When you have a dog to look after, you have to make sure that you are going to feed them in the best way you can. That is something which you are going to find easy most of the time, but if you want to try and feed them a little differently and expand out their diet beyond the usual dried and wet food, then there are many things you might want to think about doing. One of the things that many dog owners will often wonder is whether or not they can feed their dog pickled beets. It’s easy to see why that might be worth considering, as we know that beets are a healthy product for most of us to eat – so why not dogs? But is it something that dogs can actually eat, and if so, how much of it should you give them?
In short, you should avoid giving your dog pickled beets. This is due to the salty brine which the beets are usually stored in. Foods with a high salt content should not be given to your dog due to the health problems they can cause, such as pancreatitis.
However, if you are looking to feed your dog beets then that's another story. Let's explore pickled beets a little more and the health benefits of beets below:
Is It Safe?
The most important thing that you are going to be concerned about is whether or not it is actually safe in the first place to give your dog pickled beets, rather than whether it is particularly nutritious or anything like that. The fact is that while dogs can eat beets, you need to ensure that you don’t give them pickled beets. Fresh beets, however, are going to be absolutely fine. However, as with pretty much anything else you might feed them, you do need to make sure not to feed it to them all the time, and it would be better to keep it as an occasional treat instead. However, the main takeaway here is that it is perfectly safe, generally, dogs can eat beets, but that you should avoid giving them pickled beets.
Healthy & Nutritious
Beets are a very healthy food indeed, and they have a lot of nutrition which is certainly going to be good for dogs to eat. They are also a great alternative to regular dog food. So if you are looking for something that you might be able to use in order to expand their diet, you can ensure that you are considering something like beets as a great way of doing so. However, as we have pointed out, you should make sure that those beets are fresh and not pickled, otherwise you might well run into some trouble along the way and cause your dog some discomfort or illness. Keep to fresh beets, and you will be giving them a food which is healthy and nutritious.
Calories
What’s more, beets are also very low in calories, so if you are trying to keep your dog’s diet as good as possible, you will find that using beets is a great way of doing so. Not many people need to calorie count when it comes to their dog, but there are times when this becomes important, such as after or before surgery, when you have noticed that your dog is overweight and needs to cut down, and other similar times to that. Beets will always be a great option for those times, as long as you stick to the fresh kind and don’t overload your dog with them, but rather keep them to a minimum.
How Do You Cook Beets For Dogs?
If you are deciding to give your dog fresh beets, then you will need to know whether you need to cook them or whether you can serve them raw. The thing about cooking vegetables is that you inevitably remove some of the nutrition in the process, whereas serving it raw means that your dog will get more out of it. However, it’s not necessary, and if you prefer you can serve them cooked beets. It really doesn’t matter in either case, and you don’t have to worry about your dog getting ill – they can perfectly safely eat both cooked and raw beets, just so long as you are still making sure to avoid pickled or jarred beets at all.
Juicing Beets
There are still other ways in which you can provide beets for your dog, and one of the best is to juice them. When you juice something, it breaks down the enzymes in the vegetable so much that it becomes easier and faster for the body to take the nutrients and make good use of them, so that is something that you can make sure of for your dog by juicing some beets. However, you need to make sure that you do not do this too often. While the occasional juiced beet is okay, it does have a much higher concentration of sugar than a normal cooked or raw beet, so you don’t want to give that to your dog too often if you can help it. However, on the whole a juiced beet is a wonderful thing to give to your dog.
Pickled & Jarred Beets
As we have said earlier, it is a good idea to try and avoid giving your dog any beets that are pickled or came from a jar or can. These are simply not as healthy as fresh beets, and they tend to contain ingredients such as preservatives and added salt, both of which are likely to cause some harm to your dog. The salty brine that these pickled beets come in are just not a good thing for them to consume – even though they will probably find them delicious and want to eat them if they smell them! This really is no laughing matter, however, and not something to risk, as in the very worst case it could even cause something like pancreatitis, which is often a fatal condition.
Feeding Beets To Your Dog
In summary, you can feed beets to your dog as long as they are fresh and not pickled or jarred, and you can do so cooked or raw, or occasionally juiced. There are many health benefits to doing so, but make sure that you don’t do it all the time, and that generally you keep their diet as varied as possible as much of the time as you can.
