Apricot
CautionRipe apricot flesh is fine in small amounts with the pit removed. The real hazard is hulled apricot kernels — bitter raw apricot seeds — which Pet Poison Helpline rates a high risk for cyanide poisoning.
This food guide has not been reviewed by a veterinarian. It summarises general information from sources and should not be used to decide whether a food is suitable for an individual dog or to assess an emergency.
Check before feeding
Check the precautions before sharing
Risk depends on preparation, ingredients or amount. Read the precautions below; body weight alone cannot establish a safe portion.
Signs and health concerns
This list includes both observable signs and conditions identified through examination or testing. It cannot establish the cause or whether an exposure is safe.
- Dilated pupils
- Difficulty breathing
- Brick-red gums or mucous membranes
- Panting
- Shock or circulatory failure
- Collapse
- Seizures
- Vomiting
- Intestinal blockage
More about this food
Apricots split cleanly into two things. Ripe flesh, pitted and stemmed and cut small, is a fine occasional treat. The tree is another matter: the ASPCA lists apricot (Prunus spp., family Rosaceae) as toxic to dogs, with stems, leaves and seeds containing cyanide and being particularly toxic in the process of wilting, producing brick red mucous membranes, dilated pupils, difficulty breathing, panting and shock.
Apricot carries one hazard the other stone fruits do not, and it is worth knowing precisely. Pet Poison Helpline draws the line explicitly: ingestion of a few leaves or the pit of an apricot poses a low risk for cyanide toxicosis, while ingestion of hulled apricot kernels — also called bitter raw apricot seeds — poses a high risk for cyanide poisoning. Those kernels are sold in health food stores and online as apricot seeds, amygdalin, laetrile or vitamin B17, and they turn up in bulk bins and as pressed apricot kernel oil. Unlike the woody pit, a hulled kernel needs no chewing to give up its amygdalin. If any of that is in your house, it belongs in a cabinet a dog cannot open.
When cyanide is released, Pet Poison Helpline describes sudden severe gastrointestinal disturbance, respiratory distress, and neurological dysfunction including collapse, seizure and death. Merck notes the acute lethal oral dose of hydrogen cyanide in most animal species is approximately 2 mg/kg, that signs generally appear within 15 to 20 minutes to a few hours, and that survival after the onset of signs is rarely more than two hours.
If your dog ate apricot kernels, kernel powder or kernel oil, bring the package and call your veterinarian, an emergency clinic, or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 right now. A swallowed whole pit is also worth a call, because it can obstruct a small dog. Do not induce vomiting at home in either case. For the flesh, skip dried apricots — the sugar is concentrated and most are treated with sulfite preservatives.
Frequently asked questions
- My dog got into a bag of apricot kernels. Is that serious?
- Yes. Pet Poison Helpline rates hulled apricot kernels — bitter raw apricot seeds — as a high risk for cyanide poisoning, unlike the woody pit. Bring the package and call your vet or the APCC at (888) 426-4435 now. Do not induce vomiting.
- He swallowed a whole apricot pit. What now?
- Pet Poison Helpline puts the cyanide risk from a whole pit as low, since it is not hulled or crushed. The concern is obstruction, especially in a small dog, so call your vet and watch for repeated vomiting, abdominal pain or no stool passing.
- Can I give dried apricots as a treat?
- Skip them. Drying concentrates the sugar, and most commercial dried apricots are treated with sulfite preservatives. A few small pieces of fresh, pitted apricot is the better version of the same idea.