Can Dogs Eat Olives?

We all know that olives are among our favourites. It’s nutritious and delightful in taste. It adds in-depth sour flavor to our salads, martinis, pizzas, and subs. So if you have a furry friend around, you might have picked your phone to Google if olives are a tasty treat or snack for them, or it is best to avoid.

Well, let’s find out.

Luckily, olives are not harmful to our dogs. Plain and unsalted olives, when fed in moderation, will prove them to be a healthy snack for your pup. But before you feed your cute furry companion, this tasty Mediterranean treat, you must exercise some cautions to ensure safe and healthy consumption of olives for our dogs.  

If you want to know more about dogs and olives, their relationship and when they are good to feed your do then keep reading this guide.

Olives

Olives are technically a fruit. Yes, you heard it right. This oval-shaped fruit has a different scientific name – Olea Europea. They are known for their delicious taste and high nutrient content.

Olives provide numerous health benefits to humans in the form of giving high levels of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and good fats.

Besides that, olives keep several major and minor diseases at a safe distance.  They are best to prevent heart diseases and specific cancers.

They are also great for lowering one’s cholesterol blood pressure levels. Their other health benefits include improvement of digestion, reduction of inflammation, and defending against infections.

It’s good to dig into its originality and find out why are they so popular today?

Origin of Olives

Olives are the oldest cultivated trees today. They are originally native to Asian Minor. They had been spread to the Mediterranean region around 6000 years ago.

The fun fact about Olive trees is that they can live up to 1,500 years. Spain, followed by Italy, Greece, and Turkey, are the significant producers and exporter of olives.

Olives come in nearly 2,000 different varieties, but the popular ones are black and green olives.

You might now wonder if olives are suitable for dogs as they are for humans? Well, let me explain their relationship in these seven points below.

Dogs and Olives

Olives can be a healthy snack for your pup as well. If they are fed in the right amount, dogs can also experience the health benefit of olives.

• Olives are rich in Vitamin A, E, and K. These also have high amounts of minerals and antioxidants that are the best source of protein for your dog.
•  Olives have essential nutrients that help boost the immune system of your dog.
• It can improve the vision and bones of your dog tremendously.
• It can also prevent heart diseases, certain cancers, inflammation.
• Olives contain healthy monounsaturated fatty acids, which help your dog lose weight and lower cholesterol levels.
• These healthy fats also promote good skin and coat of your dog.
• The nutrients in olives are also suitable for dog’s cognitive health.

Olives are indeed nutritious and full of healthy proteins, but excessive consumption of them can prove them toxic to dogs.

So how to know that on what occasions they are best for cute pups?

 Let’s find out below:

Feeding Olive to a dog is good when:

1. They are Fresh Olives

Fresh organic olives are quite costly, but it is the best choice considering our dog’s health. So if there is any discoloration or they were molded, it is not recommended to feed your dog.

Moldy and contaminated olives contain tremorgenic mycotoxins that can cause tremors or seizures to your dogs.  Hence, contaminated olives can prove to a big no-no to the health of your dog.

2. There is No pit

Unlike humans, dogs can not remove the pits from the olives. Infect, they can’t remove any kind of seeds from the fruits as their paws are not designed for action like that.

Therefore, as long as you remove the pits, it is safer to feed them to dogs; otherwise, they may crack their teeth and worse than that if they chew on it, it can cause choking or digestive issues.

3. They are not flavored

The thing about flavored olives is that it may contain a high amount of sodium and other flavors like garlic and ginger, which can prove to be hazardous to the health of your dogs.

We must remember that dogs were in wild hunting and were habitual of eating raw meats before they were domesticated a few centuries ago.

Their taste buds cannot differentiate tastes other than the specific flavors, so there is no point in feeding the flavored snacks and consequently putting their lives in danger.

4. They are Plain and Not Salty

Too much salt and additional seasoning like oil and pepper on the olives may put additional risks to the stomach to your dog.

According to the sources, high consumption of sodium is awful for dogs as it leads to high blood pressure. Due to high amount of salt in stuffed olives, this will also dehydrate your dog.

Anchovies, feta or blue cheese, and alcohol-dipped olives are unsuitable for your dogs. Consumption of such food is lethargy and toxic to the health of dogs.

Therefore, we must always check the ingredients before giving any stuffed olives to your dog. This way, we will be able to save your cute furry friends from any potential harm.

In case your dog does eat any of these stuffed olives, get your dog immediately examined by a vet straight away for treatment.

5. Black and Green Olives

There is no such difference in these two types of colored olives. They both are suitable for feeding your dog. However, green olives are more bitter and saltish than black ones.

The reason that we must think twice before feeding green olives is that they are kind of unripened. It means that they will be sour and may have a high amount of sodium. To avoid this taste, we need it to let it go through the curing process to make them edible.

6. Moderate Consumption

Your dog must never consume too many olives as it will immediately upset the stomach of your pup. It can also be a primary cause of their stomach pain and diarrhea. And if your dog accidentally eats a considerable amount of olive, visit your veterinarian immediately.

Are they really safe for our dog?

Olives are surely not toxic to dogs, but it isn’t entirely safe for your dogs to eat either. Therefore, ensuring it to be a healthy snack for your dog, do exercise the precautions given above. To begin with, start giving a tiny piece of olive and then observe him whether he is showing any odd reactions or dog allergy. If not, then you are good to go; otherwise, you must immediately visit your vet.