Can dogs eat honey? Yes they can. In fact honey is a good addition to your dog’s diet.
As we always recommend, you should take care to give your dog honey in moderation. However, just as honey benefits humans, if your dog eats honey, it can benefit them too.
Can dogs eat honey – Internal Benefits
• Dogs can eat honey as it contains many healthy vitamins and micro-elements. Honey also contains flavanoids, these are antioxidants that are said to help reduce some cancers and heart disease in both ourselves and our pets.
• It is suggested that if your dog suffers from seasonal allergies, a tablespoon of local honey two times a day will help reduce the symptoms. The explanation behind this is if your dog eats local honey, they become desensitized to the pollen, therefore do not react so badly during spring and summer high pollen counts in the air
Sorry – couldn’t resist
• Dogs can eat honey as it aids their bacteria fighting ability. When consumed by your dog, honey can help to wound healing and prevent free radicals damaging cells.
• Honey is able to alleviate ulcers and bacterial gastroenteritis. Dogs should eat honey as its antibacterial properties, can help gastric inflammation caused by an overgrowth of harmful bacteria, such as gastritis, colitis and IBD (inflammatory bowel disease).
• If your dog is suffering from mild stomach upset, a nice trick is to let them drink diluted honey water. This can help bowel movement, by improving gastric juice production and digestion.
Dogs and Honey – Other Benefits
In fact the heading is a lie, dogs do not need to eat honey in order to benefit from it. Because honey has low acidity and pH levels, it is able to prevent the growth of bacteria. Honey has also been shown to reduce inflammation. These two properties mean honey can be used to soothe the pain of burns and wounds.
Directions for the use of honey on your dog:
Honey used for burns
1. Cut the hair back from around the burned area to reveal the flesh. Wash the area with vinegar, (you may need a spare pair of hands to hold your dog as the application of vinegar will cause them discomfort).
2. Liberally apply the honey to the burn – repeating every 10 minutes until the pain seems to have subsided.
3. Dress the burned area lightly – Using honey means the dressing will not stick to the wounded area, meaning new tissue can grow back faster.
Honey used for wounds
For minor wounds such as cuts and scratches, clean the area thoroughly and add honey to the affected area. There should be no need for bandaging. Watch that your dog doesn’t lick at the wound however.
Anti-inflammatory properties makes honey suitable for burns and wounds
Can Dogs eat honey – Precautions
Honey may be harmful for very young puppies, because of the pollen and clostridium botulinum contained within it. Quite simply a puppy does not have the ability to fight against such bacteria.
An older dog has sufficient bacterial populations living in the gut that can effectively kill such foreign bodies.
Can Dogs Eat Honey – Resources
- For a very interesting article on the use of honey in integrative veterinary medicine, head here.
- To find out about the nutritional content of honey, head here.
- Read more about seasonal dog allergies, here.
- Can dogs eat popcorn?
- Can dogs eat peanut butter?