The good news is, YES! your dog can eat applesauce. But applesauce comes with a lot of precaution/ do’s and don’t’s when you are offering it to your furry friend. It can be healthy as well as hazardous for your dog, depending upon how you serve it. So, let’s understand what you should keep in mind while feeding your dog this sweet snack.
Benefits of Applesauce
Everyone has heard, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Appels are one of the most nutritious fruits available in almost every part of the world, in every season. Since applesauce’s primary ingredients are apples, the same goes for them.
1. Full of fibers
This apple-filled snack is an excellent source of fiber. But when it comes to your dog, you should always check whether apple skin is added to the applesauce or not. The reason being, apple peels constitute a significant portion of the fiber in the Applesauce, and if it doesn’t have the peels included, then it would not be as healthy for your dog to eat.
2. Helps in keeping a healthy digestive system
Applesauce is a liquified form of apples. Therefore your dog can enjoy this snack, and you also don’t have to worry about choking hazards. Plus, the fiber-richness in the snack will help in strengthening your four-legged pet’s digestive system and immune system. It also helps in reducing inflammation issues.
3. No cyanide
One of the most dangerous things while feeding an apple to your dog is cyanide. Cyanide is the toxic found inside an apple’s seed, which is hazardous for your pet. But in Applesauce, there is no use of apple seed, therefore safe for your dog to munch on.
Furthermore, Applesauce is also a great source of Vitamin C, Vitamin K, and calcium. It also contains pectin, which helps in keeping down the cholesterol levels.
The perfect applesauce (unsweetened)
Taking the above into consideration, you should always prepare an accurate serve of applesauce for your dog. Below is a straightforward recipe of applesauce with the help of which you can do the perfect service for your dog:
- Peel the skin of the apple
- Cut it into small pieces or slices
- Remove all the seed (Do make sure you remove every seed)
- Boil the pieces of a slice for about 10-15 min
- Strain the water out
- Mash the softened apple properly
- Let the sauce cool down
And it is ready to be served to your pet, well down Cheif!
Can dogs eat Applesauce Flavored With Cinnamon?
Yes, you can feed them applesauce flavored with cinnamon but in just a small quantity. A large amount of applesauce can cause irritation and breathing difficulty in your pet.
Can Applesauce help in curing Diarrhea?
Yes, your applesauce is beneficial for dogs while they are suffering from diarrhea. As it is so easy to digest, you can feed it as a dessert to your dog to make them feel better. But you are not allowed to replace the applesauce with your dog’s main meal.
The downside of Applesauce
Though applesauce is an excellent snack with various nutritious benefits for your dog, everything has some downfalls, so do applesauce.
1. Contains a lot of sugar
Sugar content in the applesauce is very high; in fact, 90% of all the calories in processed applesauce come from sugar. Apples do have a sweet taste because of the presence of natural sugar. Still, when applesauce is made, a tremendous amount of sugar is appended to add more sweetness, and every dog parent knows, high sugar content is anything but good for their dogs.
There is a healthier option of applesauce available in the market. So, when you are buying applesauce, especially for your dog, make sure you buy the unsweetened one.
2. Not as nutritious
Apple is healthy, and there is no doubt about it. But when processed and transformed into the sauce, a considerable portion of its nutritious values are removed. Therefore it is undoubtedly not as healthy as an apple.
This is the reason why most vets recommend feeding small pieces of fresh apples to your dog instead of applesauce.
Precautions!
Whenever you are treating your pet for the very first time, you want to test if they like the taste or not. Therefore always start by offering them just one spoon of the applesauce first, let them taste, and get familiar with the taste.
For the next day or two, looks out for any unusual behavior; poop check is also recommended. And if everything seems fair, you can increase the service next time.
Never feed applesauce to puppies; it will make them severely dehydrated. Also, try to make applesauce at home, and if possible, do not let your pet eat the sugar-drenched market bought applesauce.
