Watermelon? Really?

[Forever Amber]

Chief seems to be a better counter surfer than zoe. She is tiny and really can't reach too well but I'm always catching him with his paws where they should not be. Tonight I was called away from clearning the table and came down to find you know who helping himself to a bowl of watermelon and really enjoying it, the little brat. Never having a dog who liked that sort of thing I had to go on line and make sure it wouldnt hurt him. As far as I can tell seems all right but not in large amounts. I never thought a dog would like something like that so much.

What would be the strangest food people have found their dog likes to eat?

[nobarkus]

My Bs have always liked watermelon. A fews pcs is OK.

[tanza]

For sure, watermelon is a certain favorite and it is great for them… mostly water.. when you think about it.... it is a great Basenji treat and doesn't have to be in "certain" amounts..

[lvoss]

All of mine love watermelon.

[Kipawa]

Just curious - is this watermelon seedless or with seeds? Would the seeds cause any problems?

[NerdyDogOwner]

Hah! I gotta try and give Gizmo some watermelon sometime.

[mauigirl]

Ours looooove it. Liz's dad really likes feeding them little pieces of watermelon. Maybe that's part of why they like him so much…

[Forever Amber]

I tried to give zoe some but she doesnt like it. In fact she hasnt liked any fruit so far. She does like vegetables but only cooked.

[Basenjimamma]

My dogs, all of them, love watermelon..no the seeds aren't bad, they are Ok, act like a diuretic, but nothing harmful, they are not bad for humans either..
My westie, Bogus, loved the rind too.

My dogs would actually be happy as vegetarians. Otis' favorite thing when he lived with us was a sip of my green smoothie every morning..he would sit by me and wait for me to be at the bottom of the glas, then he would get the rest..silly boy.

[wizard]

Oh yes - quite a treat. However, if given "too much" mine would get the runs.

[Patty]

My Basenjis love most fruits including watermelon - I never restrict their intake but I do find that they will stop when they don't want any more - as opposed to other sorts of food which they will eat without ever stopping (or so it seems).
The strangest thing I've had a Basenji like (not including vetbed!!) is banana skin which she far preferred to the actual banana.

[vickilb]

My b's LOVE the crunchy ribs in lettuce.

[Knipper]

I was cautioned against giving the rind of the watermelon. Blaze loves the flesh and he spits out the seeds… well they sort of dribble out of his mouth, then he wipes his face on what ever is under him... He only gets watermelon outside now.

[Woofless]

Jibini & Tana both love watermelon, cantelope, honeydew….and virtually every other type of fruit or veggie I've ever given them. With the exception of hot peppers...however, Chloe, my rescue mutt (possible B mix) eats everything INCLUDING hot peppers. Loves 'em.

Back when we drove a truck & only had Jibini with us, we used to haul a LOT of produce, esp watermelon. Once we picked up a load from a family owned watermelon farm in Oklahoma. They were very rural, isolated, down at the end of a narrow dirt road. No danger, so I asked if I could let Jibini run around. We were parked out back, far from the road, near the dock area where they sort & package the watermelons in the big cardboard bulk bins (like the ones you see in grocery stores). They said it no problem.

Part of the watermelon "sorting" process at the farm is to determine by weight/feel and "thump" which watermelons are good for market and which ones aren't. A certain percentage of the melons will have too much water content (will be "split" on the inside and mealy) or will be overripe, blemished, damaged or otherwise ruined for human consumption. Such melons often end up on the ground, smashed open, right around the immediate sorting/packaging area to be cleaned up later.

We'd arrived right after a full load had been sorted....and so, there were NUMEROUS discarded melons scattered all over the ground by the sorting platform. Jibini made a beeline for them. The farmer's children were all there....and they got the BIGGEST kick out of watching Jibini chow down on the melons as if he'd found a pile of steak!! Even the farmer & his wife were suprised....she said she'd known ONE dog years ago, a Lab, who occasionally liked a watermelon snack but nobody at the farm had ever seen a dog eat watermelon with such enthusiasm.

I'd never let him eat quite so much in one sitting before- but he didn't end up having any ill effects even though he ate so much that his stomach looked like he'd SWALLOWED a whole melon All that happened was a BIG BIG pee a few hours later, and a rather hefty, bulky, kinda pinkish-hued BM the following morning.

Usually if I eat half of a cantelope or sugar baby watermelon, I'll let him "clean out" the inside when I'm done. I don't really encourage him to eat the rind but that's just because I don't need him passing THAT much "fiber" later on LOL.
Here's a photo of him enjoying the leftovers from one of my cantelope breakfasts:

[MacPack]

Eddie loves watermelon (and everything else) but Topper and Nicky won't eat it at all. We love it, so more for us….

[AJs Human]

AJ wants to try anything he sees me put into my mouth. I eat a lot of salad and often will bring it out with me and eat it in the truck. He watches with that Basenji "look" until I give him a piece of lettuce. When he realizes what it is, he paws at it and looks at me like, "What the h*** am I supposed to do with this?"

But he loves spaghetti sauce on his food. And most of y'all have seen that pic of him cleaning out the grape juice bottle…. (yeah, I know, but he only gets a few drops and he loves it.)

[GenJMar]

Cody will actually eat lettuce and will often beg the leftover from my salad. He snarfs down the lettuce carrot peas or whatever else is leftover. Totally freaked out my friend who was keeping him while I was away b/c she was eating a salad and he was begging. When she gave him a piece of lettuce he ate it and begged for more. She actually called me on my cell to make sure it was ok. He prefers ranch dressing. Thank you very much!