Can dogs eat cherries? Yes, dogs can generally eat cherries.

They are even healthy and you can make a really good snack for your four-legged friend out of them! The difference between sweet and sour cherries is also not important in this case.

What do I need to pay attention to when feeding my dog cherries?

  • Is your favorite eating cherries for the first time? Give your dog a few cherries at first (1-2) and check if he reacts allergically to them. You can recognize a cherry allergy by swollen mucous membranes and/or itchy areas on the skin.
  • Do not give your dog cherries too often. If he eats fruit occasionally and tolerates it well, your dog is already taking in healthy ingredients.
  • Always feed cherries pitted.
  • Make sure that the cherries are fresh, ripe and well washed.

The only dangerous thing are the pits.  Cherry pits can be toxic. They contain cyanide, also known as prussic acid, which can lead to cyanide poisoning with severe symptoms if ingested (the same applies to peach, plum and apricot pits).

But here too there is a relief:  Cherry pits are only toxic to dogs if they are bitten and then swallowed. Whole cherry pits are not digested and are therefore excreted as such, so the prussic acid cannot enter the body.

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Are cherries suitable for young dogs?

Cherries are a real superfood.

They contain vitamins A, B, C and E, as well as folic acid, calcium, potassium, magnesium and iron.

In the body, they support the immune system, connective tissue and the skin, stimulate digestion and help build teeth and bones.

Anthocyanins, the pigment of cherries, act against free radicals and help to a certain extent against cancer and cellular aging.

How can I tell if my dog does not tolerate cherries?

Cyanide is a very fast-acting acid and enters the mitochondria in the body, which are responsible for energy production. These require oxygen among other things to provide energy. If prussic acid reaches the mitochondria, the respiratory chain is stopped and the cells suffocate internally.

The dog's body reacts to the lack of oxygen with an increased breathing rate, among other things.

However, for this case to occur, your dog would probably have to eat a lot of cherry pits.

Cherry pits can therefore also be toxic. 1-2 mg/kg of body weight can be fatal. This means, the smaller your dog, the lower the amount of cherry pits your dog can tolerate.

In any case, cyanide poisoning in dogs is an emergency and should be treated by a veterinarian as quickly as possible.

Symptoms of poisoning and misdiagnosis

Typical symptoms of poisoning are shortness of breath and gasping, bitter smell of breath, redness of the mucous membranes and conjunctiva, dilated pupils, vomiting, seizures, unconsciousness and sometimes epileptic seizures.

The symptoms vary depending on the amount of cyanide ingested and do not all have to occur simultaneously.

Especially the bitter smell of breath is a sign of prussic acid poisoning.

However, 30%-40% of people do not perceive the bitter smell due to genetic reasons and thus do not recognize cyanide poisoning.

Therefore, you should also check the other symptoms in case of suspicion and act quickly and go to the veterinarian as a precaution.

Read also: Stay away from toxic foods for dogs

Healthy summer snack: Dog ice cream with cherries

If you follow these points, you can treat your dog with cherries anytime.

Just like us humans, our four-legged friends also love a cool refreshment in summer. This is exactly the right time to make a cherry ice cream for your dog:

  • Put some cottage cheese, quark or plain yogurt in the blender (depending on what your dog likes to eat)
  • Add 2 pitted, ripe and washed cherries
  • You can also add some oats and/or coconut flakes
  • Blend everything until you get a more or less uniform consistency and the red color of the cherries is well distributed
  • Portion everything into appropriate units. For this, a Kong is particularly suitable.

Conclusion: Can dogs eat cherries?

In the end, it remains up to every dog owner to decide.

Generally, dogs can eat cherries.  But too many cherry pits can be toxic.

If you notice that cherries do not harm your dog, you can be sure that he is taking in valuable and healthy ingredients with the cherries.