If you are wondering whether carrots are good for your canine, then you should know that they can certainly be a healthy snack for them. Carrots provide the same benefits as they do to human beings.
Pureed Carrots
Offer pureed carrots to your pet as they can be easily digested. Also, the amount of nutrition absorbed by your pet from cooked, pureed carrots is much more than from raw carrots.
There are so many food items that we enjoy eating, but surprisingly are deemed toxic to dogs. For instance, a bar of chocolate that is simply irresistible for us humans to ignore, is actually harmful for dogs. Avocados, raisins, apple seeds, and grapes are some of the foods that we like, but can severely damage dog health. Does this also holds true for carrots? Can carrots, that have been proven good for our health, be eaten by dogs? Continue reading this DogAppy article to find out.
Although meat forms the staple food in a dog diet, vegetables can also be included to add variety and ensure a healthy balance of nutrition. As far as carrots are concerned, feeding your pet with this vegetable will cause no harm, and can become a great addition to his diet.
How Carrots Are Beneficial to Dogs?
High in Nutrition
The benefits of carrots are not just restricted to humans, but extend to dogs even. Carrots are an excellent source of beta-carotene, that plays a key role to maintain normal vision. Carrots are also found to prevent macular degeneration in humans. Dogs may reap the same benefit if they are given carrots regularly.
The goodness of nutrition that carrots offer can play a major role to keep the skin healthy and improve the appearance of a dog’s coat, by adding an attractive shine and making it more soft and luxurious.
Low in Calories
Carrots are nutrient dense but have a low calorie count. So, if your dog is overweight and you are looking for low-calorie foods to add to his diet, carrots can be a good option. With carrot sticks easily available, you don’t have to really search for pet recipes that provide fat-free snacking. They certainly provide an easy way to make pet meals healthier.
Should You Feed your Pet Raw or Cooked Carrots?
Although we are often advised to eat raw vegetables, this may not be a good idea in the case of dogs. The digestive system of dogs is not designed to process raw vegetables effectively. As we all know, the digestion process begins in the mouth, wherein the saliva combines while chewing food. Amylase, an enzyme, is an important constituent of saliva, which plays a key role in breakdown of starch (carbohydrates) in vegetables.
However, research shows that dogs are deficient in amylase. Moreover, their gastrointestinal tract is short (actually suitable for a raw meat diet), making it hard to process raw vegetables and absorb nutrition. All this can put a lot of stress on their digestive system. On the other hand, cooked carrots are easier to digest, allowing your pet to absorb more nutrients. In fact, carrots is one of the few foods that shows higher nutritional value after cooking (boiling).
Portion Size
Moderation is the key, no matter how healthy the food is. Too much intake of carrots won’t be tolerated by your pet’s digestive system. You can add few small cut pieces of carrot sticks to his daily meals, but make sure that your dog does not over indulge in carrots.
Caution
Though they may be carnivores by choice, dogs in the wild will sometimes eat whatever is around: fruits, berries, grasses, whatever. Though there are debates as to whether dogs are carnivores or omnivores, it is thought that the addition of vegetables in their diet is a convenient, nutritious, but lower-calorie replacement for kibble in a dieting dog’s food bowl. If your pet starts showing signs of stomach upset or suffers from diarrhea after consuming carrots, you should stop feeding giving them to them.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is solely for educating the reader. It is not intended to be a substitute for the advice of a veterinarian.
