Can Dogs Eat Broccoli?
Is it safe for your dog to eat Broccoli? Read more to find out.
You may have thought, like many, that dogs are strictly carnivores. Then one day, to your surprise, you hear a professional veterinarian suggesting that you can feed your dogs vegetables. What? Dogs eat vegetables? Or are they carnivores. Should dogs eat their broccoli, too?
Broccoli is Great
Dogs love vegetables like broccoli, carrots, zucchini, cauliflower, peas and beans. They also like fruits such as bananas, apples and melon. These foods can make great healthy treats for your dog. Counterintuitive as it may seem, despite all those canine teeth, vegetables can ac
tually be good for you canine friend and can be enjoyable for them as well, depending on the dog. Vegetables added to your dog’s diet can also give them the fiber they need to help with their constitution. While some dogs might be more keen on eating vegetables than others, you can help make them more appealing by mixing them in with the regular dog food. Make sure, however, that broccoli makes up no more than 10% of your dog’s diet, as that can be dangerous to their health.
Potatoes Cooked
Potatoes that are cooked and mashed are both fine for dogs to eat. They are actually good for them. Where one needs to be cautious, however, is in giving dogs these in uncooked form. This is due to the fact that uncooked potatoes with the skin have the possibility of being poisonous. Green skins, and especially those that have green sprouts, can have poisonous alkaloids (Solanum) present in them. These can be poisonous not only to just dogs but to human beings as well. These alkaloids occur when the tubers are exposed to the sunlight during growth or after their harvesting. While something to look out for, poisoning is a phenomenon that rarely occurs as solanine is difficult to absorb and it mostly hydrolyzed into the less toxic solanidinel. Also, the metabolites are easily eliminated. But if you make sure they are cooked they can actually be quite nutritious for dogs and readily digested.
In conclusion, it is true that you can give your dog vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower within reason. Before making any changed to your furry friend’s diet, however, it is very important that you first consult with your vet to see what specific needs your individual dog may have. They will give you instruction on proper proportions and frequency.
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