Feeding Puppies Olives: Pros, Cons, & Deadly Risks

Some things, such as chocolate, are very bad for dogs and puppies. Can puppies eat olives?

As a veterinarian, I have seen cases of dogs and puppies choking on olive pits before. However, I have never seen a dog be poisoned by the salt or garlic in olives. 

Puppies Eating Olives

Olives with pits in them are bad for dogs, especially puppies because they are a choking hazard. At worst, a dog could suffocate and die if it eats a pitted olive. 

This probably won’t happen, but don’t risk it. Don’t give an olive with the pit to a puppy, or even to an adult dog. The risk of the pit blocking your dog’s airway is real. 

What Other Risks Do Olive Pits Have?

Pitted olives can also hurt your dog’s teeth. Again, this probably won’t happen, but the risk is high enough that you should never give your puppy olives with the pits.

Pits can also get stuck in your dog’s intestine. 

What About Pitted Olives?

Olives with the pits removed are usually safe, especially if they are plain and not too salty or pickled. They aren’t necessarily an excellent snack for dogs, but they won’t hurt your puppy. 

Other than the pits, there isn’t anything in olives that is downright harmful to dogs. While a dog should never eat something like chocolate, olives are safe. 

Alcohol is Toxic to Dogs

Since alcohol is toxic for dogs, you should never give them olives that have been soaked in alcohol. For example, don’t take an olive out of a martini and give it to your dog. 

While a tiny amount of alcohol won’t necessarily poison a dog, alcohol is very bad for them. 

Sodium is not Great for Dogs 

Some olives are saltier than others.

Excessive sodium in salt is unhealthy and occasionally even harmful to dogs. It can lead to dehydration or worse. 

However, don’t worry about giving your dog some food that has a few olives on it. The dog won’t get sick from the sodium unless it eats a lot of it. 

Is Sodium Safe for Puppies?

Puppies need about four times as much salt relative to their weight than adult dogs.

This does not mean that excessive salt is completely harmless for puppies, but salt is healthy and necessary for them. 

Garlic, Oil, and Seasonings

Some of the ingredients in some jars of olives can be problematic for some dogs and puppies. While it takes really a lot of garlic to poison a dog (15-30 grams per kilogram of your dog’s weight), garlic and some other seasonings can sometimes upset a dog’s stomach. 

What If Your Puppy Eats a Lot of Olives?

You should call your veterinarian if your dog eats a lot of olives with pits in them. Possibly, your dog will be fine if it doesn’t choke right away. 

However, olive pits are dangerous enough that you should call the veterinarian. 

Helping a Choking Dog

If your dog is already choking, you may have to save your dog yourself. Call the vet right away, but try to remove the object from the dog’s mouth yourself. 

Make Sure Your Dog is Genuinely Choking

Sometimes, dogs cough and retch for reasons other than choking. Look at your dog’s skin. Is it a little blue? If so, that means the dog is having trouble breathing. 

Hold Your Puppy’s Mouth Open and Remove the Object

Opening your puppy’s mouth wide and pulling the tongue to the side might be enough to remove the pit it is choking on. If that doesn’t work, try putting your finger down the dog’s throat to remove the object, or use tweezers.

Perform the Heimlich Maneuver

Find a soft spot between your dog’s stomach and ribs. Put your fist on that spot and pull inward and upward a few times. 

This is not very safe, but it may save your puppy. Only do this in an emergency as you could badly hurt the animal. 

Are Olives Beneficial for Dogs?

While a healthy diet for dogs usually doesn’t include olives, they are fairly nutritious. There are vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats in olives, which both humans and dogs can benefit from. 

Olives are high in magnesium, an essential vitamin that keeps you calm and improves your overall health.

Maybe, you could calm down an anxious dog by giving it magnesium-containing olives. 

Magnesium does much more than calm people and animals down. It is necessary for all sorts of functions that the body performs. 

You can improve your dog’s bone health if you give it magnesium.

Potassium Also Matters

Olives are also a good source of potassium. Potassium is great for your puppy’s bones and muscles. 

Olives are also a good source of calcium. Presumably, olives can help your puppy develop strong bones and teeth.

They also have Vitamin A (vision) and Vitamin E (detoxification and protection from cancer). 

Are Olives a Good Treat?

Perhaps, giving your puppy one olive at a time is the best idea if you want to be on the safe side. You might give an adult dog two or three at a time. 

Remember that puppies are delicate. 

While giving pitless olives to a dog or puppy is usually harmless, giving a lot of olives to a puppy probably isn’t a good idea. There are a number of reasons why a lot of olives might be unhealthy for your dog. 

Key Takeaways

• Olives with pits are dangerous and should never be given to puppies or even to adult dogs. 
• If your dog is choking, call the vet right away. Pry your dog’s mouth open and try to see and remove the pit. If this doesn’t work, try the Heimlich maneuver in an emergency. 
• Olives are probably healthy for puppies. They contain magnesium, potassium, and other vitamins that strengthen your puppy’s bones and help it in other ways. 
• Excessive salt is bad for dogs, so don’t give your puppy a lot of olives.
• Many things, including chocolate and alcohol, are harmful or toxic to dogs.