Can Puppies Eat Bananas? Yes, a Small Mashed Piece

When a puppy can start having banana

VCA notes that puppies are typically weaned off their mother's milk at about eight weeks of age. Before that, and while a puppy is still settling onto solid food, there is no reason to add fruit: a new puppy's stomach is busy adjusting to a new home and a new food.

Wait until your puppy has been eating its puppy food well for a week or two, with normal stools, before trying a first taste of banana. Introduce it on its own, not on the same day as any other new food, so you can tell what caused any upset.

Why a puppy's stomach needs a gentler start

A puppy's digestive system is small and easily upset. Sugar and fiber that an adult dog barely notices can cause loose stool in a ten-week-old, and diarrhea dehydrates a small puppy much faster than an adult.

The AKC says too much banana can add excess calories and may upset some dogs' digestion. In a puppy, that line is crossed with far less fruit. A thin slice is a treat; half a banana is a lot of sugar for a small body that also needs all of its puppy food.

Choking: size and texture for small mouths

Puppies gulp. A thick round of firm banana can stick at the back of the throat of a toy or small-breed puppy. For a puppy under about 10 lb, mash the banana with a fork and offer a little from your finger or on a lick mat. For larger puppies, cut slices thin and then into quarters.

Always remove the whole peel. The AKC says peels are not toxic but are difficult to digest and can cause stomach discomfort or an intestinal blockage, which in a puppy's narrow gut is a real emergency.

How much banana for a puppy

VCA says treats count toward a puppy's calories and should stay at 10 percent or less of the day's total. As a starting point: toy and small-breed puppies, a mashed piece about the size of a fingertip; medium-breed puppies, one thin slice; large-breed puppies, up to two thin slices.

Offer banana a couple of times a week rather than daily. Large-breed puppies grow best on carefully controlled calories, as VCA notes, so extras matter for them too. Ask your vet if you are unsure how much your puppy's treat allowance is.

If you like to share small snacks, a lick mat or a treat ball makes a little go further and slows a fast eater down.

Frozen banana for teething puppies

Teething puppies often like something cold. A thin slice of banana frozen on a lined tray, or a little mashed banana frozen inside a rubber puppy toy, gives them something soothing to work at. Thaw slices for a minute first if your puppy is very small, so a hard frozen piece is not swallowed whole.

Supervise any frozen treat, and do not freeze banana with honey, peanut butter containing xylitol, or chocolate. Plain banana, or banana mixed with a spoonful of the puppy's usual wet food, is all it needs.

Signs banana disagreed with your puppy, and when to call a vet

Mild upset usually shows within a day: a soft stool, gas or one small vomit. Stop the banana and give only the normal puppy food; most puppies settle within a day.

Call your vet the same day if diarrhea continues, there is blood in the stool, your puppy vomits more than once, seems tired or stops eating. Puppies can become dehydrated quickly. Gagging, drooling or pawing at the mouth after eating banana or peel means call straight away.

Other first treats for puppies

Other gentle first treats include a few blueberries cut in half, a fingertip of plain canned pumpkin, or tiny pieces of plain cooked chicken. Puppy training treats are made small and soft for exactly this purpose.

Keep any treat to the 10 percent allowance VCA recommends, so your puppy still gets the complete nutrition of its puppy food, and always introduce one new food at a time.

This page is general information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot replace an examination by the vet who knows your pet.