Are Crab Apples Toxic to Dogs?
Yes. If your dog has access to a large amount of crab apples and eats them whole, or if they eat the leaves or bark of a crab apple tree, it is toxic to them.
That’s because crab apples, like ordinary apples, have a compound in their seeds called cyanogenic glycoside, which turns into cyanide when digested. And we all know that cyanide is toxic to dogs and people. But that’s not the whole story. Here’s the rest of what you need to know.
What Are Crab Apples?
Crab apples are actual apples. That is, they are members of the Malum plant family, like other apples.
The difference is that crab apples are very small – about the size of a cherry – and they’re a lot more tart and sour than most types of apples.
They’re also a popular shrub for planting in gardens, especially in North America, which means there’s a good chance your dogs will come into contact with them at some point.
Is the Whole Crab Apple Toxic to Dogs?
No. Just like large apples, the flesh of the crab apple isn’t toxic to dogs. It’s only the seeds, leaves and bark of the tree that contain cyanogenic glycoside, so those are the parts that need to be kept away from your dog.
You could safely give your dog the flesh of crab apples, but because they’re quite tart and sour, most dogs won’t like them. If you want to try apples as snacks for the dogs, sliced apples with no seeds are probably a better idea!
What Happens If Your Dog Eats Crab Apples Whole or Leaves and Bark?
The good news about crab apple seeds, bark and leaves is that your dog would need to eat quite a lot to ingest a fatal amount of cyanide. Because crab apples don’t taste good to dogs, they’re not likely to do that.
That having been said, even small amounts of toxic substances that won’t kill your dog can give them stomach trouble, and if your dog has got into the crab apples, the first sign might be a bout of diarrhea.
If your dog has eaten a lot of crab apples, they may be lethargic, they might vomit, and they might have other signs of poisoning. Unless you’ve seen what your dog has eaten, it can be hard to figure out what is causing those symptoms or if it’s something else entirely.
If your dog has serious symptoms like this and it’s not just an isolated incident of vomiting, take them to the vet as soon as possible.
How to Protect Your Dogs from Crab Apple Poisoning
If you have a crab apple tree in your backyard, now that you know that large amounts of crab apple seeds, leaves and bark can be dangerous for dogs, you might be wondering how to keep them safe.
The best thing is always to avoid having trees or plants that could be toxic for dogs in your yard!
Another option might be to put a fence around the tree to keep your dogs away. This will not only keep them from eating fruit that falls inside the fence but also stop them from chewing the trunk or branches of the tree. Some dogs just love chewing things, and wood is always a favorite for those pups!
There are also fruit tree bags that you can buy that fit over the tree itself. They are designed to keep birds and squirrels away from your fruit, but they will also catch any fruit that falls off your crab apple tree. So that could stop your dog from eating them if they’re that way inclined!
Recommended Product: Fruit Tree Netting |
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If you have a dog that is prone to eating things they shouldn't, fruit tree netting that is designed to catch fruit before it falls off the tree could help. This applies not only to crab apples but regular apple trees and other fruit trees like cherries. There are many fruits that can be toxic to dogs, including those that are entirely off limits and those that have toxic seeds or stones. It's usually a good idea to simply keep them far away from your dogs, rather than to take any risks. |
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Why Do Dogs Eat Things They Shouldn’t, Like Crab Apples?
Most dogs eat things they shouldn’t out of curiosity. Many will do this when they are puppies and then grow out of it, but some will always be curious about things they find in your garden or around the house, and that means you always need to be vigilant.
Dogs don’t eat things they find because they intentionally want to harm themselves. They just find something, sniff it, it smells interesting to them, and then they do the next thing that pops into their heads, which is to taste it!
Since puppies do tend to do this sort of thing more often, make sure they’re always supervised in a yard that has potentially dangerous plants or fruit trees. If you move into a new home that has fruit trees, make sure you supervise all your dogs until you’re sure they’re not going to be exposed to something that is potentially dangerous.