Should Dogs Eat Tomatoes?

Lots of people love tomatoes! However, the red vegetables are not as harmless to our dogs as they seem.

Ingredients in tomatoes

Tomatoes belong to the nightshade family and are related to potatoes, peppers and aubergines. The red vegetables consist of almost 95% water, supplemented by carbohydrates, fats and various types of sugar:

• disaccharides (double sugar)
• monosaccharides (simple sugars)
• polysaccharides
• glucose (grape sugar)
• fructose (fruit sugar)
• sucrose (granulated sugar)

In addition, tomatoes contain many different vitamins, especially vitamin C, vitamin K and folic acid, but also minerals such as potassium, calcium, iron, zinc as well as essential amino acids and antioxidants. This makes the tomato a real super fruit and rich in various healthy nutrients.

However, this fruit also contains a substance that is particularly toxic to dogs: the so-called solanine. This ingredient is found mainly in nightshade plants. While green tomatoes have a very high solanine content and are therefore particularly toxic to dogs, overripe tomatoes lose most of this alkaloid and are less toxic to dogs.

Symptoms of tomato poisoning

If your furry friend accidentally eats too many tomatoes, especially too many green and unripe tomatoes, it can lead to serious symptoms of poisoning:

• vomiting
• diarrhoea
• breathing difficulty
• drowsiness
• paralysis
• impairment of the nervous system

If you observe any of these symptoms in your dog, you should get in touch with your veterinarian, who will explain what to do. As a first aid measure, activated charcoal can be used. It binds toxins and excretes them from the dog's body. However, first discuss the correct dosage with your veterinarian.

Allergy to tomatoes

Some dogs can also have an intolerance or allergy to tomatoes. It can manifest through allergic reactions such as coughing, breathing difficulties, swelling and itching, and even hives. Similar to humans, hives are associated with symptoms such as reddened skin, swelling, and irritated mucous membranes. If you observe this reaction immediately after eating tomatoes, you can be fairly certain that your dog is suffering from an allergic reaction to these nightshades.

Can dogs eat tomatoes - yes or no?

We would not recommend feeding tomatoes to your dog, because there is always the risk of poisoning with solanine. There are plenty of alternatives such as cucumbers, bananas, carrots, zucchini and many other vegetables and fruits. In addition, tomatoes are simply unnecessary in a dog's diet, as he receives a lot of nutrients from other fruits and vegetables that are very well tolerated.

If you still want to feed your dog tomatoes, you should make sure that the tomato is overripe, cooked and skinless and that it is only fed in limited quantities, adapted to the body weight of your dog.

Conclusion

• Tomatoes are not recommended for dogs
• The fruits contain solanine, a substance that is toxic to them
• Symptoms of poisoning such as vomiting, diarrhoea and paralysis can result
• Green, unripe tomatoes have a higher solanine content than overripe tomatoes