Can dogs eat avocado pits? No! Dogs shouldn’t eat avocado pits. All parts of an avocado — including the pit — are poisonous to your dog. Avocado contains a toxic component called person. Persin is present in the avocado fruit, pits, leaves, and the actual plant so all of these parts are potentially poisonous to your dog.

While dogs can eat the flesh of the fruit, even the flesh contains a small amount of persin. Small quantities of avocado fruit will not necessarily be toxic to your pet. The toxic effects occur when a dog eats a large quantity of raw fruit. But even so, it’s not worth taking the risk. So if you’re tempted to give your dog the fruit, don’t.

Also, check out: “Can Dogs Eat Avocado Meat?”

Why Avocado Pits Are Toxic 

The avocado pit is one of many things in an avocado plant that’s poisonous for dogs. Actually, all parts of the avocado plant are poisonous to dogs if eaten in large quantities. The fruit contains a toxin called persin. Persin is a pungent, oily pepper-like ingredient that the plant uses to keep other predators from eating it.  In this case, the persin will cause stomach upset, vomiting, and possibly diarrhea. In very few cases, even the dog may suffer from some myocardial damage. So, it’s best to steer clear of the pit of an avocado. The flesh is fine for them to eat, though.

Moreover, eating a whole avocado pit poses a few other problems. When swallowed whole, the dog could possibly choke on the pit. And even if your dog does manage to pass the pit, it’s likely to get lodged somewhere in the intestines. In severe cases of intestinal blockage, the dog will need surgery to have the pit removed. And while large enough dogs can eat an avocado whole, it’s best not to tempt fate.

You might also be interested in “Can Dogs Eat Avocado Skin?”

Conclusion

Thus, our verdict on “Can dogs eat avocado pits?” is no! While small amounts of the pit might not have any life-threatening symptoms and while the chances of a dog dying from avocado poisoning are low, the risk is too great for us to recommend you give your dog an avocado pit. Even with a small-sized pit, chances are that your dog might end up with gastrointestinal issues. Whereas large-sized pits may get lodged in the throat or the intestine. So, you might be better off just giving your dog the flesh, if you ever decide on giving avocado to your pooch.

Now that you know why feeding avocado pits are toxic to dogs, find out everything about dogs and avocado in avocados for dogs.  

Have you ever mistakenly given avocado pits to your dog? How did they react? Did you have to rush your pet to the hospital soon after? We would love to hear from you. Please share with our community by leaving a comment below!