Apples are a Very Healthy Snack for Dogs
We’ve always shared slices with our dogs, and most of them have liked it. The crispness of a fresh apple helps keep their teeth clean, and apples are full of healthy fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants. They are also low in calories so a great snack for dogs on a diet.
If your dog doesn’t like them, unsweetened apple sauce is a great alternative too. That might be more interesting to them, and you can even add it right to their food. I add a spoonful to Luke’s food quite often. I buy organic applesauce, but it’s still always my preference to give Luke foods from our own farm and garden (which is also all organic).
Remove the Core & Seeds, but NOT the Skin!
Much of that fiber and those vitamins are in the skin! There are other benefits as well. When Luke has his seasonal allergy issues in the late summer/early fall, I’m always looking for natural ways to help him with his itchiness. Quercetin is a bioflavonoid found in fruits and vegetables that can help promote healthy function in the inflammatory system, and is recommended by veterinarians for dogs suffering from allergies. It is also found in the skin of the apples! I was excited when I first read it since we had so many apples coming on our trees this year.
I mentioned last week that we were able to pick and eat many of those apples for the first time from our overgrown trees (they came that way with the house). Apples can keep quite well if you refrigerate them, but I enjoy how pretty they are so always like to have a basket full on the table or counter.
An Easy Way to Preserve the Apples
The only problem with our apples is that while they taste quite good, they are rather small. I call them “snack-size” – it really only takes about 4 bites to eat one of these! Therefore, the prospect of de-coring and peeling them to bake something or make applesauce for the humans seemed like way too much work. These apples are too small to do well with our handy Apple-Corer-Slicer which I’ve been using for years. The one seen below is similar to the one we have. (That photo is an amazon affiliate link*, if you happen to need one!)
I simply cut the good part of the apples off. One slice on each of 4 sides gave me 4 decent slices and left the core and seeds behind. Then I threw them in my food processor and ground them up. From there, I just spooned them into ice cube trays and froze them overnight. Then I just popped the cubes out into a storage bag! Now I can just take a cube out, thaw it, and throw it right into Luke’s food dish. Easy-peasy! I imagine Luke might enjoy eating one of those frozen cubes too, but I haven’t tried that yet.
It didn’t take long at all to do this, and Luke and I both got to enjoy some slices of apple while I did. The even better part for us? I didn’t have to feel like I was wasting the extra scraps, because our chickens and guinea hens love apples as well! So I just threw the scraps out for them, and they pick out what they like (I’m not sure if they eat the seeds or not, which have a form of cyanide in them, but birds are smart about knowing what they should and shouldn’t eat). Even if we didn’t have the birds, the scraps could go into the compost pile and still not be wasted.
You might know from our photo the other day of the ground covered with apples, that our free-range birds have access to all the apples they want. The funny thing about our farm birds though? They’re kind of lazy. They are much happier when we cut fruits and veggies open for them so they can get right at the good stuff!
Remember, the key to adding anything like this to your dog’s diet is moderation, and check with your vet if they have any digestive issues. Too many apples could lead to upset stomachs for dogs; and be sure to remove the core and seeds which could cause health hazards!
Does your dog like apples?
Don’t forget our veterans today! We are extremely grateful for all that they have sacrificed to preserve our freedom. Thank you to our friend Ann at Zoolatry for the badge.
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We have never given Matt apples but we might try and will definitely try apple sauce as every so often snack. He has such the sensitive stomach but he has had treats with apples in them so I bet he would tolerate them. Love that you made the little freezer snacks for the winter.
xoxo,
Bell Fur Zoo Mama
We hope Matt likes it, and it agrees with his tummy! ♥
Great post!! Alice is our only dog who will actually eat apples but I keep trying with the other two!
When we had our other dogs, I usually had to sneak any fruits or veggies in with their food. But our beagle Cricket would actually pick blueberries out of her food and leave them on the floor. LOL
Great post, nice work on the ease of freezing! You gave all the proper warnings too
Thank you, Lynn! ♥
Rosy really enjoys apples and other fruits…the boyz, not so much LOL
It was the opposite here, the boys would eat anything but the girls were very fussy! I can’t remember now if Cricket or Sheba ate apples or not. They weren’t much into fruits and veggies like Luke is.
All my pups love(d) apples!! How great that you have your very own ones.
We were really lucky to find this place! 🙂
Will an apple a day keep the veterinarian away?
Luke is sure hoping so!!
The boys love apples but we have to stick to Pierre’s special treats now due to his tummy issues.
Poor Pierre, but I’m glad he at least has some treats he can have! ♥
I was maki g an apple cobbler last week and dropped some apple bits. My silly dogs wouldn’t touch them! I’m glad Luke is much smarter and knows what’s good for him!
Sometimes Luke will hesitate, but once he realizes something better isn’t coming, he’s all over it! 🙂
He’s a better eater than my crew!
There’s not much he won’t eat! 🙂
Great information. My guys will eat apples. Your basket of apples is beautiful.
Thank you! I love Mother Nature’s decorating! 🙂
Dakota actually ADORES apples but according to our Vet, dogs should be given SMALL amounts of apple and not necessarily on a daily basis. It is important that it is noted that (yes you mentioned removing the seeds/core thank God), the seeds/core contain cyanide which is poisonous. Hoping those less knowledgeable read all the way through and don’t just give a dog the entire apple! 🙂
While I didn’t mention the cyanide until later, I did try to put early on, in big, bold letters not to feed the seeds and core. 🙂
I did not know you could freeze apples. Glad you found a way to preserve them for Luke.
I don’t have the time or patience for canning or anything like that, so I’m constantly researching to find what I can just easily store in the freezer! Luckily it works for quite a few things if you are only looking to use them for cooking or stews and soups.
I’d forgotten that our Angel Doggies used to like apples, enjoy that yum Luke! Thanks to our Veterans, heroes one and all, we appreciate you!
What a creative way to keep apples around passed the harvest season.
Today we salute all veterans for their sacrifices maintaining our country’s freedom.
Awk…make that past, not passed. 😬
🙂 We are always trying to find ways to make the harvest last a bit longer!!
I remember that Kissy liked apples, so I always gave her a few bites when I had any in the house. Callie and Shadow liked them, too; but apples made them both a little “gassy” so I stopped giving them any. When Ducky was in the throes of her IBS, I steered clear of apples for her as well. Now that she’s eating healthy food, I give her apples very sparingly. But she enjoys the cookies I buy from you that have apples or applesauce in them. ❤️❤️ I don’t know if Radar likes apples or not. Until he’s free of the heartworms and on the Dr. Harvey’s Canine Health – like Ducky – I’m not going to experiment. Though he does like the treats I buy from you. Those, and the Sojo’s treats, are the only ones I trust right now.
We are so pleased they both like and enjoy our cookies, and are thrilled that you trust them too. Thank you so much! ♥
Yes our Little Bit liked apples. Not to many though. I agree with that.
Luke is a handsome pup.
Thank you for joining the Awww Mondays Blog Hop.
Have a fabulous Awww Monday and week. Extra apple slice for Luke. ♥
Consider it done! Luke thanks you for always getting him an extra treat. 🙂
an apple per day keeps da dogtor away! yay! we remember those today who brought freedom back to our country… in 3 wars this people fought for us… that’s a reason to be grateful forever…
It certainly is!! ♥
Mom hasn’t had an apple in the house since Katie passed away. She isn’t a big apple fan, and if she eats one, it has to be cut up, she can’t stand to bite into one. Maybe one day she will try eating them again and we can see if Olivia and I like them or not. Mom loves apple sauce, so enjoy your version of apple sauce!
I kind of know what your Mom means about biting into one! I prefer them cut up too, though it is fun to just pick one off the tree and bite into it. 🙂
We love apples and we eat lots of them!
Yay – they’re so good for you!!