6 Uses and health benefits of honey for dogs

Many humans love honey for a number of reasons, including its natural sweetening properties and its many uses for health and diet. Recently, after doing a little bit of research for honey as a natural aid for human allergies, I came across a lot of information that found health benefits of honey for dogs as well.

I never would have thought about giving my dogs honey, but they benefit from it almost as much as humans do. Feeding honey to dogs isn’t a new revelation, but it is gaining popularity thanks to the current focus on natural and holistic pet health. A nice bonus is that most dogs enjoy the taste of honey, so it usually isn’t hard to get your dog to eat it.

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Mixed with his food, your dog probably won’t even realize that the honey is there. Adding this sweet ingredient to his diet may also save you money on future vet care and add to the length of your pet’s life. If you’re wondering how you can improve your adult dog’s health, check out these six benefits of honey for dogs.

6 Uses and Health Benefits of Honey for Dogs

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1. Allergies

Dogs suffer from allergies almost as much as humans do, according to Dr. Joseph Mercola. For most dogs, it doesn’t look like human allergies, with sneezing and watery eyes. It looks more like dry, itchy skin and shedding or excess dandruff.

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When this happens, vets usually recommend a small dose of Benadryl to help “take the edge off,” but some holistic veterinarians believe that a teaspoon of natural, raw honey every day can actually prevent allergies in dogs after just a few days.

It’s important to note that if your dog has allergies year-round and honey doesn’t seem to help, it could be that your dog may actually have an underlying condition causing the itching and dry skin. It’s likely that it is probably a food allergy, and the health benefits of honey for dogs won’t help that.

It’s very important that you see a veterinarian to diagnose your dog’s allergies properly.

2. Wounds

Many dog breeders and kennel operators use honey as a Neosporin-type wound dressing. If a dog has a cut, bite, scratch, burn, etc., they apply the raw honey directly onto the site, and then wrap it up so the dog doesn’t lick the honey clean off.

The disinfectant and antibacterial properties proven to be in honey help the wound heal, and the thickness of the honey helps create a barrier until the wound heals more.

Pro tip: Make sure to warm the honey to make it easier to apply to sore areas.

Of course, if your dog has been badly injured, you should take him or her to the vet rather than trying to slather honey on the wound. My dog recently got bitten by a bot fly, but we didn’t know it. We tried honey on it, and it didn’t work, but that’s because there was a bot fly larvae growing in the bite site! Yuck! Honey can only do so much, apparently.

3. Tummy Troubles

If your dog has bouts of indigestion, diarrhea, or constipation the health benefits of honey for dogs will certainly come in handy. A dog with tummy trouble is miserable (and usually stinky), so if you’ve ruled out issues with the food he is eating, try a little bit of honey.

Most dogs respond well to about a teaspoon of honey in their food daily, but for larger dogs it can be increased up to a tablespoon or two.

Slowly introduce it into his daily diet, and see if you notice a difference in his digestion. If your dog seems to be more “regular” or has a less upset stomach, it means it’s working! If the honey doesn’t help, though, talk to your veterinarian about possible food allergies or medical conditions.

My dogs both eat a small teaspoon of honey in their food, and it has helped with my smaller dog’s digestive issues to an extent. But honey can’t fix everything, especially an existing medical condition.

It’s important that you observe and monitor your dog regularly to make sure there isn’t anything else going on. Look for symptoms other than digestive trouble, and take him to the vet if you notice anything else.

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