can i give my dog broccoli... or any veggie for that matter?

Question

or is it bad for her?

Answer 1

Of course you can.
One of my pen-friend's agility dogs steals broccoli.

But bear in mind a couple of points:
(1) Dogs developed as carnivores. This means that their gut lacks the enzymes needed to break through the cellulose walls of plants and to then digest the cell contents, and their intestines are too short for those enzymes to finish working even if they were present. And so plant material needs to be pre-digested to be of much food-value to a dog (play value and taste value are different matters). Cooking is the simplest way to pre-digest plants, but does de-nature some of the vitamins. I am a fan of adding cooked table scraps to a dog's diet.
(2) Many plants are poisonous to dogs, especially when raw - some people are surprised that the list includes beans, garlic, grapes, onions. See http://www.melanie.org/dogs.html for a fairly comprehensive list.


"Steve B": The nutrition section of a vet's training course is usually so short that any student who sneezes thrice in a row probably misses the lot. Some vets don't even know the drawbacks inherent to neutering a pooch. A few are so old-school that they even refer to a b_itch's uterus being "thrashed" at each season! (I have never had a b_itch spayed, although 2 have had the op when they developed pyometritis.)
Get your wife to refer to http://www.vet.purdue.edu/epi/bloat.htm
and think about that time period in, I think, the third report - it exactly matches the period in which kibbles rose from being unknown to being common. Coincidence? I think not!
Les P, owner of GSD_Friendly: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GSD_Friendly
"In GSDs" as of 1967

Answer 2

My 16 month old Bichonpoo loves broccoli. She also loves Brussels sprouts and zucchini. She likes corn but it affects her bowels. She eats almost every allowable (not dangerous to dogs) fruit and vegetable. I would much rather see her eat this stuff than a lot of junk. The vet says she is happy and healthy and she should keep eating fruits and vegetables.

Answer 3

Most veggies are healthy, we adopted an overwieght beagle, and the vet recommend carrots instead of dog treats, and celery instead of rawhides. Say no to veggies or fruits high in acid though.

Answer 4

You certainly can feed broccoli to a dog. My 16 and a 1/2 yr old shitzu gets fresh vetables/fruits and rice everyday and she loves it. There's lots of vitamins and it will keep your dog very healthy. I feed my dog carrots, broccoli, lettuce, celery, cooked sweet potato, banana, apples, oranges, pears, grapes, peaches, kiwi, pineapple, cantalope,..just to name a few. She goes insane for banana's. Give your dog a variety of fruits/vegetables everyday, and watch how healthy and alert she'll be.

Just check your fridge for fruits/vegetables and don't be affraid to feed your dog.

Have fun.

Answer 5

yes veggies are okay, most dog foods contain some form of veggie anyways, but be ware since certian breeds can react badly to certian foods, such as larger breeds when given onions, their red blood cells can change shape which is always a bad thing.

Answer 6

Veggies are an important part of a dog's diet. However, veggies are an important part of your diet too ;)

Answer 7

My old beagles get broccoli, raw or cooked, when I have it, as well as apple, banana, carrots, and they are well. Not too much at once though, throws them off their poopin' schedule!

Answer 8

Some veggies will give your dog gas such as broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. (just like people)
But carrots (baby), green beans ( i freeze them) and most fruits such as apples are good for dogs. just stay away from from the seeds.

Answer 9

Carots and apples are really good for them.

Stay away from Onions, grapes, and raisins they are toxic to dogs.

Answer 10

My wife would only feed our dogs a mix of dry dog food and dog food out of the can.