Lime plays a crucial role in our everyday lives. Whether it is about reducing heart disease, improving immunity, or promoting skin health, lime is the saviour for all. To offer such benefits to our dogs, we may think, Can dogs have lime?
Dogs can have limes, but it is not a good option for them. Lime poses more health threats than health benefits to mammals. Since it is a citrus fruit with a sharp flavour, dogs can’t withstand its taste. Besides, consuming lime can make them weak, vomit, have watery poop, and cause many more diseases.
The concept doesn’t end here. Limes can be more dangerous for our canine friends than we think. Let’s see how.
All About Lime
Lime is a green-coloured fruit that belongs to the citrus family. It has acidic juice vesicles that come from citrus trees. Limes are available as dessert limes, makrut limes, and Persian limes.
This fruit contains 88% water, 1% protein, 1% fat, 10% carbohydrate, and 35% vitamin C. Limes have less citric acid than lemons. Hence, it can be less irritating than lemon. The peel and pulp of lime have some phytochemicals, such as terpenes and polyphenols.
Most people consider lemon and lime the same thing, but they are different. Lemons are yellow, and limes are green. Again, lemons are larger and limes are smaller. Limes have a bitter taste, and lemons have a sweeter taste. However, they are both great sources of vitamin C.
Can Dogs Have Lime?
Dogs should not have lime, as it is highly citrusy. Besides, it has many toxic components that can disrupt a dog’s health. The severity of the reaction depends on how much lime your dog has ingested.
Lime can irritate a dog’s gastrointestinal tract, leading to symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach pain, or loss of appetite. Also, its alkaline nature causes excessive thirst and dehydration. These symptoms are inevitable when dogs consume lime extract or any of its parts in moderation. Whereas, consuming large quantities of lime can cause kidney stones, diabetes, pancreatitis, heart disease, etc. in dogs.
Generally, vets recommend not feeding limes to dogs, especially when they are allergic.
Why Is Lime Bad For Dogs?
Lime is a bad addition to dogs because of its toxic compounds and essential oils. The phototoxic compounds are psoralens, and the essential oils are linalool and limonene.
We know citrus fruits, like lime, have a scent that comes from its main component, limonene. People use this essential oil in many food products to enhance their taste and smell. Meanwhile, this oil is toxic to dogs. Consuming high amounts of limonene can damage their kidney and liver.
Lina look is another toxic essential like limonene that can pose health threats to dogs. This can lower the blood pressure and hamper body organs in dogs, resulting in hypothermia. Again, the photo-toxic compounds, called psoralens, can cause skin sensitivity in dogs. Hence, they can be more prone to sunburn, rashes, and irritation.
Dogs, being curious animals, often eat fruits without chewing. Gulping a lemon’s flesh can cause the same side effect.
Lime is high in sugar. That’s why eating this fruit affects dogs’ metabolism, increases their blood sugar level, and increases the risks of diabetes and heart disease. It is also high in citric acid, which dogs find hard to digest. Consuming excess amounts of this acid can lead to throat irritation, gut irritation, bloating, strains in organs, etc.
The rinds and peels of lime are another risky substitute for dogs. They have the same essential oils and toxic compounds found in a lime’s flesh. Sometimes, coming into contact with lime trees causes rashes, irritation, and red spots in dogs. So dogs should avoid lime, its parts, and its tree completely.
What Happens When Dogs Have Lime?
The most common thing that lime can give to dogs is lime poisoning. This mostly happens when dogs eat too much lime. Since this fruit is citrus, it has a sharp flavour that many dogs can’t withstand. However, the symptoms of lime poisoning include diarrhoea, vomiting, loss of appetite, excessive thirst, weakness, pale gums, etc.
What To Do When Dogs Eat Lime?
When your dog ingests lime or lime juice, he will first feel weak, his blood pressure will come down, and he will like throwing up. Within 30 minutes, he may vomit and have watery poop. At that time, you must call your vet and tell him about the symptoms that your dog is showing. Meanwhile, offer your dog plenty of fresh water to help dilute any potential irritants and reduce dehydration.
Don’t forget to treat him with medications that your vet will prescribe you. When he calms down within a few hours, offer him some white rice. Also, don’t let your dog eat any fruits for a couple of days.
Can Dogs Have Lime Sometimes?
We, as humans, eat limes because of their immense health benefits. Lime is loaded with vitamin C, which can treat several issues. It can reduce allergies and infections, remove toxins and bacteria, prevent sickness, boost immunity, and so on.
Lime can be somewhat responsible for keeping your dog’s coat and skin smooth. Besides, it can promote joint and bone health.
Sometimes a peril of lime can be a boon for dogs, but with some exceptions. As said earlier, limes have a very harsh flavour that can result in health issues. But if a dog consumes a few drops of lime, it can be beneficial for them. As it is a citrus fruit, vets don’t recommend feeding it to dogs regularly. You may consider offering tiny amounts of line extract to your dog sometimes. Also, make sure he is not allergic to citrus or plant-based foods.
Frequently Asked Questions: Can Dogs Have Lime?
Can limes kill dogs?
Limes have phototoxic compounds and essential oils that are toxic to them. A few drops of lime extract may not be harmful to them, but having this fruit in moderation or more can kill dogs. It can be life-threatening, especially for allergic dogs.
Is lime juice safe for dogs?
If lime is bad for dogs, so is lime juice. This juice will contain all the toxic elements and oils present in lime. Hence, dogs should not drink lime juice. But if he is not allergic, one sip of it may not harm him.
Can dogs eat lime seeds?
Lime seeds are more harmful than lime flesh and lime juice for dogs. In fact, they will have an additional side effect, i.e., intestinal blockage. Meanwhile, the toxic compounds of lime can harm dogs through their seeds.
What is better for dogs: limes or oranges?
Oranges are better than limes for dogs. Oranges have less sharp flavour than limes, less citric acid than limes, and more vitamin C than limes. Therefore, offering oranges to your canine friend sometimes can be a good option.
Final Verdict
Since lime gives us many health benefits, we may still wonder, Can dogs have lime? The answer is no if you want to keep your dog on the safe side. The benefits of limes are comparatively less than their side effects. For better results, keep limes far from your paw friend.
Don’t panic if he ever eats lime. A few drops of its extract may not be dangerous for him. Eating the lime’s flesh and consuming more than a few drops of its extract can be serious.
Remember, it is crucial to prioritise your dog’s well-being and consult a veterinarian as soon as possible.
