It is hard not to give your dog treats. We know that they love food, and since we love them, we want to provide them with something tasty. But you should only give your dog certain foods. Let’s find out if you can feed them carrots.
Dogs can safely eat carrots, providing them with many health benefits whilst being low in fat. Carrots are full of healthy nutrients, like beta carotene, fibre, potassium and vitamin K1, making carrots the perfect tasty, healthy treat to feed your dog.
Health Benefits
Carrots are a good source of beta-carotene. This nutrient is converted into Vitamin A, which is excellent for your dog’s eye health. Antioxidants in carrots can reduce the risk of diseases, and potassium helps keep dogs’ hearts healthy and blood pressure stable. Additionally, the fibre in carrots also aids in digestion. So much goodness packed into a single carrot.
- Antioxidants
- Beta carotene
- Fibre
- Potassium
- Vitamin K1
How Best Served To An Adult Dog
Raw carrots
When treating your dog to a healthy, delicious carrot, you must always wash the carrot first. No need to top and tail the carrot! Dogs will have a great time chopping down on a raw carrot. It’s excellent for their teeth and keeps them entertained for a while.
Boiled Carrots
If you have a dog that loves its food so much, they scoff it without thinking about it. You might want to boil the carrots before giving them to your dog. Cooking the carrots first will help prevent your dog from choking on the carrot.
Please make sure they have cooled down to room temperature before serving. Never add seasoning, like salt or garlic, as these ingredients are highly toxic to a dog and must be avoided.
Senior dogs
Senior dogs will also benefit from the carrots being boiled rather than raw. Cooked carrots are softer on their teeth and gums compared to raw. As dog’s age, their teeth become loose, weak or fall out.
- Wash the carrot before serving
- Cut it into smaller pieces so it is easier to chew.
- Make sure you wait for them to cool before you serve them
- Never add anything like butter, oil, salt, or garlic.
Puppies
When treating your puppy to carrots, remember they are still learning to eat solid foods, so you should avoid giving them raw carrots. Only serve boiled or grated carrot to a puppy up until the age of around six months.
I have written a more detailed article when treating a puppy to carrots.
Recommended Read: Best Practises When Giving Your Puppy Carrots
Low-Fat
We all get a bit carried away with treating our dogs to tasty foods, and in some cases, we can overfeed them, and they put on weight. By giving them a carrot, you can keep them entertained with a healthy, tasty treat without worrying that they will put on weight.
Dog Breeds Likely To Suffer From Weight Gain
If your dog is on the list below, it is even more critical to make sure you treat them with low-fat treats.
- American cocker spaniel
- Basset hound
- Beagle
- Bulldog
- Cavalier King Charles spaniel
- Chinese Shar-Pei
- Chow Chow
- Dachshund
- French Bulldog
- Labrador retriever
- Pembroke Welsh Corgi
- Pug
- Shetland sheepdog
Conclusion
The many health benefits for a dog are a food item not to miss. Go get yourself down to the shops and buy some carrots. Fingers crossed, your dog will enjoy them as mine does.
Happy Dog Parenting!
