I am super excited when I wake up in the morning these days to find the air a little more crisp, a slight chill as I step out to work and the leaves on the trees starting to give up their chlorophyll reserves allowing the other pigments to paint the trees with different strokes of vivid fall colours. Autumn has arrived and that means so many things for me; cozy sweaters, brisk walks with Titan and hot chocolate to warm me up when we get home, apple picking, buttermilk biscuits, Thanksgiving and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (I watch it every year – I brings me back to a simpler time.) Fall always marked a new beginning with the start of a new school year, but at the same time the shorter, cold days and the falling blankets of colourful leaves always symbolized an end, but in a cozy, home-warming, calming kind of way.

With all that autumn brings, food is paramount; the farmers markets with their fresh vegetables will soon close until next summer and everyone is embracing the harvest, preparing preserves, and, of course, it’s apple picking season and that means apple pie!

Most people enjoy a sweet treat now and again; even those self proclaimed I’m not a “sweets” person (I’ve seen you eat chocolate, so don’t lie – you know who you are!). So I begged the question, can dogs eat apple pie? I was 50% not surprised and 50% intrigued at the answers I found.   I was not surprised to know that pups enjoy a sugary treat, of course! But, like the rest of us, eating just an apple is a much healthier option. It turns out that there are some human foods that are actually beneficial to pups – I guess those of us who are into the raw food diet are not surprised by this. Just like humans, our furry friends benefit from the fiber, Vitamin A and C that apples have to offer. Interestingly, apples have an off label use for pups as an excellent tooth brush! Eating apple slices helps clean the residue off a dog’s teeth which will help with your pooches halitosis. But don’t just leave your Macintosh’s milling around. These au-natural tasty treats should be prepared for you dog by having the core and seeds removed so that they don’t become choking hazards.

There is nothing in your traditional apple pie that would hurt your pup, especially in small amounts, but that one ingredient, sugar, is what gets us all in the end. It’s not a great idea to get your pooch supped up on the sweet stuff because if they get a sweet tooth, they may gain a few extra pounds. Looks like sugar affects bipeds and quadrupeds the same way.   So this fall, enjoy your apple pie and give your furry friend a few organic apple slices not laced in syrupy, sugary goodness!