easily.
Consult a vet:
If your dog keeps showing alarming symptoms like vomiting, lethargy, stomach upset, then it might be time for you to take your dog to a vet. The help of a professional does not harm in this type of case.
A vet will be able to examine the digestive system of your dog in a proper way and decide the next step.
A vet will also be able to perform an operation on your dog if the digestive system is completely blocked due to watermelon seeds. A vet gives you the best chance of overcoming this type of dire situation.
Final Thoughts
Dogs are more than capable of eating watermelon. But their digestive system is not able to break down watermelon seeds. Too many watermelon seeds can cause serious damage to the digestive system of dogs. A vet should be consulted if a dog ends up eating a large number of watermelon seeds.