You’ll be happy to know that feeding your dog some lettuce won’t be harmful. All types including, Romaine and crisp iceberg, are A-OK.
With that being said, we prefer that you go with plain lettuce.
Some salads should be off limits to your dog. Other ingredients, that often go with this popular health food, should be closely scrutinized!
Learn more about preparation ideas and what to avoid.
Dogs Can Eat Lettuce
There is nothing dangerous about sharing some plain lettuce (including iceberg, romaine and arugula) but it should only compliment a canine meal.
When you do share be sure to rinse the lettuce and cut it up into small pieces. Also, you may want to consider steaming it to make it easier for your dog to digest.
It doesn’t matter what kind of lettuce you have: Certain salads could be questionable for a precious pet dog.
So again…
Carefully consider each component of those salad leftovers because dressing, for example, is not recommended (among other ingredients in your typical tossed salad).
Dogs Can Benefit from Lettuce
In moderation, there is no reason why dogs cannot also benefit from the nutrients in lettuce.
Reasonable portions of leafy green lettuce actually makes a lot of sense, in small amounts. Of course, extremely healthy spinach would be even better as a special treat.
The greener the better when it comes to lettuce!
While your dog is not a vegetarian, they can still benefit from plenty of vitamin A, vitamin K and beta-Carotene. This plant also contains folate and iron (to a lesser extent).
Make K9 Consumption Easier
Like cabbage, it may be a bit difficult for your dog to digest lettuce in raw form.
When you think about it, from a practical standpoint, it is a bit awkward for dogs to chew this plant. Look!
So again, the best solution is to steam your lettuce. This will accommodate their doggie digestive system. The nutrients will also be preserved with this cooking method.
A downside to this type of lettuce preparation is you’ll lose the crunchy texture of lettuce. Look on the bright side, processing of nutrients is more important.
Some Salads Can Be Tricky
Now you know that your dog can enjoy modest portions of fresh lettuce. On the other hand, this doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to offer Fido a tossed salad with onions, for example, because they are potentially dangerous for canines.
And here is something that cannot be stressed enough:
Giving salad dressing is not recommended. Doing so is generally unhealthy due to the extra additives, preservatives and undesirable calories.
The Bottom Line
You can share fresh lettuce with your dog.
Feed it plain, cut up and steamed to aid digestion and better deliver the vitamins and minerals. Dogs can benefit from the vitamin A, K and other nutrients.
Maintain this health food as a special treat.
Salad, on the other hand, can be harmful due to ingredients that go with lettuce.
I’m wondering if wild lettuce is okay. It has analgesic and anti-inflammatory aspects to it that are very helpful to humans. I’d love to give some to my dog. What do you think?
I fed my dog leftover lettuce I think. Mille ate it and papa thinks she belched.