6 Ways to Prepare Carrots for Dogs
Grating carrot on top of your dog’s dinner is a low-prep option that adds a little extra deliciousness to their meal and can be a great solution for enticing a fussy eater. Simply wash the carrots with a vegetable brush before grating them over what they’d normally eat.
When peeling carrots for yourself, save all the peelings for your dog. Cook and mash the peels, or blend until smooth. A dollop of this carrot puree is a great way to disguise some yucky medicine.
If your dog is not a vegetable lover, juicing may be a fun way to add carrots to the diet. Carrot juice is extremely high in vitamin A, but the fiber in carrots is lost during juicing. To make sure your dog doesn’t miss out on the healthy fiber, add some of the pulp back into the juice before adding it to their bowl. Just wash the carrots, run them through a juicer, pour and serve!
Fresh juice should be consumed right after it’s been made. It can be stored in the fridge for a day, but no longer.
If you would rather cook carrots before giving them to your dog, the healthiest way is to lightly steam them, which enhances their flavor while retaining most of the nutrients. Here’s how to easily steam carrots for your dog:
It is very easy and cost effective to bake your own dog treats, and carrots are ideal for baking into treats because of their natural sweetness. Follow these steps to bake carrot treats for your dog:
Frozen carrots may help relieve discomfort for teething puppies and can slow down an aggressive chewer while still offering vitamins and minerals. Just don’t offer more than one whole carrot a day, because of the high fiber content, and never freeze baby carrots (which can be a choking hazard for dogs).
Can Carrots Be Bad for Dogs?
Carrots in general are not bad for healthy dogs. However, they do contain a lot of sugar, so you should not give them to dogs with diabetes or dogs that are obese. Also, it is possible for a large piece of carrot to become a choking hazard or intestinal blockage.
Also, keep in mind that dogs can be sensitive to certain foods that they haven’t had before. Food sensitivities show up as vomiting or diarrhea in dogs.
Health Conditions to Consider Before Sharing Carrots
There are very few health conditions that are incompatible with carrots, but if your dog has any of these issues, you may want to talk to your vet before adding any new foods to their diet.