Lemons - Good for Dogs, Many Health Benefits and Uses

 Lemons are amazing

 

In this article:

1. The many Health Benefits of adding lemon to your dog’s diet
2. How to use Lemon Topically to Treat Skin Conditions
3. How to use lemon to Prevent Frostbite
4. How to use lemon to aid in Repelling Insects such as Mosquitos
5. How to use lemon to aid in Treating Urinary Tract Infections (UTI)
6. How to use lemon to make Shampoo/Cleanser/Rinse for your dog
7. How to use lemon to Treat Eye Infections
8. What Type of Lemon you should use
9. How to Add Lemon to Your Dog’s Diet

1.0  Many Health Benefits Of Lemon For Your Dog

Allergy Reducer Lemon helps to reduce the symptoms of allergies.

• Combine Lemon with Rooibos Tea for an even better allergy reducing aid.
• Also use lemon alone or in combination with other all-natural ingredients for dog friendly household cleaners - to replace chemical based household cleaners and avoid toxic build-up and allergies in your dog.

Arthritis
Lemons on their own (i.e. before they are ingested), are acidic however when ingested lemons have an alkalizing effect in the body - the citric acid does not create acidity in the body once metabolized, instead the lemon has an alkalizing effect that helps the body balance PH levels thereby helping to relieve arthritis pain. Adding lemon to your puppies diet early on can help prevent the development of debilitating arthritis later in your dog's life.

Anti-Aging Properties

The high levels of antioxidants present in lemons help the body fight against aging.

Bacterial Pathogens

Juice of a fresh lemon can destroy many forms of bacteria, including those that cause deadly disease.

Cancer Inhibitor 

As a powerful antioxidant, vitamin C protects your dog’s cells from free radicals. Free radicals are charged atoms that form when specific molecules interact with oxygen. The free radicals then react with cell membranes and the DNA within cells – the reaction damages the DNA and membranes and thus the cell itself. Damaged cell structure is the first stage in the lead-up to cancer. A diet high in viable high-quality antioxidants plays a significant role in preventing the development of cancer. Lemons contain a grand total of 22 anti-cancer compounds, these include:

Limonene – oil that slows and /or halts the growth of cancer tumours;

Flavonol glycosides - that stop cell division in cancer cells.

Calming
Lemon acts as a sedative for nerves and can be used to help induce calm.

Detoxification and Protection against Poisoning

The ancient Egyptians ate lemons and drank lemon juice in order to protect themselves from a variety of poisons. Research has confirmed that the ancients where right. For example - lemons are a natural remedy (as are Garlic and apple cider vinegar) for food poisoning – i.e. salmonella and e-colli. The powerful acids present in lemon juice can kill the harmful microorganisms and toxins in the GI Tract that may be absorbed into the body by ingesting food laced with bacteria, fungi, harsh chemicals (i.e. pesticides) and other biological agents. In addition lemons are high in minerals and vitamins that help loosen toxins in the digestive tract.

Diarrhea and Constipation
Lemon aids in the cleansing of the bowels (killing bad bacteria and dislodging toxins) which helps eliminate both constipation and diarrhea.

Digestive Aid 

If you can get your dog to drink a little lemon juice mixed with an equal part of warm water your dog’s digestive tract will be stimulated which helps maintain the movement of food through your dog’s GI Tract. 

Disease Fighting

Lemons are a rich source of limonoids (phytochemicals), that are vital disease-fighting compounds which when present in sufficient concentration are effective in helping to inhibit certain cancers – for example ovarian cancer and oral-cavity tumours.

Eye Disorders
The symptoms of eye disorders, including diabetic retinopathy can be mitigated with the ingestion of lemon due the rutin present in lemons.

Ear Infections (bacterial)

Using a lemon flush is an effective way to keep your dog’s ears clean and free of infection. Ear infections are one of the most common ailments in dogs.

Heart Health
Lemons contain a relatively high level of potassium – potassium is beneficial to heart-health.

Immune System Health

Lemons are rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that supports immune system function.

Intestinal Parasites 

Lemon is a natural wormer as is garlic. 

Liver Health
Lemon stimulates the liver, dissolves uric acid and other poisons thereby supporting liver health.

 

Metabolic Health
Lemon contains a significant amount of pectin fibre which helps to stop huger pains. Additionally a more alkaline diet promotes weight loss. So if your dog is overweight add some lemon to his/her diet. Turmeric is excellent as an aid to weight loss as well. Adding a little fruit and vegetables to your dog’s diet can also help your dog lose weight.

 

 

Nutrient Absorption 

Vitamin C helps the body absorb calcium, Vitamin C, Vitamin B3, selenium and glutathione work in tandem with Vitamin E to help prevent liver and gall bladder problems. As well lemon offers other long-term benefits, e.g., lemon can help prevent and alleviate digestive problems, especially malabsorption of nutrients. Just below, a list of vitamins and minerals in lemons.

• Very high in vitamin C
• Nature’s top source of citric acid
• One of nature’s top seven sources of potassium!

Minerals in Lemons		Vitamins in Lemons
Potassium - 116 mg		Vitamin C - 44.5 mg
Calcium - 22 mg		Vitamin B1 (thiamine) - 0.034 mg
Phosphorus - 13 mg		Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) - 0.017 mg
Magnesium - 7 mg		Vitamin A - 18 IU
Sodium - 2 mg Iron - 0.5 mg Selenium 0.3 mcg Manganese - 0.025 mg Copper - 0.031 mg Zinc - 0.05 mg Also contains small amounts of other minerals.		Niacin - 0.084 mg Folate - 9 mcg Pantothenic Acid - 0.16 mg Vitamin B6 - 0.067 mg Vitamin E - 0.13 mg Contains some other vitamins in small amounts.

Stimulate Appetite

For most dogs this is not an issue, but a dog that is stressed, grieving etc. or suffering from certain medical conditions may not eat enough. The high potassium content of lemons can help to stimulate appetite.

Strengthen Blood Vessels
Lemon contains bioflavonoids (vitamin P) that strengthen blood vessels and prevent internal hemorrhaging.

Teeth and Bones 

The high vitamin C content of lemons helps the body absorb/metabolize calcium. A diet that is rich in vitamin C creates an environment in which bacteria does not thrive. These foods also increase saliva production which helps to wash away bacteria and plaque. To understand more about the other benefits of vitamin C in dog dental read more here.

 

2.0 Treat Skin Conditions

Acne – Puppy Dermatitis (Impetigo and Acne), Skin-Fold Pyoderma

Acne, often located on the chin or lips - can occur in puppies 3 months of age or older and is most common in Boxers, Bulldogs, Dobermans and Rottweilers, but can also occur in other breeds of dogs. Skin-Fold Pyoderma occurs when inflammation results from skin constantly rubbing together. To treat these conditions you use a cotton ball to apply:

• Undiluted lemon juice (do not use undiluted lemon juice if the skin is broken as the undiluted lemon will sting)
• Green tea and lemon -  steep a bag of green tea, let it cool to warn temperature, add the juice of half a lemon and using a cotton ball apply the resulting lemon-tea to the affected area – do not rinse
• You can also mix 1 part lemon juice with an equal portion of rose or manuka honey water – apply with a cotton ball and leave the mixture on the skin for a minimum of half an hour, then rinse with water
• You can also bath the puppy in the treatments noted above

These treatments work best if applied twice a day.

3.0 Avoid Frostbite – Vascular Damage

Lemon juice (like ginger) increases circulation which can help avoid vascular damage leading to frostbite. Dogs with short fur (such as my Boxer x boy below), are prone to frostbite of the ears in cold weather. 

4.0 An Aid to Repelling insects such as Mosquito;

Lemon when applied topically can be used to repel insects and parasites. Mosquitoes do not like the scent of citrus…read here to find out  how to use lemon to repel insects from your dog.

 

5.0 Treatment aid for Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)

If you catch the UTI in its early stages and/or the infection is not extremely severe you can use lemon to treat the infection.

Topical Treatment

Use the cleanser as described in 6.0 below to bath your dog – this will help to flush out bacteria that might otherwise invade your dog’s urinary tract.

Ingested Treatment
Mix the following together in a bowl:

• Fresh lemon juice – you can also add some minced lemon
• Use an equal part of warm water
• And some fresh or frozen crushed cranberries to the lemon juice/warm water mixture and pour the resulting mixture into a food bowl
• You can also add a few slices of orange (cut it up, don’t use whole uncut sections) and;
• 1 tsp to 1 tbs of organic unfiltered, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar

Give this treatment to your dog twice a day until the infection clears. If the infection does not clear-up in the space of a day its time to get some professional help. You can read more about UTI's here.

6.0 Safe, Effective Shampoo/Cleanser/Rinse

Lemon can be used in combination with greet tea and apple cider vinegar as a highly effective cleansing and disinfecting rinse. An excellent alternative to commercially made pet shampoos which can be full of toxins and carcinogens. Just as you would with commercially made shampoos - make sure you avoid getting the lemon juice cleansing rinse in your dog’s eyes. 

To make the rinse:

• Steep a bag or two of green tea
• Allow the tea to cool to room temperature
• Add the juice of a fresh lemon, and
• Use the resulting liquid to bath your dog
• You can also add a few tbs of organic, unfiltered, apple cider vinegar to the tea and lemon mixture

 

7.0 Treatment for Eye Infections

Distilled Water and Fresh Lemon Juice (room temperature)

Not for use with pink-eye

• Combine;
• 2 tbs distilled water with
• 4 drops of fresh squeezed lemon juice
• Stir well
• Drop 2 to 3 drops in the eye two to three times a day until the infection clears

If you would like to understand more about eye infections...

• Typical Causes of an Eye Infection
• Typical Signs that Your Dog's or Cat's Eye May Be Infected
• Typical Signs of Pink Eye - Conjunctivitis
• Contagiousness of Eye Infections
• Treating and Curing Eye Infections
• Topical Treatments
• Ingested (Dietary) Remedies 
• Duration of Treatment
• When To Get Your Dog or Cat to Your Veterinarian
• Read this article.

 

8.0 What Type of Lemon Should You Use?

Don’t use bottled, processed/pasteurized lemon juice – this type of lemon juice loses its beneficial properties during pasteurization and processing. Use fresh lemons and fresh squeezed lemon juice.

How to Choose a Good Lemon

The heavier and fresher the lemon the better the health properties of the lemon!

9.0 How to Add the Lemon to Your dog’s Diet

Preparing the Lemon

• Freeze a whole lemon and grate a little over your dog’s food;
• Add fresh lemon juice to your dog’s water bowl – remember to change the lemon water on a daily basis. Make sure your dog always has a bowl of pure water next to the lemon water bowl.
  
• Add fresh-finely minced lemon to your dog’s food.

• Peel the lemon and slice it into 4 to 6 pieces;
• Remove the seeds;
• Puree the flesh of the lemon
• Add the pureed lemon to your dogs’ food once a day;
• Store any remaining pureed lemon in an air tight glass container (in the refrigerator) for several days.  

Adding The Lemon to The Daily Diet

• Start by using the half the recommended lowest dosage in your dog's size range - see 'Daily Dosage' below;
• Over the space of a week to 10 days gradually increase the amount of lemon to the lowest recommended dosage for your dog's size range;
• You can then increase to the higher dosage in your dog's range if you would like to do so.

Daily Dosage (non-therapeutic)

• X-Small dogs - 1/16 to 1/4 tsp/day
• Small dogs - 1/4 to 1 tsp/day
• Medium dogs - 1 to 2 tsp/day
• Large dogs - 2  to 3 tsp/day
• X-Large dogs 3 to 4 tsp/day

10.0 Lemon and Citrus 'Not Safe' says the ASPCA and
        HSUS... 

'Really' says me, well ASPCA and HSUS you are wrong - your condemnation of lemon and citrus as poisonous for dogs is completely out of context. Many foods are poisonous and health threatening in many ways if consumed in unreasonable quantities. Both organizations (but primarily the ASPCA) also condemns other beneficial foods as 'unsafe' for dogs.

So I will set the record straight here and now.

There are many foods that when provided in moderation (to a dog) have many health benefits...the following provides some examples of such items that can contribute much to your dogs health when used properly and with common sense...

• Lemon as noted above
• Dairy
• Garlic
  Fats - while some fats are extremely bad for dogs and other fats are 100% essential for dogs
• Tea - specifically some herbal teas like green tea, chamomile tea and rooibos tea provide many health benefits to a dog, yet these are listed as dangerous. There are teas that are dangerous for dogs and other teas that are beneficial.
• Cranberries

The key is to provide these foods within a threshold where the food retains its healthful contributions - just as we would approach foods in the human diet. All of the above foods are part of my dogs' daily diet. According to the ASPCA's guidelines they should all be quite ill. My dogs are all very healthy - how can that be? I mean the ASPCA must right, right? Actually they are wrong. 

When fresh lemon or other fresh citrus is added to the daily diet in reasonable amounts toxicity is not normally an issue. If instead your dog drinks a couple of tablespoons of lemon oil - I would say get your dog to the veterinarian ASAP. 

Dogs have, for 1000's of years eaten 'people' food including dairy products such as kefir and yogurt, hard cheese, cottage cheese. My dogs eat (in reasonable beneficial quantities) yogurt hard cheese and cottage cheese every day, as do many of my client's dogs. My dogs are very healthy. 

For the most part with some exceptions, the same food that is bad for people is also bad for dogs - highly processed food! Fresh whole foods of many kinds are excellent for dogs as are many herbs and spices.

The ASPCA also lists raw meat as dangerous for dogs - funny that raw meat is a species appropriate/biologically appropriate food for dogs. It is not that raw meat is bad for dogs, it is that when the raw meat is not stored and handled properly it can BECOME a source of e-coli, etc. My dogs and cats are all raw feed and very healthy.

Prior to the 1950's when most dog's ate 'people' food dog's lived twice the life span that they live now.

I find it ironic that the ASPCA does not include on their list of foods that are bad for dogs  highly toxic, carcinogenic ingredients that are in many commercially made processed dog foods, items such as:
Ethoxyquin

Corn

Soy

The many ingredients listed in this article, and;

The many ingredients (approved by the FDA and AFCO) listed in this article, and;

The health threatening toxic preservatives discussed in this article, commonly found in dry and wet processed commercially manufactured dog and cat food.

In my opinion a proper list of dangerous foods for dogs should be based on common sense, logic and a proper explanation such as this list.

As well the ASPCA fails to mention all of the toxins commonly included in dog care products such as dental chews, toothpaste and dog shampoo.

So is lemon bad for dogs? No.

11.0 Holistic Support

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Article and graphics by Karen Rosenfeld