Can Dogs Eat Bananas?

Are Bananas Healthy for Dogs? What are their Health Benefits?

Many dog owners struggle finding everyday ingredients their dog’s can safely eat. What can dogs eat? For starters, yes, dogs can eat bananas. Bananas even have health benefits for dogs. Below you can read the known health benefits of bananas for dogs. You can see our quick and easy recipe for banana dog chews below as well. Bananas contain sugar and dogs should limit sugar intake. These chews are meant to be given as treats.

Bananas have several benefits for dogs. They contain large quantities of (1) potassium, (2) vitamin B6, (3) manganese, and (4) vitamin C.

1. Potassium is important for muscle and nerve function in dogs. It also aids in hydration and the functioning of enzymes in the body.
2. Vitamin B6 is a vital nutrient that plays a role in many bodily functions. It aids in immune function, balancing hormones, making proteins, and DNA synthesis. Vitamin B6 also aids in a dog’s brain function, which we can all agree is SUPER important!
3. Manganese helps dogs to properly synthesize carbs and proteins. It also aids in reproduction as well as the production of enzymes, which create energy.
4. Vitamin C aids in immune function and increases antibodies which can fight against serious diseases, such as cancer. Ingesting foods with vitamin C isn’t as important to dogs as it is to humans. Dogs actually produce vitamin C by synthesizing minerals through their liver.

Not all dogs eat everything so they may not like bananas. The great thing about this banana recipe is that it is easy to try and inexpensive. If your dog doesn’t like the chews, all is not lost. Check out the recipe below to make your own at home.

Banana Dog Chews Ingredients

• 1 Peeled Banana
• 1/2 tablespoon of Lemon Juice

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 215 degrees.
  

• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
• Slice the peeled banana. There are a couple ways you can slice the banana. It depends on what you prefer. You can slice the banana into disc shapes, about 1/4 of an inch thick. You can slice your banana the long way into 4 sticks. I sliced my banana in half the first time. I tried both methods to see what came out better. The discs came out crunchier while the sticks come out chewier. It all depends on what you think your dog will enjoy most.
• Lay the banana onto the lined cookie sheet. Lightly squeeze a lemon over the tops of the banana. The lemon juice will prevent the bananas from turning dark brown.
• Place the cookie sheet into the oven on the middle rack. You want the banana chews to bake low and slow. This method of baking allows the bananas to dry out and become chewy.
• Set the oven timer to 2 hours. Check back on them every half hour and squeeze more lemon juice on them if necessary.
  Flip the banana chews and discs half way through.
• After 2 hours, the bananas should look like the pictures below. Allow them to cool and serve to your dog. They are even yummier with some honey drizzled on top or with peanut butter. You can make peanut butter and banana sandwich bites by placing peanut butter in between 2 banana chips.

Kimberly Mattar
March 4th 2016
Updated on May 29th, 2019