Can French Bulldogs Eat Watermelon? Exploring the Benefits of this Refreshing Treat

When you want to please your Frenchie with something sweet, it's better to opt for healthy fruits. Watermelon, especially when in season, is a pleasure not only for the pet, but also for its owner. A juicy fruit with a sweet taste bound to brighten your pet's mood.

So, can French Bulldogs have watermelon? Definitely yes, only with some restrictions and when consumed moderately. 

Watermelon and its benefits 

Like any other fruit, watermelons are healthy for humans and animals alike; they contain a large amount of vitamins, amino acids, and minerals.

Some other benefits include:

• Potassium – balances blood pressure, nervous system, kidney function, and ensures the elasticity of cell membranes;
• Calcium – promotes bone health; Iron – increases hemoglobin levels;
• Magnesium – cardiovascular health;
• Vitamin A – your dog’s excellent vision;
• Vitamin C – support of immunity, antioxidant effect, support of hormonal balance, synthesis and metabolism of useful substances in the animal’s body;
• Vitamin B6 – regulation of metabolism, protein synthesis, lowering cholesterol levels in the blood, ensuring normal functioning of the nervous system, supporting the immune system;
• Fiber –stabilization of the digestive system;

This is only a small part of the listed known beneficial substances contained in watermelons. In addition, this fruit, thanks to its large amount of fluid and diuretic properties, helps remove toxins from the body, primarily from the liver.

Watermelon helps improve the urinary system's functioning. The beneficial substances contained in the juice of this fruit also help strengthen the heart and blood vessels and stabilize blood pressure.

Interesting to note is that sugar absorption into the blood will occur slowly, due to the presence of a large amount of fiber in the pulp. This means that the increase in blood sugar will not be immediate.

Watermelons are a low-calorie fruit, do not contain fat and harmful cholesterol, and are a dietary product. This is why it is better not to deny your beloved Frenchie pup the pleasure of eating a sweet, tasty watermelon. It will only bring benefits if you follow certain rules and some restrictions.

How to choose a watermelon and determine that it contains no harmful additives 

You need to choose watermelon for your pet during the season when these fruits contain a maximum of useful substances and a minimum of harmful fertilizers and nitrates. The watermelon season usually begins at the end of August and lasts until the end of September.

Watermelons that are too big and beautiful are not always of high quality and tasty. It is better to take a small, medium-sized, imperfectly shaped one. Check to see if it has a dry tail, possibly yellow and white spots, which indicates good ripeness.

How to give watermelon to a French Bulldog 

Keep in mind: watermelon isn’t a primary food for pets. In the wild, your dog would rarely consume this fruit unless driven by extreme hunger. Consequently, it's crucial to introduce watermelon to your pup cautiously, especially if it's their first encounter with this fruit. 

How much watermelon can a Frenchie eat without harming their health? 

Some dog owners on social media boast that their pets love watermelon so much that these pups can eat almost half of this sweet fruit in one sitting.

At the same time, careless owners simply do not understand that the animal’s body is not able to process such a large amount of fructose, sucrose, and liquid as is contained in such a large volume of watermelon pulp. 

Remember that the main diet of the animal is meat, cereals with small amounts of veggies and fruits. Watermelon pulp should make up no more than a tenth of the total volume of food eaten by the dog. 

How often can you feed watermelon to your Frenchie? 

Watermelon shouldn't be given to your French Bulldog too often, especially every day, this will do more harm than good to your pet's health. Juicy watermelon pulp is simply a delicacy. It will only be beneficial if you give watermelon to your pet 2 times a week.

Is it possible to feed with peels and seeds? 

Dogs are carnivores and their eating habits are different from those of humans. These animals do not chew what gets into their mouths like their owners. They grab larger pieces of prey and quickly swallow them.

Therefore, a watermelon rind swallowed by a Frenchie will not be digested in its stomach. It's tough and can scratch and even seriously damage the walls of the stomach and intestines.

As a result, bloody diarrhea will begin, which is very difficult to combat. The consequences in this case are unpredictable, since injuries inflicted on the digestive system can affect a person’s entire life. Watermelon seeds are tricky. Each of them has a sharp tip and can therefore damage the mucous membrane.

Too many seeds can also cause obstruction and other intestinal problems. Nitrates and nitrites are another danger to the animal. The dog’s body will not withstand the concentration of chemicals that the watermelon absorbs in the field, which a person usually calmly tolerates.

What is the best form to give watermelon? 

If your pet is trying watermelon for the very first time, you should limit yourself to a minimum portion. Then monitor for several hours to see if any unpleasant consequences appear, for example, an allergic reaction.

If the fruit “does not suit the animal”, the pet begins to itch, the ears turn red, and begins to sneeze, then the fruit is simply not suitable for your pup. 

Possible problems, is there any harm and what? 

In most cases, a small amount of sweet fruit will not harm a healthy Frenchie. On the contrary, it will evoke positive emotions and strengthen the psychological connection between the owner and their beloved Frenchie. The primary concern here is potential puddles on the floor.

Watermelon juice can act as a diuretic, leading to unforeseen accidents. It's advisable to take your French Bulldog for an extra walk on the day they indulge in the sweet treat to prevent any mishaps.

Watermelon is sweet, which means its juice contains large amounts of sucrose and fructose. Dogs' bodies practically do not process sucrose and cope poorly with fructose. Therefore, under no circumstances should this fruit be given to animals that have been diagnosed with diabetes or hypertension.

The fruit should be given to French Bulldogs diagnosed with diabetes. With such a diagnosis, physical activity and a special diet are required, which should be strictly adhered to. It must be remembered that obesity leads to other health problems - heart disease, vascular disease, and therefore hypertension, diabetes.

Is it possible to feed French Bulldog puppies watermelon? 

You can give your puppy a taste of watermelon only in the fourth month of life and in very small amounts. The baby has not yet developed enzymes that break down plant foods; the body is not ready for such an unusual product for dogs as watermelon.

Poisoning with nitrates contained in the fruit can have a catastrophic effect on the future health of the puppy. Therefore, you need to be completely sure that you are giving an environmentally friendly product to your baby.

What to do if your dog suddenly gets sick from watermelon 

Most importantly, pay attention to the following symptoms:

• Weakness and lethargy
• Upset stomach
• Vomiting and diarrhea

Key takeaways

You can give your Frenchie watermelon, it is a healthy and tasty treat. However, you shouldn’t get carried away, and you need to follow certain rules:

• Cut off any peel.
• Remove seeds from the watermelon pulp.
• Do not feed your Frenchie watermelon every day or in large quantities.
• Closely monitor your dog's health if it tries watermelon for the first time in its life.

Observe contraindications! Then you will not have problems with your pet's health. You will have a very nice time together, crunching on the juicy scarlet pulp, and this is worth a lot!