Raw Carrots

[emc]

Is it okay to give chihuahuas raw carrots or should they be cooked? (the carrots, that is, lol).
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[Danegirl2208]

raw carrots are great, if your dogs will eat them..i know mine wont lol

[binka_nugget]

Yup, raw is fine! They won't get anything from it nutrient-wise, as it needs to be ground up if fed raw, but it certainly won't harm them!

[.sarah]

I give whole carrots as treats. They are great chewy treats for my dogs, and it's something that takes them 30 seconds or more to eat instead of the normal .2 seconds.

Since they aren't digested, they have orange poop the next day.

I actually freaked out one day when it was early in the morning and still not very light outside. I was watching Buck poop and I thought he had lots of blood in his stool. His whole poop was bright orange! Just chunks of carrots, barely anything else! LOL!

[emc]

Someone told me that raw carrots can cause blockage and I was wondering if that's true.

[Crazy-Cat-Lover]

I only gave Bailey carrots (pureed) for 2 weeks in a veggie mush. I haven't given him any fruit or vegetable for the longest time. He just gets his raw meat! He did have some homemade dehydrated beef liver my sister made (thanks Chantelle! ) - he loved it!

[Vette]

Mine dog loves to chew them.. but wont eat it...
just leaves a mess like a brat.

[Pam]

Yup, raw is fine! They won't get anything from it nutrient-wise, as it needs to be ground up if fed raw,

Why is that? Doesn't chewing cause it to be ground up? Carrots have vitamins in them which are good for dogs as well as humans. Mine have eaten raw carrots for years. I often use them as treats, but they stand by me when I am making a salad too, because they know I will toss them a few then.

[.sarah]

Why is that? Doesn't chewing cause it to be ground up?

Not for dogs. For humans, yes, but not for dogs. Dogs have the teeth of a carnivore. Omnivores and herbivores have flat teeth for grinding up plant matter - dogs cannot do this.

Carrots have vitamins in them which are good for dogs as well as humans.

The vitamins are only utilized in dogs if the carrots are pureed or pulped. Because their teeth can't break the cell walls of vegetables, they derive no nutrition from them. Pureeing or pulping them will break the cell walls and the dog can then get nutrients from it. However, whole veggies still make great treats!