A woman was baffled when her precious raspberries kept disappearing from her garden plot…and couldn’t believe it when she found out who was stealing them.
After some surveillance, she managed to solve the mystery and identify the culprit: her chocolate lab, Ralphy. And she filmed him in the act in a clip posted on TikTok that has garnered 14,000 likes and 167,800 views.
“I wonder why we don’t have raspberries. Then I realize Ralph steals them every day,” the owner (@ralphys.world) wrote in the text overlaid on the video.
The video shows the playful dog sniffing the plants and biting the fruit.
“One of his five a day I guess,” his owner wrote in the caption.
Raspberries pair well with chocolate, it seems. They make a great snack for dogs, as long as they’re eaten in moderation, according to the American Kennel Club.
The fruit is low in sugar and calories and high in fiber, manganese and vitamin C.
They also contain antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory properties that can help fight aging joints.
Berries contain small amounts of xylitol, a birch sugar, which can be dangerous to dogs in high doses, so the AKC recommends limiting their consumption to eight ounces at any one time.
Other healthy fruits for dogs include: pineapple, pumpkin, strawberries, watermelon, pears, peaches, oranges, mango, cranberries, blueberries, bananas, and apples.
There are some fruits that owners should not feed to their dogs, including: avocados, cherries, grapes, and tomatoes.
Grapes and raisins are highly toxic to dogs and can cause kidney failure, so owners should take every precaution to ensure their dogs do not ingest them.
Fortunately, Ralph only ate fruits from the list deemed suitable for dogs.
Viewers shared similar stories about their fruit-loving dogs.
A chocolate labrador. Ralphy’s owner solved the mystery of his missing raspberries… he was eating them. A chocolate labrador. Ralphy’s owner solved the mystery of his missing raspberries… he was eating them. Kathryn Farley/iStock / Getty Images Plus
“My Golden loves my gooseberries in the garden. She hasn’t left me any,” Vanessa says.
“That’s so funny,” Kels said. “Greedy Labradors,” Tom said.
“My spaniel steals my blueberries, so we don’t have any anymore,” Michelle said.
Laura Rudd, editor for Lords and Labradors, a luxury pet brand, has tips on how to stop dogs from chewing on your edible and non-edible garden plants.
She advises training your dog from a young age and making sure he knows that plants are neither a toy nor food.
If you think your dog will not be able to maintain this discipline, it is best to keep him out of the garden without supervision.
Owners can also spray plants with lemon and vinegar, a natural dog repellent, to prevent them from biting.
Newsweek reached out to Ralphys.world for comment via TikTok and Instagram. We were unable to verify the details of the case.
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Uncommon knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
