Are Berries Good For Dogs?

We just went to our vet, who is a holistic/conventional vet and she recommended putting in blueberries or raspberries in our dogs food.

We already feed a raw food diet so we were pretty happy to put these in. Actually I was super excited and couldn't believe we hadn't been putting them in before.

A good rule of thumb for dogs is if you wouldn't eat the berry then neither should they but the basic berries that we all eat and love are fine for dogs.

So here's the low down on berries in dog food.

Why?

They have a high level of antioxidants among many other benefits. Different berries are good for different things. Dogs love them and they add some spice to their meal.


What Kind?

Blackberries which are a good source of iron.
Blueberries are a good source of silicon which is said to help rejuvenate the pancreas.
Cherries are high in iron and said to be both a laxative and blood builder.
Raspberries are high in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

How?


You can mix them in straight the food or you can just do a sprinkle effect.

How much?

We tend to do a 80% meat with vegetables and berries being about 10-15% and the rest oils, kelp, and egg shells. Our bones is on the side.


If you are still worried about feeding your dogs berries try doing a search for 'dogs dying from eating berries' instead of 'can dogs eat berries'. This will give you a better reference than peoples opinions on the matter.

Some people are told that dogs will die if they eat any human food but I believe this started from pet food companies who want you to buy their pet food (that by the way claims to have real food in it.)


I've been feeding my dogs raw food for many years and they are all fine...in fact they are extremely healthy. My parents and their parents fed their dogs food that they humans ate and they lived longer than most dogs today. And before that...they ate what they found in the wild. Berries and all.


Remember that berries are not the only fruit that are good for dogs. Banana, apples, and mango are all good for them and fruit they will like.