Monitoring what your dog eats each day is key to keeping their diet as clean and healthy as possible. Before you feed your dog anything new, you should do some research to ensure that it’s a healthy option. You would that something like cabbage is safe for dogs to eat, but just how healthy is it, and is raw cabbage dangerous or toxic to dogs?
I decided to find out and researched all there is to know about whether dogs can eat cabbage raw, the leaves, stalks, or cooked… plus some popular cabbage recipes.
Many dog owners have asked if cabbage is safe for their dogs to eat, so is it?
Can dogs eat cabbage? Dogs can eat cabbage raw, but there are still some factors you should be aware of before serving it to your dog. While it has health benefits such as being good for skin and digestion, it can make your dog gassy. Too much raw cabbage can also lead to health problems.
In this article, I will explain in-depth the health benefits that cabbage can give to your dog and other factors you should be aware of before feeding it to your pet. If you’re interested in learning more about these topics, keep on reading.
Discover delicious food your dog deserves
Red cabbage is more nutritionally dense than green cabbage, containing around 10 times more vitamins. They also contain far more flavonoids, which are the paw-some cancer-fighting compounds found in cabbages and other cruciferous vegetables likekale, cauliflower, or broccoli. Red cabbage is also rich in antioxidants and has greater anti-inflammatory properties than it’s green and white counterparts.
Yes, your dog can eat green cabbage. Just like other colours of cabbage, green cabbage is paw-fectly safe and healthy for dogs to eat.
Yes, cabbage is certainly good for dogs and has a number of paw-sitive health benefits.
The most impressive benefit of cabbage is its cancer-fighting properties. It has been proven by multiple studies that cruciferous vegetables, including cabbage, can reduce the risk of certain cancers in canines. Including cruciferous veggies in your dog’s dinner can also help to slow the spread of cancer and improve treatment response. This is thanks to flavonoids, a phytonutrient found in vegetables like cabbage.
Including raw cruciferous vegetables like cabbage can help to prevent cell damage, deactivate carcinogens, and prevent tumour cell formation and migration. If that wasn’t enough, it also has antiviral, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties too that will benefit your pooch.
As well as paw-some phytonutrients and their anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory benefits, cabbage also contains a lot of vitamins and minerals. Red cabbage especially is packed with vitamin C, adding to the veggie’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.
There’s also plenty of B vitamins and vitamin K. Vitamin K maintains the bloods ability to clot while B vitamins are im-paw-tent for their overall health, especially B6. B6 is vital for dogs as it plays a key part in healthy hormone regulation, immune response, gene activation, and the regular function of their nervous system and red blood cells.
That’s not all the good stuff you’ll find in a cabbage either. Cabbage is high in fibre which will help to keep your dog’s gut healthy and feed the good bacteria in their digestive system. There’s also folate to promote normal metabolic functions like blood cell creation, and the production of amino acids to make proteins. Meanwhile, there’s plenty of potassium to help keep your pup’s nerves and muscles healthy.
As you can see, not only can dogs eat cabbage, it can provide them with a lot of paw-some health benefits as part ofa balanced natural diet. If you want to include more vegetables in your dog’s diet, you can use veggies as a healthy snack instead of treats. You could also transition your dog onto a fresh, healthy diet formulated to help your pooch live a longer, healthier life.
Is Cabbage Good or Bad For Dogs?
Albert Ahn, DVM, is the veterinary advisor for MYOS Pet. He tells Daily Paws that cabbage is good for dogs because like many vegetables, its packed with a lot of good nutrients, antioxidants, and vitamins.
This crunchy, cruciferous vegetable is in the same family as broccoli and cauliflower (which are also okay for dogs to nibble now and then). Its a low-calorie, high-fiber topper choice, rich in vitamin C, vitamin K, magnesium, and beta-carotene. It can be included along with other greens such as lettuce and spinach in your pups healthy treat allotment, which vets advise as less than 10 percent of his daily diet.
However, theres a caveat. “Note that cabbage can cause gas production,” Ahn says. Fiber and raffinose are the stinky-causing culprits in this case. Raffinose is a form of sugar that can only be digested by gut bacteria through a fermentation process, which produces gas. Some dogs might not be able to tolerate cabbage as a result without a lot of flatulence.
So start with just a tiny bit and, if your dog enjoys it, take note of any smelly side effects. If they appear, a carrot might be a better veggie option!
Cabbage also contains thiocyanate, a chemical compound that affects the thyroid gland. If your pooch has too much cabbage, theres a risk of developing hypothyroidism. So again: offer a small amount of this green occasionally, and there shouldnt be any major issues.
How Much Red Cabbage Can a Dog Have?
Red Cabbage is good for a dog’s health, but it doesn’t mean that he can eat as much as he desires. Every food has an intake limit, and you already know that excess of anything is bad.
The same rule applies when feeding your dog cabbage. Eating too much cabbage can be harmful to the dog, as it can cause an upset stomach and other gastrointestinal issues. In addition, it may be the reason for excessive gas and watery stool in him.
Small quantities of red cabbage are optimal for dogs as its overconsumption can lead to many health diseases in them. We recommend feeding your dog a bite or two of the cooked cabbage if he is small. In the case of large-sized dogs, some more bites of cooked cabbage or a few leaves of raw cabbage are likely to cause no gastric problems. If you think your pup has eaten a larger amount of cabbage than he is allowed to consume, seek professional veterinary help as soon as possible.
Moreover, before giving a new food to a dog to eat, always double-check whether it’s safe for dogs or not by starting with extremely small amounts.
FAQ
Is red cabbage toxic to dogs?
Is cooked cabbage OK for dogs to eat?
Does cabbage give dogs diarrhea?