Feeding Fruit to a Pointer

After being begged upon by a particularly relentless lemon-colored
pointer, some question arose as to whether a dog should be allowed

Mirelle...

No dog begs to the point of being relentless to a stranger. If it do,
do you not have self control?

Mirelle...

Questions from where, in your own mind, why don't you say so?
It sounds like you are abdicating your own thoughts into the abstract.

fruit of any sort. In my hand was a cup of orange juice, and as the day
was particularly hot, it seemed a good compromise to add a small amount
of the juice to his water dish. He drank a small amount to his

Mirelle...

Who asked for a compromise, the dog ? It sounds like you made a
decision. Take responsibility for it.

satisfaction, but when the dog's owner later found out -- by the color
of the water -- that some fruit had been thus consumed, a great tirade
resulted. No fruit for the dogs, I was then told, for any amount could

Mirelle...

I would not call the owners response a 'tirade'. They were in their
rights to not have their dog be given food or beverage by someone who
they did not give the okay to do this to.
Perhaps the tirade came from you.

constitute an overdose.

Mirelle...

That is their opinion. They do not need to tell you why they believe
this, medications, allergies and such. Even if there is no reason, it
is their dog.

Is this true? I can see how an unending fruit bowl might eventually
cause gastronomic distress, but isn't it a good thing to add a small

Shelly...

The owner may have had a reason for not wanting his dog to consume
fruit, including possible medical conditions. You should *always*
ask permission before feeding someone else's dog. At best, it's
tacky and thoughtless, and at worst, you could cause real harm.

amount of vitamin-rich juice to the diet?

Shelly...

It's not necessarily bad, in small quantities, but I don't think
it's of any real benefit, either. Fruit juice is high in sugar, and
it would be difficult for the dog to consume enough of it for the
vitamins to be beneficial. Besides, a good diet should already have
the correct amount of vitamins in it. There should be no need to
supplement, especially not with fruit juice.

NB: I tend to think of fruit juice as only being only slightly
healthier than pop. Far better to eat whole fruit where both humans
and dogs are concerned.

Mirelle...

That is irrelevant to the situation. This sounds like justification for
poor boundaries to ask if it is alright to feed dogs fruit.

As for fruit. The answer is, it depends upon the dog. Most dogs love
fruit. Avocados are also popular with dogs and well tolerated, in small
amounts.
Fruit juice is not such a good idea. Whole fruit is better.

TaraG...

While I'm not familiar with small amounts of fruit being damaging to dogs,
if this was not your dog, and if you didn't *ask* the owner if this was ok,
you had no business whatsoever making the decision to give the dog anything
(unless, of course, the dog was severely dehydrated and the only thing
available to prevent illness was juice). Well intentioned people cause
episodes of gastric distress *all the time* by assuming they can give "just
a little bit of xxxx" to a dog who's physical sensitivities they aren't
familiar with.

I've taken care of dogs who, if given a small piece of meat could end up
with organ failure, or if given anything containing chicken could end up
with explosive diarrhea, or....etc. If you don't know, and haven't asked,
then don't give. Period.