Can Dogs Eat Limes?

Can Dogs Eat Limes

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Limes belong to the citrus family. These fruits are a little sour in taste and have a refreshing slightly sweet taste. They’re a great source of vitamin C and other nutrients for us humans, but can our dogs eat limes and other citrus? Find out below!

The short answer is no, dogs really shouldn’t eat limes, lemons, or grapefruit. Those fruits have a high citric acid content, and dogs can be quite sensitive to it.

What Happens If a Dog Eats a Lime?

Limes, lemons, and grapefruit aren’t a good thing to feed your dog. The citric acid can cause stomach upset and vomiting in some cases. Some dogs don’t mind the taste and don’t have issues with eating citrus fruits, but in general, it’s not a good idea to allow your dog to eat limes, lemon, and other forms of citrus.

Citrus for dogs

What Should I Do if My Dog Eats Citrus?

Let’s take a look at what to do if your dog has ingested a piece of citrus fruit such as a limes or lemon.

If you think your dog has just eaten one of these fruits then they’re most likely going to be fine, but you should monitor your dog and consider consulting your veterinarian just to be sure as it can affect dogs differently, and can also impact certain prescription medications your dog may be taking.

What About the Health Benefits of Vitamin C for Dogs?

One of the benefits of vitamin C is that it can reduce inflammation & oxidative stress. It has also been shown to help slow down cognitive aging.

Dogs are able to synthesize vitamin C on their own, so they shouldn’t need any extra supplements, generally speaking.

However, adding some veggies that contain vitamin C to their meals can be very beneficial!

There are also glucosamine supplements that contain vitamin C for an extra boost of nutrition for your dog.

Instant Pot Dog Food Recipe

What Fruits or Vegetables Contain Vitamin C?

Since dogs shouldn’t eat citrus, what foods can they eat that contain vitamin C? Kale, brussels sprouts, and broccoli are all great sources of vitamin C, but they need to be cooked first so your dog can stomach them easily.

Peas and carrots are also packed with vitamin C, and are much more gentle on the stomach. I add them to my homemade dog food recipe and Roxy & Rico absolutely love it!

What Should I Do If My Dog Gets Lime, Lemon or Grapefruit Juice on Their Skin?

The juice from citrus fruits is very acidic and can cause rashes if it comes in contact with your dog’s skin. It also reacts with the sun and can cause burns if they’re in the sun after coming in contact with citrus juice.

If your dog does get citrus juice on their skin, you can easily wash it off with a bit of gentle soap on a rag. If they somehow got into quite a bit of lemon juice or lime juice, you may want to give them a quick bath with a gentle shampoo to clean them off completely. Here’s our favorite dog shampoos!

Can Dogs Drink Lemon Juice, Lime Juice, or Lemonade?

No, dogs cannot drink lemon juice or lemonade. Just as with the fruits, lemon and lime juice is too acidic for your dog to drink.

Since lemonade is lemon juice plus sugar, neither of which has any benefits.

Excessive citric acid and sugar both can cause vomiting and diarrhea, which are not desirable outcomes for any pet owner that has to clean up the aftermath too often!

For a helpful list of fruits and vegetables that your dog can eat, click here! And to find out if your dog can eat pineapple, read this!

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One Comment

  1. J.R. Fortenberry says:

    Hello, I think this article is a blanket artical for the masses. I am in Arizona and have all of these trees in our backyard. I have a 9 year old springer spaniel that has been eating these fruits, skin and all for years. He likes grapefruit best (loves grapefruit) and probably eats a good 75+ a year, heck maybe more. All in all he eats 125 or so mixed fruits per year and has never had any health issues at all. He gets a lot of exercise and sun being we do have a swimming pool that he takes advantage of a good 300 days a year. My daughter is a local vet tech and his provider so he gets the best care imaginable and non of his blood work has ever showed anything weird on he’s never had stomach issues. In fact, he rarely gets people food but on occasion I’ll feed him small amounts of hot salsa and a chip or 2. And when I say hot, I mean HOT!
    I’m a pepper head and like very spicy/hot food/salsa’s and hot sauce and this dog literally begs, whines and will not leave you alone if you have some. If it’s really hot. He will bug you to death until he gets another bite. All this and he’s never had 1 stomach issue which is more than I can say for myself. I make nachos with fresh jalapenos slices not canned picked ones and he will even eat fresh jalapeno slices… It’s crazy!
    So back to your original statement… Can dogs eat limes and other Citrus?
    Yes but it depends on the dog.

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