Dogs can eat watermelon, and occasionally eat a little to play the role of heat relief, but do not give your dog too much watermelon at once, but also to clean up the watermelon seeds, otherwise, it is easy for dogs to diarrhea. Dogs are sick or pregnant when eating watermelon is easy to vomit and diarrhea, not to mention eating ice watermelon, otherwise it will stimulate the dog's stomach. Dogs are able to eat watermelon, especially in the hot summer climate, you can properly give your dog a little watermelon to relieve the heat. But do not give your dog too much watermelon, once fed a small piece is good, dogs do not restrain their appetite, if you give it too much watermelon at once, may eat directly to the vomit and diarrhea.
When feeding your dog watermelon, be sure to clean out the watermelon seeds in it, because dogs eat melon is not going to spit out the seeds, and eating it will stimulate the stomach and intestines leading to diarrhea in dogs, it is best to give your dog seedless watermelon directly.

I. What are the benefits of watermelon for dogs?

What is lycopene
Unexpected benefits of watermelon for dogs
Lycopene is widely found in tomatoes, tomato products, and fruits such as watermelon and grapefruit, and is the main pigment in ripe tomatoes and one of the common carotenoids. It is also a powerful antioxidant that protects against cell damage.

According to Mintel's Global New Products Database (GNPD), 418 new products containing lycopene were launched worldwide from 2003 to 2010. These products cover the food, supplement, and cosmetic sectors, with lycopene-containing supplements being the most popular products.

Protect your dog's skin from sunburn
Unexpected Benefits of Watermelon for Dogs
Although most of a dog's body surface is covered with fur, their skin is very sensitive and just 30 minutes of activity in the sun can lead to a sunburn. Therefore, there are many sunscreens and sun-protective clothing for dogs on the market. Compared to these topical sun protection measures, lycopene-rich foods are definitely the first choice for natural pampering.

Biologically speaking, when UV rays hit the skin, lycopene in the skin binds to the free radicals generated by UV rays and protects the skin tissue from damage, reducing lycopene by 31% to 46% compared to skin that is not exposed to UV rays, while the content of other components remains almost unchanged. In one lycopene study, scientists fed participants lycopene-rich tomato products. 10-12 weeks later, they tested the participants' skin and the skin was less sensitive to sunburn. Another study of lycopene foods also showed that consuming lycopene-rich foods on a regular basis can counteract UV and avoid erythema from UV exposure.

So, for dogs that like to exercise outdoors, adding some watermelon to your summer food list will not only hydrate your dog but also improve your dog's sun protection index.

Control blood pressure
Unexpected benefits of watermelon for dogs
High blood pressure is also a big problem for pet owners. This is because it is difficult to assess what it is like to have a dog with high blood pressure. However, most dogs with high blood pressure have secondary hypertension as opposed to primary hypertension, which is rarely seen in dogs. Simply put, this type of hypertension may often develop one or more clearly observable signs, such as acute episodes of blindness, bleeding eyes, dilated pupils, and other symptoms. This type of hypertension may also be a side effect of Cushing's disease, endocrine disease, obesity, kidney disease, etc.

If your dog suffers from high blood pressure, foods rich in lycopene may be helpful. This is because lycopene has a positive effect on systolic blood pressure. A trial published in the American Heart Journal reported that patients with high blood pressure were given a placebo for 4 weeks, followed by capsules high in lycopene for 8 weeks, and then switched to a placebo for the last 4 weeks. The results showed that by the 6th week of taking the high lycopene capsules, the patients' blood pressure was reduced to normal levels.

Lower cholesterol
Unexpected Benefits of Watermelon for Dogs
Cholesterol is further divided into two types: high-density cholesterol and low-density cholesterol. The former has a protective cardiovascular effect and is often called "good cholesterol"; the latter is high and increases the risk of coronary heart disease and is often called "bad cholesterol".
A study at the University of Adelaide in Australia found that lycopene helps to reduce the level of "bad cholesterol" in the blood, which in turn reduces the risk of heart disease. The effect is comparable to that of statins. Researchers say lycopene is the equivalent of a low-dose drug without the side effects of muscle aches and nerve damage.
So, although dogs don't usually have high cholesterol levels, if your dog suffers from this disease, try watermelon, a food rich in lycopene.

Cancer prevention
Unexpected benefits of watermelon for dogs
Like other carotenoids, lycopene has cancer-preventing properties. This is because it is a powerful antioxidant. It stabilizes free radicals and prevents cell damage that can lead to cancer. Many studies have shown that lycopene may play an active role in the prevention and treatment of cancers such as kidney cell cancer, stomach cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, and prostate cancer.
Watermelon can be given to dogs, but even if it is good, it should not be eaten endlessly. The first thing you should do is to give your dog a small piece of watermelon under the condition that your dog has a normal diet, and that is perfectly fine. But parents must not do that ah, throw the dog half a watermelon, let it chew, let it eat without fear. This way the dog will eat until he vomits.

It is known that eating too much watermelon helps diuretics, and dogs can also cause very frequent excretion. If you eat too much watermelon, the dog will ingest too many watermelon seeds, and this phenomenon is a completely bad phenomenon, especially prone to cause intestinal adhesions in dogs, so eating watermelon can, must give it to remove the seeds, should also try to eat less.
How to properly feed the dog to eat watermelon. First of all, the word should be removed, because the seeds have hydrogen compounds, especially likely to cause dysentery and vomiting symptoms in dogs. So every day the dog, eat watermelon, then, must not exceed 500 grams.
The water content in the watermelon is relatively large, too much watermelon, is easy cause an imbalance in the cells of the dog's osmosis, which will lead to physical discomfort. In addition, in the summer, due to the hot weather, after cutting open the watermelon, must be as soon as possible for the dog to eat, do not leave it for some time and then give it to eat, easy in the role of oxygen, the pulp deterioration.

II. Precautions for dogs eating watermelon

There are two sides to everything, and while we have listed many benefits of watermelon for dogs, not much is better. This is not difficult to understand, the sugar content of watermelon is very high, if the intake of too much sugar, may lead to dog obesity, diabetes, mild inflammation, premature aging, and food allergies ...... so, must be combined with their own dog's physical condition to choose whether to feed watermelon, if fed, but also must control the amount, do not give too much.
1, sick don't eat watermelon
Dogs can eat watermelon?
When the dog is sick or pregnant, the stomach and intestines are particularly vulnerable, and watermelon is a cool, cold food, the dog to eat is easy to stimulate the stomach and intestines, causing diarrhea in dogs, so give more dogs eat some nutritious and mild food.

2, can not eat ice watermelon
Dogs can eat watermelon?
For the dog to eat watermelon must not be chilled, humans who eat ice watermelon are prone to diarrhea, not to mention the more fragile intestines of dogs! If there is only ice watermelon must be put for a period of time before giving the dog to eat.

3, dogs can eat watermelon rind?

It is best not to give the dog to eat watermelon rind, after all, the main nutrition of watermelon is all in the melon flesh, for the rind is not much nutrition, while to eat it also has no meaning.

Three, the way to feed your dog watermelon:

1. remove all seeds from the flesh of the melon: the seeds of most fruits contain cyanide, which can lead to dysentery and vomiting.

2. Control the amount of food in conjunction with your dog's normal water intake, preferably no more than 500 grams a day: as mentioned earlier, the vast majority of nutrients in watermelon are water. Hot summer drinking more water is of course good, but excessive water will affect the osmotic balance in the cells, which will lead to physical discomfort.

3. Watermelon cut open to feed as soon as possible if you find that the dog does not eat to clean up in time.

Because the water content is quite high, watermelon cut after the high temperature, abundant water, and oxygen, the fleshy part of the watermelon will quickly deteriorate. Even considering that dogs themselves are scavengers in the wild and have extremely strong stomach acid to fight spoilage bacteria, you should not risk throwing spoiled watermelon at your dog.