This may be a stupid question but.........

my girlies have developed quite a taste for raw carrot and I usually peel one every 2nd / 3rd day and cut it into chunks, which I then give them as a treat. Question is; how much carrot can they have daily?? I also baked the Yams / sweet potatoe and they absolutely LOVED them :thnku: Cathy Moon :flwr: :flwr: Is it OK to give them raw veggies every day as treats?? or is there such a thing as too much?????
I told you it was a stupid question :roll:

:flwr:

I don't think it is a stupid question. I think it is a very good one. Personally, I'd be thinking that provided your dogs are still getting all the other nutrients they need from other foods, and the raw vegies are not causing unpleasant side effects (runny poos etc) then it should be fine. If they became fixated on it and wouldn't eat anything else, then that would be a problem, but from what you are saying that isn't the case.

Just my humble icon_whistling

Thanks Caraline,
they just get the veggies as treats instead of the usual store bought treats. I don't want them eating pizzle sticks etc every day so I figured raw veggies is better for them and the wont put on any extra pounds.
They also get their J W B kibble twice a day and usually some fish or cooked veg for variety. I also have them on Sasha's Blend so, all in all, I think they are pretty well catered for on the nutrition side of things - I certainly hope so anyway :badgrin:

:flwr:

My girl loves raw carrots, especially the peeled baby ones. I'm not sure how many are too many, but we often replace store bought treats with carrots. We're still working on potty training and use half of a baby carrot as a reward for doing her business outside. I like that the carrots are a good source of fibre and not as high in calories as some of the other treat alternatives. The only thing i've noticed is that you will see carrot chunks in their stool.

i asked the same question about carrots--i knew someone once who knew someone who went on a 100% carrot diet and she died of too much vitamin A or beta carotene, it damaged her liver. Zack loves raw carrots and i give him one a day. He likes the whole carrot sticks, he can chew on them like a dog chew, he will lay on the floor happily gnawing on the carrot stick and breaking off pieces and eating them.

It sounds like you are feeding really healthy. I think giving carrots or raw vegs instead of dog treats is a very good practice for health.

One thing i will add is that I've heard before that most of the vitamins in the carrot are in the skin and near the surface, so they are more nutritious with the peel still on. I dont' know if that's true but i've read it or heard it more than once.

Another question i had about the carrot sticks was whether it would hurt him to eat them when he has left them lying around over night. He loves to eat them in the morning after they have laid out all night and they are soggy and soft and not cold. i was told they are ok for him that way. [/i]

Our vet recommended feeding carrots to our cavs, but she didn't specify how many. We've been giving them 1-2 mini carrots each, per day. We cut the carrots into smaller pieces.

lady loves carrots we give her the little baton shape ones to chew on as a treat i was told not to give too many as they can make there poo go orange.

Feeding small amounts of carrot is fine and good for them, however, as dogs lack the enzyme cellulase, which is used to break down plant cell walls (cellulose), they are unable to digest raw vegetables on their own. If you feed a whole raw carrot or carrot chunks to a dog, you can sometimes observe chunks of raw carrot in the stool. Therefore, it is best to mush them or give in very small pieces so that your dog can digest them. I usually add carrots, peas, beans etc. to homemade stews and blend them.

amanda L said:

Feeding small amounts of carrot is fine and good for them, however, as dogs lack the enzyme cellulase, which is used to break down plant cell walls (cellulose), they are unable to digest raw vegetables on their own. If you feed a whole raw carrot or carrot chunks to a dog, you can sometimes observe chunks of raw carrot in the stool. Therefore, it is best to mush them or give in very small pieces so that your dog can digest them. I usually add carrots, peas, beans etc. to homemade stews and blend them.

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Now that you mention this, i am remembering that i had read, when i was pregnant i think, or some time when i was studying nutrition, i had read that the vitamins in carrots are more accessable when they're cooked than when they're raw, cooking makes them more available to the body. I wonder if it's similar to the thing with dogs, even though people probably don't lack that enzyme.

Thank you Amanda for that helpful information.