Oranges

[Donna K & Quincy]

My doodle loves oranges although I thought dogs didn't like citrus. Is it ok to give him a little every now and then?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

A little every now and then should be okay if it agrees with them. Oranges and all citrus fruits are extremely acidic, and could cause digestive upsets. Don't give the rind or white part, just the flesh.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Peri and Taquito love mandarin oranges. I can't give them to T anymore, so Peri may get one every now and then. The acidity has always worried me - just give them sparingly like Karen said.

[Azure & Muppet]

I think in general, most dogs and cats don't like citrus (which is why it's commonly used in products such as sprays). But if they do like it, I don't think it's dangerous or harmful for them to consume citrus fruits (just use moderation because of the high acidity level so they don't get upset stomach or digestion).

[F, Calla & Luca]

I kind of doubt, but don't know, that citrus fruits are more acidic than the stomach contents normally are when digesting food.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Then why do some people get heartburn from acidic food?

[F, Calla & Luca]

Heartburn is really from acidic reflux from the stomach into the esopaghus and can occur with lots of different kinds of foods.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm going to have to research this, I guess. I know that stomach acid doesn't break down plant cellulose, so I think oranges could cause some pretty good diarrhea if eaten in quantity. It just seems funny that so many of us had the idea that acidic foods could cause digestive upsets.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Not the best resource but this Wikipedia explanation is good and succinct.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heartburn

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The article did include acidic fruits and juices in the list of foods that stimulate the secretion of excess stomach acid during the digestive process.
I think it's probably wise to limit the amount of fruit a dog gets anyway. Whether oranges would cause any more digestive upsets than say, apples, I don't know, but my gut says they would, lol.
I will try to find out more about it, though.

[Adina P]

Yes oranges would cause diarrhea, but not necessarily because they are acidic.

And the reason humans and dogs can't break down cellulose is NOT due to an acid issue. It's because we both lack the enzyme that breaks the links in that particular fiber. But this is good for humans (at least) because it helps the GI tract work very well. The 'ol scrub brush fiber thing.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Oh, I knew it wasn't because of an acid issue. I was just saying that stomach acid isn't powerful enough to break down everything.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I've been thinking about what you wondered:"It just seems funny that so many of us had the idea that acidic foods could cause digestive upsets."We all remember things we were taught even if they eventually prove untrue. I remember when we had 48 chromosomes even though we have 46. I also had a hard time believing that ulcers were caused by bacteria when that first was proposed. But the fact that some foods for years were implicated in causing ulcers was disproven. Actually for people fatty foods are most likely to cause reflux although certainly I don't know how well dogs tolerate citrus.