Whether fresh in a salad, as tomato sauce or as ketchup, tomatoes have become an indispensable part of our cuisine and are a regular item on many people's menus.
But what about dogs? Are dogs allowed to eat tomatoes or is their consumption possibly harmful to their health? We will give you the answer to this question in the following paragraphs.
Vegetables contain numerous important nutrients and should not be missing from a healthy diet for us humans. In principle, dogs can also benefit from the valuable ingredients of vegetables. However, the nutritional needs of our four-legged friends are quite different from ours in some respects.
As so-called semi-carnivores, dogs need more animal proteins and fats, while vegetable food should only make up a relatively small part of their diet. In addition, some foods that are harmless to humans are toxic to dogs and should therefore not end up in their food bowls.
However, this does not generally apply to tomatoes. Provided you observe a few points, your dog can eat tomatoes without you having to worry about the health of your four-legged friend.
Like potatoes, tomatoes belong to the nightshade family and therefore contain solanine. Depending on the amount ingested, the consumption of solanine can cause poisoning symptoms such as diarrhoea, vomiting and cramps in dogs.
The more unripe tomatoes are, the more solanine they contain. Dogs should therefore never eat unripe tomatoes, some of which may even still be green. Instead, let your dog eat only ripe or even overripe tomatoes. These contain hardly any solanine so eating them is safe for your four-legged friend.
Although ripe tomatoes are not problematic for dogs, they should not end up in their food bowl in large quantities. If your dog likes to eat tomatoes, you can give him a small piece from time to time.
What applies to raw tomatoes generally also applies to cooked tomatoes or tomatoes processed into a sauce. As long as they are ripe and the quantity remains manageable, they are safe to eat. However, in this case, it is important to make sure that the sauce does not contain too much salt and spices and that it does not contain ingredients that are generally unsuitable for dogs.
In small quantities, the consumption of ripe tomatoes is no problem for dogs. We also use tomatoes as a natural ingredient in some of our products, such as Bellfor Freiland-Schmaus (Outdoor Feast) with chicken or Landgut-Schmaus (Country Estate Feast) with insect protein.
Small amounts of ground tomatoes perfectly round off the excellent taste of this grain-free dry dog food. Of course, you don't have to worry about digestibility. Give it a try. We are sure that your four-legged friend will be delighted with our dry food.
Get to know Bellfor dry dog food.
As you can see, dogs are generally allowed to eat tomatoes. However, you should not overdo it with the quantity. It is also important that the tomatoes are ripe, as their solanine content is particularly high when unripe. Irrespective of this, however, vegetables like tomatoes are not sufficient anyway to ensure a nutrient supply that meets the dog's needs.
In our shop, you will find everything you need for a balanced diet for your dog. In addition to high-quality wet and dry food, and natural food supplements, our range also includes a large selection of healthy healthy dog treats, such as soft snacks and dried meat. With these, you can reward your four-legged friend in a species-appropriate way and your dog is likely to prefer the treats much more than tomatoes anyway.