Are you looking to add carrots to your dog’s diet?
Great news! Unless diabetes is a factor, this veggie is an all-around excellent treat for your pet pooch.
With that being said, dogs often have a bit of difficulty digesting the nutrients in carrots — at least in raw form.
Truth be told, uncooked carrots are essentially a chew toy. But even this could be beneficial for your dog’s dental health while also keeping them pretty busy!
As for chowing down…
Dogs Can Eat Carrots
Share some and you may even start to see an improved skin and coat as well as increased energy levels.
So yes! This wholesome food is wonderful for dogs too.
Doggie Diarrhea Remedy
Much like pumpkin, carrots have an amazing ability to alleviate bowel irregularity.
Olewo Carrots Digestive Dog Food is supplement our dogs have benefited from over the years. The dehydrated fiber works wonders for diarrhea and even upset stomach.
Of course, you can also just keep it very simple…
Shred and lightly cook your carrots. This easy preparation effort will enable your dog to get as much of the nutrients as possible.
More Reasons To Share
Carrots have almost too many desirable attributes to list!
You have vitamin A (beta-carotene), C, D, E, K (phylloquinone), B1 and B6 but also biotin and potassium.
You want your dog to absorb these as it will boost their immune system.
What’s super desirable, at least from a treat perspective, is the fact that carrots are low in calories. A nearly perfect reward!
Safety First And Digestion
Providing whole carrots could be a bit concerning from a safety standpoint. The reason is that canine consumption, in this way, comes with a choking possibility.
So it cannot be stressed enough:
Stick to carrots in shredded form or at least cut up into small pieces. Do that and you won’t need to worry!
Again, many dogs have a hard time fully digesting vegetables. An indicator of this would be undigested carrots in bowel movements.
While this usually is not a huge cause for concern, it may mean better preparation is necessary.
The point is this:
Do not expect much by just tossing your dog a entire raw carrot. A bit of prep work really is necessary.
Caution: Diabetic dogs should only get limited portions due to the natural sugars.
Carrots in Dog Treats
Many conventional dog treats, unfortunately, contribute to medical problems – obesity included.
Freshly peeled carrots, by contrast, are an awesome alternative! Kudos for thinking of it.
Check out this video for a recipe idea!
Looking for a more convenient option?
Well, dog food companies are catching on. For example, there are grain-free crunchy puppy bites that incorporate carrots.
The Bottom Line
There are smart reasons to share carrots with your dog.
Basically, this vegetable is an outstanding digestive aid that also happens to be low in calories. Stronger teeth, a prettier coat and immune system support are additional perks.
Gently cooked and shredded is the best way to serve carrots to your dog!
My 4 month old puppy loves shredded, cooked carrots (frozen in ice cube trays). It also helps calm him while he is teething.
My senior Beagle was putting on weight and she just loved her treats. I switched her to a dry weigh-control dog food and cut the treats out. She boycotted the dry dog food and was constantly hungry.
The vet suggested giving her baby carrots for an occasional treat. I’m also buying Julienne chopped carrots and par cooked them in the microwave.
I sprinkle a little of the chopped carrots on her food and she loves it. She’s really losing weight too.
Is it safe to give sweet carrots baby food to a 8 week old puppy? I’m having trouble getting him to eat dry or wet food. Can you tell me what puppy food is best give?
I have a 16 pound miniature Dachshund that loves miniature carrots. How many carrots can she have each day?
One per day.
I peel raw carrots, cut them up and bring them to a boil in plain water. Remove from heat, drain and cool. They’re still crunchy and my Schnauzer loves them. They will be his only treat. Buster eats dry dog food, but I can’t resist rewarding him with a treat.
I’m still concerned whether giving carrots as a treat to my diabetic dog is okay. I buy small cut up pieces (size of a dime).
I was thinking of giving my Cocker Spaniel and Terrier mix a carrot in their pens when I leave for work. But, I am concerned about choking. I wanted the carrots to help clean their teeth so I do not want to cook them.
I had two beautiful Jack Russell Terriers, twin sisters, aged 9 years named ‘Prim’ and ‘Proper’. They were both very healthy over the years until my very large, rural, back garden became infested with rabbits. About three years ago, Prim had to have emergency surgery to open up her entire digestive tract to have the remains of two adult rabbits removed that she ate but was unable to digest.
She recovered remarkably well but, unfortunately, I had to create a very small enclosure at the back of the house for her to play in as the rabbits have taken over the rest of our space. She is a bit of a prisoner these days. Last November, Proper became sick very suddenly and died three days later. The vet was unable to give any kind of diagnosis as to why she died. To say I was devastated is truly an understatement.
Then, much to my horror, Prim began having identical symptoms but I took her to a different vet and they acted immediately. They were able to diagnose that she had pancreatitis and was very ill. After keeping her for 6 days they brought her back to good health.
Typically, over the years, we had fed our dogs dry food that was left in a bowl that they grazed on throughout the day. We were also very undisciplined when it came to feeding them scraps of our own food. Since Prim recovered she is on a specialty food and she gets a small, measured amount of this every day.
In the beginning she was starving but she is getting used to it now. The vet recommended that as a treat and supplement to her diet I should give her raw carrot or slices of apple which she loves. Anyway, we still miss Proper terribly but Prim is getting loved to death and has given the thumbs up for carrots and apple (no core in the apple).
My small 20 pound dog is a mixed breed and he’s a year and a half old. He was diagnosed with a liver shunt when I first got him at 4 months old. I just gave him his first carrot today but he wasn’t into it. Today I threw it in the freezer, for like an hour, and he crunched it all up!
Is it okay for him concerning the liver shunt? He’s on a special dry food diet and his treats need to be very low protein like 5-7 percent. What other veggies can I give him as treats that are low in protein?
Read about food with low purines. I make my Shih Tzu food because he has uric acid stones. After 8 months on a veterinarian-prescribed low-protein dog food he had a second bout with stones.
Uric acid stones is like gout. Now make his food with low purine foods. It is 5 years later and no signs of stones.
I switched him to a raw food chicken diet, but after a year he stopped eating raw. So, I started cooking it before I gave it to him. Now he loves it.
My pup absolutely loves carrots! When he does something right, for example peeing in the right place, I give him a slice of carrot. But it’s important not to give big slices because your dog can get sick if he eats too much. I recommend maximum 8 slices of carrots a day.
How many carrots are too many? I use baby carrots and my dogs will eat as many as I will feed them each day. I usually give them 3-4 baby carrots 3-4 times per day. Is this okay?
I have been able to switch them over to carrots from store bought healthy dog cookies and would like to never give them anything but carrots. I just want to make sure that I’m not over loading them. There are times when I give them 6 smallish baby carrots. They love them!
Kathryn, I recommend if you give baby carrots, maximum 9 per day. But if you are giving them slices of big carrots, max 8 smallish slices. Hope this helped!
As you have mentioned carrots are very healthy and, although they contain sugar, it’s low in sugar. I would think in moderation like anything else.
Absolutely! I personally like to cook rice with carrots.
Dentastix is apparently good for teeth, but I think my dog loves carrots more. I can hear him crunching it. It’s too cute.
I cut up the larger carrots from my garden and freeze them in 2-3″ chunks. My 4-month old puppy loves them, and they help with his teething!
I know a dog that jumps for carrots.
That would be my dog 😉
I have two small dogs that have carrot pieces every day for their treats. They love them!