Can I Give My Dog Prunes?

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Can I Give My Dog Prunes?Perhaps your dog is backed up and you’re thinking of feeding prunes to get things moving again?

This food helps to keep bowel movements regular for people, but for canines?

Dogs are known to get into pretty much anything. They’re not very discerning about what goes into their mouths. Pets tend to figure out the world by sniffing, licking and eating stuff. Prunes are fair game.

So when your dog eats something they shouldn’t, and they’re showing signs of straining to go, it’s normal to be concerned and try to help.

Constipation can also occur if you’ve changed their dog food brand, or started to change up their normal eating times.

Can I Give My Dog Prunes? Answer: Not Recommended

Prunes as we know them don’t really occur naturally, and therefore a dog would not eat them if they were on their own in the wild.

Therefore, their bodies aren’t really ready to take on the effects of eating a prune or drinking prune juice. It could take the situation from one extreme to another, making them go from constipated to having diarrhea. That being said, it’s not as if it will harm them if they eat one dried prune or so.

The best method to deal with a dog’s digestion problems is patience. They have a quick metabolism, so most any problem they are experiencing, especially constipation, will resolve itself soon enough.

Your Pet Pooch and Prunes

Prunes and plums are not the same thing, although they are closely related. The plums they use to make prunes with are easier to dry out, and contain more fiber than other varieties of plum, which gives prunes their reputation as something to take if you’re constipated.

Feeding your dog a fresh plum is different then giving them dried prunes. When fruits get dried out like that, the flavors get concentrated, and the effects of the fiber are more pronounced. Fresh fruit is something that dogs can have, for the most part.

So What About Prune Juice?

Prune Juice is not something you should give your dog either. Just stick to water.

Any other liquid besides water will only dehydrate your dog, and lead to further constipation, even with added fiber.

Better Constipation Remedies

So if prunes and prune juice isn’t really the best thing for a constipated dog, what else can you give them? Avoid going the over-the-counter route because this is even worse than something all-natural like prunes.

Some owners give their dog cooked rice, to help move things along, and this can certainly be effective. In truth, sometimes the best action is to do nothing. If you want to take action then mashed up pumpkin may be the best constipation remedy of all.

Conclusion on Prunes

If you feel something is obstructing your dog’s bowels you’ll need to contact the vet. You don’t want to be treating your dog for constipation if you suspect they’ve swallowed something that’s now lodged in their system. Of course, follow your vet’s advice if they recommend prunes or prune juice for your dog.

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8 thoughts on “Can I Give My Dog Prunes?”

  1. I have a 15 year old Dachshunds with anal gland cancer. He was doing good with wet food and a prescription softener. Then it got more difficult, so I went with adding pumpkin. It helped for awhile but I didn’t know what else to do.

    His new diet is 1 part soft can dog food, a large spoonful of pumpkin, a tablespoon of Gerber’s prunes, a tablespoon of Gerber’s veggies and beef and a little vegetable oil. He eats it like a champ and is pooping great.

    I was having to take him in for enemas every 3-4 weeks. If I don’t see him drink much I give him a frozen pedialyte or a small amount of milk. This is not a recommendation so check with your vet.

    My Rocko is in his twilight days. He was diagnosed and given a short time to live. You would never know he was sick except for a little straining. So for me, I want to make his last days great ones!

    1. Hi Dawn. I’m so sorry to read about your little Rocko. I’m sure he knows he is lucky to have a wonderful mommy like you. We always feel so helpless when we are caring for our babies who can’t talk to us to tell us what hurts. But you sound like you’re a wonderful care giver. Thanks for sharing with us the things you do to help Rocko. I’m filing that info away for the future.

      I’ll be sure to ask my vet if these are good choices for my dog if she gets constipated. Of course, since she’s a Great Dane it might be better for me to buy Gerber’s baby food by the pallet!

  2. I gave my Chihuahua one half of a dried prune and it worked. I don’t do this on a regular basis but after 3 days I couldn’t turn a blind eye anymore. I will keep pumpkin around next time or rice is easy enough. Good info, thank you!

  3. This was very helpful for me. My dog is over 12 years old and I worry about him. He is an energetic dog. I adopted him from the humane shelter and they were not sure of his age in 2013 but thought he was a Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso mix. I have been feeding him canned puppy food, plain yogurt and mushroom pieces. He is doing better with walking and sleeping. So glad I have found this info for him. Thank you.

    1. Raw mushrooms are not good for anybody. Fungus should be cooked before consumed. Not even those nice white buttons should be eaten raw. Cooked (in limited quantities) and mixed with other food should be OK for the dog. My dog gets small tastes.

  4. I started giving my dog preservative-free prunes for the fiber due to anal gland problems. I read many reports stating it would help anal gland issues naturally, instead of constantly reoccurring problems.

  5. We have a very large Lab. My doctor told me to start eating a couple prunes a day (lots of fiber) so I tried a tiny piece on Duke and he likes them. Never heard of the pumpkin before but this is the time of year for pumpkins. Thanks for the information.

  6. My Chihuahua was constipated and I noticed, on the first day, he was struggling to go. So I gave him a little bit of canned food mixed with some prunes. I ended up giving him half the container. He ate it and I also made sure he was drinking enough water.

    After two hours he went to the bathroom (at ease not struggling). For dinner I gave him the other half of the prunes and mixed it up with can food. The next day he had no struggle at all. Now I’ve started to give him wet and dry food when he eats. The wet food helps him not get constipated.

    Even though it cost more to buy cans, I would rather him be constipation-free. He is now one happy dog running around. Thanks for reading and I hope my information helped.

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