Are apple seeds and cores poisonous to dogs?

A typical apple has 5 to 8 seeds. They need to be chewed or crushed to release the compound, and swallowed whole seeds often pass straight through. A dog would need to eat a large quantity of crushed seeds for poisoning to be a realistic concern.

That said, there is no benefit in feeding seeds, and regular exposure makes no sense when coring an apple takes ten seconds.

A core is a dense, stringy lump that dogs tend to swallow without chewing. For a 6 kg (13 lb) terrier, a whole core is large enough to get stuck in the esophagus or the intestine. Dogs who raid compost bins or pick up windfall apples in autumn are the ones most likely to eat several.

Rotting cores in compost can also grow moulds that are harmful in their own right.

For most dogs, a single core eaten by a large breed will pass without trouble. Watch your dog closely for the next 24 to 48 hours for vomiting, repeated gagging, refusing food or a tense belly.

If your dog is small, ate several cores, or the cores came from a compost heap (where mould is likely), phone your vet for advice straight away rather than waiting for signs.

Apples are not the only fruit with amygdalin in the seeds. Pears, cherries, plums, peaches and apricots contain it too, often in larger stones that are both harder to crush and more likely to cause a blockage. The same habit covers them all: remove seeds and stones before sharing, and keep fruit scraps in a closed bin.