# Citrus eating dog **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 1, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citrus-eating-dog/583925 "2011-06-01T02:54:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citrus-eating-dog/583925/1 "2011-06-01T02:54:16Z")
Hello, My wife and I got a chow/shepard mix from a rescue a year ago. We love “Carson” very much and are quite amused by some of his actions. We have an orange tree in our backyard and one if his favorite things to do is to get an orange off the ground and eat it. He also will eat lettuce, carrots and anything else he can get in his mouth. I know that dog food contains veggies, but I have never owned a dog that liked fruits and veggies that wasn’t in dog food. Is this unusual? Does anyone esle have a dog that eats non-meat foods and enjoys them? He also loves Jelly Belly’s, the blue ones being his favorite. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citrus-eating-dog/583925/2 "2011-06-01T03:07:29Z")
Had a roommate once who forgot to buy his dog standard kibble. He ordered pizza for dinner and announced “Fritz and I are eating dinner together!” Somehow that dog didn’t vomit or diarrhea from eating several slices of pizza. To answer your question more fully, though, most dogs I’ve had will eat almost anything you put near their mouths, but I’ve never had one that would spontaneously go munch fruits in the yard. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citrus-eating-dog/583925/3 "2011-06-01T03:27:53Z")
Dogs are true omnivores. They’re designed to eat just about everything. Keep him away from chocolate and grapes (and raisins) and he’ll be fine. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citrus-eating-dog/583925/4 "2011-06-01T03:28:36Z")
This is sort of a weird question. In my experience, it’s easier to list the foods my dog WON’T eat instead of the foods she will eat. Maybe it’s different for big dogs. Mine’s a retriever. But I’m pretty sure dogs like people food for the most part. Citrus is sort of weird, yeah. Mine will share an orange but only if I eat half of the slice first (to indicate it’s foodiness). ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citrus-eating-dog/583925/5 "2011-06-01T03:32:37Z")
It is interesting. I have read on the net to use citrus peels to repel dogs. I guess your dog missed that post. We have had them steal grapefruit skins our of the compost pile. Lots of people feed their dogs all kinds of stuff. We once had a dog that would eat almost anything, even lettuce after the baby slobbered on it. Dogs don’t digest fruits and vegetable very well. Some people claim they are good for dogs, but they are more like junk food. The dogs assimilate little except the sugar in them. Aside from grapes and raisins a little will at the worst speed up the digestive tract. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citrus-eating-dog/583925/6 "2011-06-01T03:32:58Z")
My lab loves to eat the oranges that fall off of our trees- it gives her nice orange-breath. ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citrus-eating-dog/583925/7 "2011-06-01T07:52:02Z")
I’ve never owned a dog that didn’t like fruits and veggies. My current dog loves strawberries and even onions but turns her nose to celery. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citrus-eating-dog/583925/8 "2011-06-01T07:56:20Z")
Onions can also be dangerous for dogs, in large enough quantities. A small slice probably won’t matter, but it’s better to be safe than sorry with these things. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citrus-eating-dog/583925/9 "2011-06-01T08:11:27Z")
My chihuahua likes lettuce, but my dachshund just sniffs at it an stares at you. “Okay, what am I supposed to do with that? It doesn’t smell like food.” Incidentally, neither one of them like kibble, but the dachshund will actually eat it. Our chihuahua got so skinny from not eating, we had to buy him soft food. Of course, he also has bad teeth: in fact, I don’t believe he has any on bottom. It’s a common problem in chihuahuas. ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citrus-eating-dog/583925/10 "2011-06-01T10:02:00Z")
The Bichon’s both love strawberries and carrots and hang very close any time I am cleaning them. I often use them as treats for training rather than biscuits. They will also eat orange, apple, banana, lettuce, cucumber, etc. Their vet gave the standard chocolate and grape/raisin warning, and echoed what friedo said about onions. None of these things are ever given to them in large quantities but are given pretty regularly as rewards, or simply to break up the monotony of their kibble, with no digestive ill effects. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citrus-eating-dog/583925/11 "2011-06-01T11:49:07Z")
> [@Dereknocue67](#): > > I’ve never owned a dog that didn’t like fruits and veggies. My current dog loves strawberries and even onions but turns her nose to celery. Onions are poisonous to dogs, so be careful. So are chocolate, mushrooms, and raisins. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citrus-eating-dog/583925/12 "2011-06-01T12:51:21Z")
My dogs all love a variety of fruits & veggie; I give baby carrots as a treat, but I guess the oddest is raw cabbage! They all LOVE raw cabbage! ---
**Author:** ![Dingbang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@Dingbang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dingbang)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citrus-eating-dog/583925/13 "2011-06-01T13:05:37Z")
My dogs love apple slices. They hear me cutting an apple and they come running to beg for a slice. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citrus-eating-dog/583925/14 "2011-06-01T13:21:48Z")
Same as everyone else - my dogs will eat just about anything, though the boy-pug is a bit more fussy than the girl-pug. Girl eats everything. She was eating broccoli last night, and chows down on carrots, asparagus, you name it. Boy didn’t like broccoli but happily eats other fruits and veggies. The only thing that seems to cause a bad reaction is that the boy can’t handle dairy or really fatty meat. Both are sure-fire ways to get him to puke. Girl eats both with no problem. ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_Cello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Clark\_Cello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_Cello)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citrus-eating-dog/583925/15 "2011-06-01T15:07:24Z")
Oranges and carrots are two of my dog’s favorite things, along with super-balls. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citrus-eating-dog/583925/16 "2011-06-01T16:05:58Z")
MY mate’s alsatian loved blackberries. She would carefully slurp them off the bush to avoid the thorns. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citrus-eating-dog/583925/17 "2011-06-01T18:01:58Z")
A dog will put pretty much anything in its mouth then spit out what’s not to his liking. I had a dog and he hated potatoes. If we had a bit of leftover stew we’d mix it with his dog food. He’d eat the dog food and the stew and pick out all the potatoes. It was funny how there would be a clean dish and a ring of potatoes around the bowl. He simply refused to eat potatoes. On the rare occasions he’d get into the garden he’d eat most any of the veggies. My cat would suck aloe. She LOVED aloe. She’s sink her teeth into the fleshy parts and suck the juice. ---
**Author:** ![canyatton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19adc/32.png) [@canyatton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/canyatton)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citrus-eating-dog/583925/18 "2011-06-01T19:06:55Z")
I have an 85lb eating machine called a Labrador Retriever - She will eat anything and I mean anything - fruit - veggies - meat - eggs - if it will fit in her mouth she eats it - she has even eaten rope - shoes - tires ( tried too at least ) - Watch the movie Marley and Me - that is a true account of life with a lab - they are adorable dogs but you have to watch what they put in their mouths ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citrus-eating-dog/583925/19 "2011-06-01T20:19:58Z")
Years ago we had a medium sized mixed breed and a large fenced yard. He managed to kill and eat rabbits regularly. Our neighbors were disgusted that their corn was being eaten with a pure bred Collie in their fenced yard. One day my wife spotted the Collie eating the corn. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citrus-eating-dog/583925/20 "2011-06-01T22:41:03Z")
The ancient Hawaiians treated dogs as pigs.:o They were fed garbage.:o And as you may have surmised, eaten also.:o But some teacher stated, that they only did so during times of famine. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citrus-eating-dog/583925.md?page=2)