Can Dogs Eat Oranges? When it is or isn’t an Emergency

Dogs shouldn’t eat oranges and other citrus fruits. Oranges aren’t considered toxic to dogs but may still be harmful due to their acidic content.

Why oranges are unsafe for dogs

There are several reasons why oranges aren’t the best treats to give to dogs. First, dogs generally aren’t able to handle the acidic content of oranges as well as we do. Dogs, particularly those with sensitive stomachs may end up with symptoms like diarrhea and stomach upsets if they eat one piece too many.

Oranges also contain a decent amount of natural sugar and dogs that eat too much sugar may end up with long-term health complications like teeth decay and obesity. As a general rule of thumb, you don’t want treats, fruits, and other non-dog foods to be more than 10% of a dog’s daily calorie intake.

There’s also a possibility for your dog to try eat some of the orange skin peels. The orange peel is also not considered toxic but it can be dangerous to dogs as it isn’t easily digestible. It may end up causing blockages in the dog’s GI tract if the peel wasn’t first chewed into smaller pieces before getting swallowed.

How much oranges a dog can eat

Despite the potential health risks, it could be fine for some dogs to enjoy an orange as long as it’s in small, infrequent amounts. The amount of orange a dog can eat will depend on a number of factors like the dog’s body size. As a general rule of thumb, we wouldn’t give a dog more than one or two pieces of orange flesh. If the dog has a sensitive stomach then it is recommended to not give them any piece.

The above applies to any fruit part of the orange family including the blood orange and mandarin orange. There are plenty of other fruits that are safer alternative to oranges like blueberries and bananas. You can check out our human food for dogs list to find out what is or isn’t safe.

What to do if your dog eats too many slices of orange

A trip to the emergency vet isn’t always necessary if your dog managed to be sneaky and eat some oranges while you weren’t looking. We would suggest watching over your dog carefully for the next day or two in case the dog does exhibit any concerning health symptoms.

Situations when you may want to visit the emergency vet would be when you know your dog swallowed a large orange skin peel or when your dog has known sensitives or even allergies to orange and other citrus fruit (such as nectarines).