Donna shares insider tips about your pets gained through exclusive interviews
with industry experts.

Can your best friend can eat carrots? Find out here.

via Canva; Rodrigo dos Reis, via Unsplash

Are Carrots Bad for Dogs?

If you’re wondering, “Are carrots bad for dogs?” the answer is: “Absolutely
not!” In fact, feeding dogs carrots is an excellent way to give them tasty,
nutritious treats. Vegetables like carrots are healthier treats for dogs than
some commercially-prepared dog treats, and most dogs love them.

Dogs Can Eat Carrots!

In this article, we’ll look at certified veterinary homeopath Dr. Jeff
Feinman’s top tips and guidelines for incorporating human foods like carrots
into your dog’s daily diet. We’ll answer these questions:

1. Why Are Carrots Healthy for Dogs?
2. How Often Should Dogs Eat Carrots?
3. Can Dogs Eat Raw Carrots?
4. What Foods Can Dogs Not Eat?

Juiced carrots are easier for your dog to digest.

Couleur under CCO license via Pixabay

Carrots Are Healthy Dog Treats

What are the benefits of giving carrots to your pet? For starters, they are a
healthy, crunchy treat that can:

• help clean teeth and promote good dental health
• act as an alternative to rawhide because they are completely digestible
• furnish a satisfying chew
• taste good!

Carrots are low in calories and fat but high in nutrients like vitamins,
minerals, and antioxidants. For overweight dogs, they can be an important
weight management aid. In fact, the Companion Animal Behavior Program manual
for the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine recommends that “carrots or
plain rice cakes can be used as low calorie substitutes for dog treats.”1
Speaking of dog treats, why not use baby carrots while you are training your
dog for obedience or agility sports?

Make sure you choose a healthy diet for your pup.

Samia Liamani, via Unsplash

How Often Can Dogs Eat Carrots?

So, since we know carrots are safe for dogs to eat, how many should they eat
and how should they be prepared? According to Dr. Jeff Feinman, a certified
veterinary homeopath, giving Fido two to three baby carrots to nibble on daily
is acceptable.

As with humans, the best advice on quantity is to err on the side of
moderation and consider the size of the dog. Obviously, a giant breed like a
Bernese Mountain Dog or Great Dane could digest more carrots than a tiny
Maltese could.

Can dogs eat carrots? Just watch me devour this bad boy!

4johnny5, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr

Can Dogs Eat Raw Carrots?

They can, but during our interview time, Dr. Jeff stressed that because of the
way dogs digest their food, Fido would not get any nutritional benefit from
eating them in that fashion. According to Dr. Jeff, raw carrots must be grated
or steamed so dogs can digest them properly and absorb the nutrients. In fact,
any hard, fibrous food is harder for them to digest, so you should break these
foods up for them mechanically by grating them or putting them through your
food processor.

A quick way to incorporate carrots into your dog’s regular feeding plan is by
topping his dog food or raw food diet with some grated or steamed carrots.

Video: Healthy Foods to Feed Your Dog

Scroll to Continue

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What Foods Should My Dog Not Eat?

Carrots may be safe for dogs to eat, but what about some other human foods? In
general, owners should avoid feeding dogs leftover foods that are high in fat,
sugar, or sodium. Furthermore, dog owners should be aware of highly toxic
foods (for dogs):

• onions
• grapes
• macadamia nuts
• chocolate

Check With Your Vet Before Changing Your Pet’s Diet

Dogs and humans metabolize and digest foods and drugs in different ways. The
safest rule of thumb is to check with your veterinarian before you change your
dog’s diet or use any type of medication. For more information on natural pet
care, please visit Dr. Jeff’s site.

Do you have some tips or other information on carrots for dogs that you would
like to share? Just drop me a note in the comments section below. Feedback
from my readers is always welcome and appreciated.

Resources

1. UC Davis Veterinary Medicine, “Companion Animal Behavior Program,” accessed 10/19/2010
2. Telephone interview, Dr. Jeff Feinman, BA, VMD, CVH, Home Vet, 10/01/2010
3. 8 Weeks to a Healthy Dog , Shawn Messonnier, DVM
4. Las Vegas Review Journal , “Scrap the Scraps: Common foods can be pooch poison,” Corey Levitan, 10/19/2010, accessed 10/19/2010

Video: How to Make Healthy Banana and Carrot Dog Treats

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. It
is not meant to substitute for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription,
or formal and individualized advice from a veterinary medical professional.
Animals exhibiting signs and symptoms of distress should be seen by a
veterinarian immediately.

© 2011 Donna Cosmato

Comments

Jon on February 02, 2020:

It says “are carrots bad for your dog?”

Then goes on to say “no way”.

😉

Jennifer on April 15, 2018:

My dog has trouble with her anal glands she is a puggle. Would the carrots
help this and if so how much do I feed her

John on March 30, 2018:

You say absolutely not but then go on to say how good they are for them. What
are you trying to say. Are you sure you know what your talking about.

Tasha Abbott on July 13, 2017:

Is it hard for the dogs to digest. Our pup loves carrots as a treat, but
wonder how much is too much?

Eileen Hughes from Northam Western Australia on May 17, 2017:

I was always told that dogs can not digest raw carrots, just give them cooked
or part cooked ones only. Our blue heeler used to swallow everything hole he
hardly ever chewed things so avoided this type of food altogether.

fathertobobo on April 14, 2017:

I understand dogs would absorb more nutrients from cooked carrots the same way
humans absorb more from cooked food too. But I thought dogs also benefit from
raw whole carrots for the teeth and gum cleaning as well.

Christopher on December 02, 2016:

Hello there, I found this most helpful! Although baby carrots might not be the
best for for or human because they are rolled in a bleatch mixture to keep
them crisp orange and “fresh”. Your best bet is to get regular careers peal
them and slice them into smaller Carrot sticks . My puppy Jacob LOVES them 🙂

Hope you found this note helpful.

htodd from United States on May 20, 2012:

I don’t think so ..carrots are good for Rabbits ..But dogs can eat too ..

Donna Cosmato (author) from USA on February 26, 2012:

Hi MT! I’m glad Zeus likes the cooked carrots. Mine won’t eat them raw,
either, but according to Dr. Jeff, it’s better for them to eat them after they
are cooked, so I’m okay with her finickiness on that issue:)

Shasta Matova from USA on February 25, 2012:

I tried this Donna. Zeus won’t eat raw carrots but will carrots that have been
cooked with pot roast!

Donna Cosmato (author) from USA on December 22, 2011:

Hello Insane Mundane and thank you for the comment on pet health and
nutrition. I’m fortunate that our vet is forward thinking and was more than
willing to work with us to plan a balanced diet for our fur babies. I’m a big
fan of natural and organic foods for everyone…not just humans:)

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Feedback is so important, and helps me
finetune my writing for future works. I appreciate you:)

Donna Cosmato (author) from USA on December 22, 2011:

Hi Just Ask Susan, and thank you for taking the time to leave me a comment on
this pet health hub:)

It sounds like your dogs are more accepting of vegetables than my big boy was,
but he would eat his carrots and green beans.

My Chihuahua, on the other hand, will only eat peas and carrots and only if
she feels like it on that particular day. She makes Morris the finicky cat
look like a gourmand with her fussy ways:)

Donna Cosmato (author) from USA on December 22, 2011:

Hi JayneWisdom! It sounds like your fur baby is blessed with an exceptional
fur parent! Good for you for taking the time to do all that for your special
needs pooch. I prepared a lot of Lost Boy’s meals for him when he was alive
because of his food allergies, so I respect and applaud your willingness to go
that extra mile.

Thank you, as well, for being willing to take time to leave me some feedback
on this hub about feeding carrots to dogs. That means so much to me:)

Donna Cosmato (author) from USA on December 22, 2011:

Hi Debbie, thanks for the vote of support:)I was glad to find from Dr. Jeff
that I could use vegetables as a healthy treat as I had a dog at that time
that needed to take off some weight to ease the pain on his joints.

This worked great, and he lost 10 pounds. He stayed at that healthy weight
until the very end:)

On another note, I want to extend my sincere gratitude for your loyalty and
encouragement this year. It has really been a bright spot in my day to read
your feedback on my work.

Donna Cosmato (author) from USA on December 22, 2011:

Hi Millionaire Tips! Actually, that’s a really good question about the choking
hazard. I’ll see if I can get in touch with Dr. Jeff to get his opinion on it,
and I’m glad you brought that point up.

Our Lost Boy loved carrots but preferred them cooked, so I just added them to
his feed. I’d give a trailer full of canned carrots to have him back with us
🙁

Thanks for your ongoing support this year of my writing. I’m looking forward
to 2012 and reading your insightful hubs:)

Insane Mundane from Earth on December 22, 2011:

I’m glad that I stumbled upon this hub. It is good to know that I’m not the
only one who realizes that the so-called “human food” is, for the most part,
better for your dogs or animals than the synthesized crap that many people buy
at the market. Yeah, I know, this post was about whether or not carrots are
good for dogs, but still, this topic runs much deeper than that…

At any rate, my dog is nearly 14 years old, and has ate about everything a
common Vet would oppose (including massive amounts of chicken bones). I rest
my case… Thanks for providing this excellent info; cheers!

Susan Zutautas from Ontario, Canada on December 22, 2011:

My 2 Newfoundland dogs love carrots and zucchini. They also really like the
stocky part of broccoli.

Jaye Denman from Deep South, USA on December 21, 2011:

I feed my miniature Schnauzer (who is allergic to wheat, corn, beef, chicken,
milk, eggs and must be on a low-fat diet due to a tendency toward
pancreatitis) home-cooked food. The protein is cooked lean grassfed ground
bison, to which I add cooked basmati rice or sweet potatoes (since the recent
alert about arsenic in brown rice), organic carrots, organic green beans.
Before serving, I stir in a spoonful of organic cooked pumpkin or 1/4 chopped
apple. Twice a week she gets her favorite treat: part of my breakfast banana.
She’s really thriving on this regimen and loves her food!

Once daily she gets a chewable multi-vitamin and mineral supplement. Because
her food is wet rather than dry, her teeth must be brushed (which is good
because brushing not only freshens her breath, it keeps plaque from forming).
She also chews on a Nylabone dinosaur.

Can you tell I love my dog? : )

Deborah Brooks Langford from Brownsville,TX on December 21, 2011:

Great HUB,. I did not know Dogs could eat carrots.. My son and his wife feeds
their dogs vegetables the vet told them exactly what to feed them with rice
and meat. they love veggies..I am so amazed.

I voted up and awesome

Debbie

Shasta Matova from USA on December 21, 2011:

This is good to know. I wondered if carrots would be a choking hazard – not
sure how much chewing my dog actually does. I don’t know if he will eat raw
grated carrots, but he loves the carrots that are part of a meat meal.