We all know that celery is a healthy, low-calorie, and sometimes delicious snack for adults and children alike. But can the same be said for our four-legged canine friends? We know that many vegetables like carrots and cauliflower make great healthy snacks for dogs, but what about celery? Do the same rules apply to this vegetable?
Let?s explore.
Can Dogs Eat Celery?
In short, celery for dogs is an A-ok snack for the majority of them consume. Just as it is for humans, celery is a healthy, low-calorie snack that can easily be substituted for doggie snacks that are basically high-calorie junk food.
Considering a whole stalk of celery is approximately seven calories, from a dietary standpoint, you won?t have to worry about whether you could or should feed it to a bigger dog or smaller dog since their caloric intake needs vary.
Is Celery Good For Dogs?
Celery is a fantastic source of antioxidants and beneficial enzymes for mammals, including vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, calcium, potassium, and folate, among many others.
Just as how these are all very important for humans, they?re also important for dogs as well. These vitamins can help your dog maintain a strong heart, lower their blood pressure, and even ward off cancer thanks to all the antioxidants.
Is Celery Bad For Dogs?
If you?re wondering ?is celery safe for dogs to consume,? the main thing you need to worry about is to that you don?t feed them too much of it; like anything else, it?s good for them in moderation. However, because celery is primarily composed of water, consuming too much celery can cause dogs to urinate more frequently, which can ultimately lead to dehydration.
Also, it?s strongly recommended that you only give your dog fresh, organic celery. While frozen celery may be much more convenient to purchase and store, the freezing process tends to leave celery without much of the nutrients that make it such a healthy snack in the first place.
Non-organic fresh celery tends to be one of the vegetables that are heavily doused with pesticides. Even if you thoroughly wash such celery before purchasing it, you still can?t be 100% certain that you?ve removed all the potentially harmful chemicals off of it. Therefore, to stay on the safe side, stick with organically grown celery, which is grown without the use of pesticides.
Can Dogs Eat Celery Sticks?
Can dogs eat celery raw? Absolutely. Because of the fibrous nature of celery, celery sticks are actually a great substitution for any rawhide or treats that dogs like to chew on.
It won?t keep them as occupied as long as those other treats may, but it will absolutely do the trick in a pinch, and allow you to feel more comfortable when giving it to them.
Can Dogs Eat Celery Leaves?
As far as whether dogs can eat celery leaves along with celery, the information seems to be a bit more inconclusive. If you search the internet, almost everything you read says that you should remove the leaves before feeding celery to your dog. But you?ll be hard-pressed to find anyone fully explaining why you should actually remove the leaves, and what ramifications there may be if your dog consumes the leaves.
To make matters more confusing, because celery leaves are actually quite nutritious ? containing a lot of vitamin A ? it would logically follow that it may be beneficial to allow your dog to eat celery leaves.
Thus, our answer is: try at your own discretion. As mentioned, there are certainly potential benefits to giving them celery leaves, but you should see how your dog responds after giving it to them. If they seem to be in discomfort, have less energy than usual, or have abnormal bowel movements, you should immediately stop giving it to them.
Also, as previously mentioned, you should ensure that the celery leaves come from organic celery, to further eliminate any issues with toxins.
Can Puppies Eat Celery?
Celery is also fine to give to puppies, but just like with many other things, you need to exercise a bit more caution before allowing them to consume this vegetable.
We?ve talked about the fibrous, stringy nature of celery. This might be fine for dogs with fully developed digestive systems. But for puppies, whose digestive system is still developing, those fibers can lead it to difficulty when trying to digest and/or pass it out when they defecate.
So when feeding puppies celery, you should cut up the celery into as tiny pieces as possible, and remove any visible strings of celery fibers. In fact, if you want to be extra careful, some people recommend shredding the celery up using a fine cheese or vegetable grater, to ensure it won?t get stuck in the puppy?s digest tract.
Can Dogs Eat Cooked Celery?
Cooking your celery, by simply steaming it or boiling it (without any seasonings or flavors) is a very good way to feed celery to your dog or your puppy.
The cooking process makes the celery softer, meaning dogs will have an easier time chewing and digesting the celery. Further, because the celery is softer, so too are the fibers of the celery. Thus, it can greatly reduce any of the issues dogs might have when trying to consume and pass the fibers of raw celery .
So, Is It Ok For My Dog To Eat Celery?
We often think of dogs as ?bottomless pits? or ?vacuum cleaners? for food, but anytime you introduce them to any human foods, whether as a snack or simple table scraps, you need to keep a close eye on whether there are any negative reactions.
Again, if you?re wondering ?is celery ok for dogs,? the short answer is yes. As the saying goes: what?s good for the goose isn?t always good for the gander. So, while some dogs might not have any issues consuming celery, that?s not always going to be the case. You know your dog is special and unique in his or her own way, and thus so are their dietary restrictions.
If you happen to see that your dog is having some type of stomach discomfort, or possibly any runny stool, you should probably avoid feeding them that food again. The same goes for dogs and celery as well, as healthy as the food might seem. N
