Nutritional Benefits of Carrots for your Goldendoodle

You probably heard from your parents that you should eat your carrot as it improves your eye health, right?

Well, that is a common misconception, but it does offer a range of nutritional benefits to your dog.

Here is why feeding carrots to your dog is good:

1.) It is a low-calorie snack, which is much better than other dog treats that you can buy in stores. You can give cooked carrots, steamed carrots or even make them into a tasty carrot puree. As long as you don't add any artificial stuff to it, it will be healthy!

2.) Because there is no better sound in the world, than your dog enjoying the crunchy texture of fresh carrots. I Just love it!

3.) It is one of the most healthy snacks for older dogs. Studies show that beta carotene, which is largely present in carrots, helped to restore immune responses by a lot.

4.) Carrots can help boost your dog's immune system. Vitamin A, which is found in carrots, helps to keep the immune system functioning properly. It also plays a crucial role in maintaining healthy skin.

6.) It is great for dental health. Just like when your Goldendoodle chews on something like a bone, a carrot can provide the same teeth cleaning and scrape the plaque off their teeth. Anything for a great smile!

Feeding your Goldendoodle Carrots

When feeding your goldendoodle carrots, you have so many choices and you literally cannot go wrong with any of them. First, WASH THEM! It's very important.

If you want a delicious treat, just make sliced carrots.

If your dog has an upset stomach, the best way to cook carrots is to boil or steam them. Around 10-12 minutes is what worked best for me, but if you want it mushier, you can leave it longer.

This helps digestion as it contains a lot of fiber it can also stop diarrhoea.

Sometimes to spice things up, I add steamed carrots to Baileys' food.

He always loves it!

It also shows that dogs don't give a crap about taste, they use their sense of smell!

And boy, do steamed carrots smell good!

How you should introduce carrots into your dogs' diet is slowly. How I did it is I gave a cooked slice of carrot to Bailey to see how he reacts. I got the reaction I wanted, tippy taps (means: gimme more dad!)!

However, not all didlidoods are created equal, some might experience digestive problems when they eat carrots. So make sure you start off slow when feeding your dog carrots.

Raw carrots are also fine, especially if your puppy is teething, they can be used as a chew toy!

How Carrots Can Help Keep Your Goldendoodle's Teeth Healthy

Keeping your goldendoodles teeth is not an easy task. Some dogs just do not like having their teeth brushed, no matter how hard you try. Fortunately, there are other ways to help keep your dog's teeth healthy and one of those ways is by feeding them carrots.

One way to help keep their teeth healthy is by feeding them frozen carrots. The frozen carrots will help scrape the teeth and prevent plaque buildup.

You can also give your dog lightly cooked or raw carrots if they like munching on crunchy things.

Best Ways to Offer Carrots to Your Goldendoodle

Now that you know all of the amazing benefits that carrots have, let's look at how should you give them to your dog.

The good news is, there are plenty of options! And no, you don't have to be a Michelin-star chef.

Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Add grated carrots to your dog's food

If you want to make your dogs' food more interesting, you can grate some raw or cooked carrots in their kibble or wet food.

Don't worry about spoiling their food, you might think it looks bland, but they fricking love it. 

2. Give your dog carrot sticks as a healthy snack

The lazy way of giving your dog a carrot is to just wash it and give it as a stick.

This will keep them occupied if you need a well-deserved rest, but also scrapes away any plaque they might have on their teeth. You can even freeze them if you want! 

Just make sure you supervise your dog while they are eating it as it can be a choking hazard if they are not chewed properly.

3. Use carrots as training treats

Carrots are also exceptional training treats. They are healthy, don't take too long to eat (which is important when giving treats) and are also cheap.

The next time you buy some off the shelves treats, just think about how many carrots you could have bought!

4. Juice carrots and add to your dog's water bowl

If you have a juicer, you can also juice carrots and add them as a refreshing treat to your dogs' water bowl.

You can then also feed them the pulp later or just add them to their regular food!

I also sometimes freeze them and make carrot juice ice cubes!

I don't recommend giving any human food like carrot juices that you can buy in stores as those contain a huge amount of sugar.

5. Freeze whole carrots and give to your pup as a chew toy or teething aid

For teething puppies, whole frozen carrots can be a great chew toy. They can also help to relieve discomfort. Just be sure to only give your dog one carrot per day. And, make sure the carrot is not too small, as it could pose a choking hazard.

Conclusion

No matter how you choose to offer carrots to your goldendoodle, they are sure to love the taste and reap the health benefits!