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It’s very tempting to feed your dog broccoli when you consider the valuable vitamins and minerals it has to offer.
You’ll be happy to hear that sharing is a great idea!
While dogs don’t require green leafy vegetables, that doesn’t mean broccoli is a bad thing.
Quite the contrary! Your best buddy can benefit by having this veggie in their diet.
Your Dog Can Have Broccoli
Ensure that you stick to a healthy routine by doing this:
Serve your dog plain broccoli, either lightly cooked or raw, and don’t get carried away. Moderation makes sense.
Low in Calories – High in Nutrition
It’s widely known that this particular veggie is linked to lots of health benefits.
Broccoli is an excellent source of vitamins C and K in addition to fiber and folate content.
And that this cruciferous vegetable is also low in calories is a very nice added bonus.
Broccoli can certainly complement your dog’s regular chow!
Perhaps the only downside is a possibly of Isothiocyanate poisoning. However, this is only a concern if a large amount is eaten.
The Isothiocyanate Factor
To be clear, the head part of your broccoli contains the most Isothiocyanate.
This potentially toxic ingredient can be a gastric irritant for your dog. So go easy, especially with the top flowery head.
There is actually a strong argument to be made that stems are best.
In any case, be on the lookout for gastrointestinal problems if your dog eats a bunch of broccoli.
Broccoli’s Many Benefits
It’s smart to feed your dog broccoli, as well as other greens like kale, just as long as you portion them out.
The cancer fighting antioxidants combined with anti-allergy and anti-inflammatory agents are truly outstanding.
Broccoli also protects against bad bacteria and viruses while boosting the immune system. It can even repair cellular DNA which is indicative of powerful anti-aging properties.
Perhaps the most practical benefit is broccoli’s ability to clean teeth.
No doubt, it is healthy and perhaps on the same level as nutritious carrots.
Minimizing The Mishaps
Some fresh broccoli is beneficial but, as with everything in life, too much of even a good thing should be avoided.
As you know, dogs often overindulge (think upset stomach) which is one reason why rationing is necessary.
Keep this bioflavonoid vegetable as a complement to quality canine chow and you have yourself a winner!
Really Ration For Rover
The smaller your dog, the more you have to think about limiting broccoli.
A portion should not exceed 10% of your dog’s daily food intake. More may bring on a bout of bowel issues.
Convenient and savory wet food trays make it easy to add this veggie consistently and with the right balance.
The Bottom Line
You can feed your dog healthy broccoli. It’s a super food for animals too!
That said, the head part contains Isothiocyanate which is a possible digestive irritant.
So be sure to limit consumption — not only to avoid bowel irregularities, but also to maintain a balanced diet that offers plenty of protein for your dog.
Letting your little guy enjoy the very nutritious stems is probably best way to introduce broccoli.
Our Collie loves broccoli along with a lot of other vegetables and fruits. Last spring she got into our garden and ate the florets and stems off a dozen plants while leaving the leafy parts untouched. It was a lot of broccoli, but she showed no ill effects at all.
I feed my dogs broccoli all the time and they love it. They eat almost every fruit and vegetable that I eat. You have never seen such silky shining coats. All are older and one dog even was diagnosed with deadly bladder cancer 6 months ago. I was told she had 3 weeks to live. So she went on a full vegetarian diet with non-GMO chicken.
Besides the vegetables, she is on cottage cheese, flax seed oil, Fenben, Reishi mushrooms and essiac tea. The cancerous tumors were reduced to 1/3 the size. So when people say dogs are carnivores, I will say you can save their lives by feeding them vegetables and fruits.
I’m really glad your dog is doing so much better and I applaud you for making the effort to find a better diet for her. Dogs are carnivores, but not obligate carnivores, like cats are. I think that dogs can get at least some nutritional value out of fruits and vegetables.
Thank you. So far so good, my little veggie girl is still doing well. She gets some non-GMO dog food mixed-in a few days a week as a treat. I do think the vegetable diet has saved her life so far.
We had Chinese food and there was some steamed broccoli. My dog got hold of it and now she has been vomiting and experiencing diarrhea. So now she has thick heavy saliva streaming from her mouth. She’s a 60 pound Pit and I can’t get her mouth open to try and give her some Pepcid. Any suggestions for this?
My Rottie girl is crazy about broccoli, but she prefers the stem sections to the flower section. Our vet told us that as long as she isn’t eating pounds of it a day, she is perfectly fine. I have never seen a dog that loves broccoli as much as she does. Every time we cook it for dinner, she is sitting waiting and drooling, a lot.
She gets about a half of one stem cut into smallish bites. She also loves cauliflower, cabbage, but hates lettuce. She is just a weird foodie. But our vet did say that it was good for her so as long as it makes her happy to get green veggies, then I will give it to her (in moderation of course). I’m just happy my fuzz butt likes veggies.
I am dog sitting my son’s 6 month old Siberian Husky. We have discovered she loves vegetables. Finally something that may cause my son to eat healthy! I’m giving her the stalk of some broccoli I am making and she’s in heaven.
I have a Terrier/Weenie mix and he hasn’t been acting right. We give him broccoli and fresh fruits and veggies normally as treats but my husband gave him a good bit of cooked broccoli the night before. Could he have an upset tummy from the broccoli and the new treats?
Please let me know! I’m worried. I would be more worried if he were tender to the touch and if he weren’t playing. He is about 14 pounds (about 2.5 over weight) and the size of a Dachshund.
I feed my dogs broccoli almost daily and some days they get a lot of it. I never noticed any problem and they really like it. Aside from green beans and peas, it’s the only vegetable they like. Sometimes I put some in the freezer and give them broccoli pops on a hot day. I never considered that I was giving too much.
I have a 15 month old Aussie that’s had gastrointestinal problems since he’s been a puppy. It’s still difficult regulating his diet. I feed him a mixture of Blue Buffalo kibble and BB wet food, broccoli, carrots, liver, chicken, gizzards, rice, noodles and broth.
Of course it’s in moderation, or at least that’s what I thought! For the past week he’s been having very loose stools again. It drives me crazy trying to figure out what’s wrong.
I just read about feeding excessive liver which is what I’ve been doing, plus feeding lots of broccoli during the last week. I had no idea too much could cause gastrointestinal problems which is what I’m trying to avoid.
I hope I’ve found the solution to the problem this time. My other Aussie is also having the same issues with her bowel movements as the male, having more loose stools lately and occasional diarrhea.
Have you spoken to your vet about Blue Buffalo? While it is a great dog food, it’s very high in protein and meant for hard working very active dogs. We were feeding it to our Chocolate Lab and noticed the same issues you speak of.
We switched her to Nutro and her stomach has been much better since. Some dogs just can’t handle Blue Buffalo. Our vet told us it has caused a lot of issues with the dogs there.
Kyle, thank you for your comment. Awhile back my vet put my dog on Hill’s Prescription Diet. It was way too expensive for my budget to continue, plus my dog didn’t seem to like the food very much, so I looked for an alternative and gradually introduced him to Blue Buffalo. Seemed fine for awhile, but the diarrhea started up again.
I’m not certain if it was that food or something else, maybe treats, but now I am feeding Canidae chicken dry food and canned and Natural Balance canned. I stopped the broccoli and carrots. So both of my dogs’ diets consist of Canidae dry food, Natural Balance, white or brown rice, chicken without skin, beef liver, gizzards and broth.
For weeks there has been much improvement! The stools are much firmer. I’m quite satisfied with this diet and the dogs seem to love it! I’ve limited the liver and gizzards to two days a week and increased the amount of cooked rice that I mix in.
Sometimes I substitute rice with noodles. Both dogs are very satisfied, active and healthy! My black one’s coat is so shiny. My vet told me that when that dulls, he may be lacking in nutrients. So I keep an eye out.
My 10 year old Cane Corso has been dealing with food allergies for over a year. We’ve been following our veterinarian’s recommendations. We tried feeding kangaroo, rabbit and pork. He was doing okay with dry kangaroo plus we added sweet potato, broccoli, cauliflower for 3 months.
Yogurt is also added to his diet. However, now his ear swells up after each meal. I’ve tried to separate the each item in his diet and gave him only sweet potato. Unfortunately, his ear got to tennis ball size!
Now, we are on a single food trial. For 3 days, he was on a garbanzo beans diet and he was doing great. Today we added broccoli to his diet and within couple of hours his ear was size of the tennis ball again. We don’t know what to do.
We went to number of vets and they don’t have solution. He suffers so much. He’s on steroids, oral and ear drops, and he doesn’t feel good after taking them. So my question is can broccoli trigger the ear allergies?
I’m not a vet. I’m a chiropractor that deals more with holistic health and not just adjusting the spine. I have seen people over my 20 years of practice that have been allergic to all sorts of things including broccoli. The more we eat a food the more likely we are to become allergic to it.
Finding a new food, like the garbanzos, is the best plan of attack. Then, once you know he’s okay with that food, add in another doing so one at a time. Use foods he hasn’t eaten in abundance before. Find a holistic vet near you. I’ve know people with severely allergic pets that were greatly helped by their treatment.
My vet suggested feeding my overweight Pit Bull some broccoli. I started by mixing 1 cup with 2 tablespoons wet dog food (about 5 times per week). After about 4 months it gave her loose stools. She has always had a sensitive stomach.
About 3 years ago she also got a Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis (HGE) stomach infection which was very bad. We almost lost her. I will try it with just the stems mixed with chopped spinach see if that helps.
My Aussie eats a lot of broccoli. It is his go to treat instead of milk bones. The switch was made because of weight issues and he has not shown any signs of problems since. He eats any vegetable I prepare for dinner and also loves fruit. No onions, mushrooms or garlic.
I give my dogs broccoli on occasion as I like eating it raw. I give them the stems from the florets. They certainly don’t get enough to give them gastrointestinal problems.
How much broccoli is considered 5% of a dog’s diet? 5 florets or 1/2 cup or 1/4 cup?
It depends on the size and weight of your dog in order to arrive at the 5 percent figure.
If your dog has Hypothyroidism, avoid raw broccoli. Unless cooked, it may affect thyroid function due to iodine uptake issues.
(Source: Dr. Barbara Royal, page 91 of her book The Royal Treatment)
I’m panicking about broccoli as my dog had a lot last night. I didn’t realize it could be harmful. How soon would you notice the effects?
Hi Dee. It’s likely you would have noticed something wrong by now. Keep a close eye on them for another 24-hours or so but your dog is probably fine.
My dogs are on a raw food diet. They have raw vegetables and minced turkey. What additional vitamins and minerals can I add to balance this out?
A steak! Dogs are carnivores not omnivores.
Hi Taz. Dogs and wolves are omnivores. Cats, on the other hand, are obligate carnivores. You may want to do some reading up.
They are omnivorous like us. And that’s why straight vegans always look so sickly.
My dog ate broccoli and declared herself a vegetarian.
My 11 year old dog is a vegetarian, not by choice, but because of medical reasons. Her system cannot process meat or fats, not even chicken. We nearly lost her a couple of times before she was properly diagnosed. She’s been on a vegetarian diet for more than 6 years and she’s healthy, happy and oh so energetic!
One piece of broccoli will certainly not kill a dog. I had some leftover steamed broccoli from dinner last night and gave at least 10 pieces to my 15 pound Cairn Terrier and, though probably a bit gassy today, is perfectly fine.
I even called the vet after reading this article and they said there is nothing to worry about. Every dog is different, so if you see drastic changes to your pooch after a bit of broccoli, call your vet or a pet emergency hotline.
I had to look this up about broccoli after my long coat Chihuahua gobbled up a piece that flew off my plate. The broccoli didn’t stand a chance.