Puppies And Carrots

[Nushie]

I have read in some past posts that some people give their pups carrots to chew on. Just wondering how big the carrots are etc.

I have a 12wk old pug pup. He is 2.7kg at the moment and everyone keeps telling me to give him rawhide to chew on as he has mastered his kong. Im not a fan of giving rawhide so after reading about carrots i thought i might give them at go.

So for a 2.7kg pup would you cut a large carrot down the middle so the fat end wasnt so fat? Obviously wash it, but do you peel it? How many can i feed safely? I mean, can i give him half (length wise) a carrot a day? Half a carrot a week?

Thanks guys. Any other suggestions on how to keep the little terror occupied during the day would be great. At the moment he gets a frozen stuffed kong which is done in about half an hour (if he doesnt get bored first) and an everlasting treat ball, which he plays with occassionaly but doesnt seem to fussed with. He has other toys to chew on that i rotate around but being food orientated, i think something that he can chew on and be rewarded for chewing on would help keep him occupied during the day.

He still cries when i leave for work and although i know it isnt for long (i was home sick last week and he cried for about half an hour after i "went to work") i would rather he didnt cry at all.

[Nekhbet]

how about a nice bone like a lamb shank? decrease his morning meal to compensate

[Monah]

I know many people do give their dogs carrots, and the dogs enjoy them, but just a warning, my daughter has had to surgically remove carrots from dogs on a regular basis, large bits do a LOT of damage, block the bowel and can kill. I would not risk it, esp with a little pug.

also, I would never leave something like that for a pup unsupervised, and even 'chews' often get stuck in the roof of mouths or in throats. I've had to pull bits out of even my big dogs mouths. My blue heeler regularly got hide stuck in the roof of her mouth as she was always far too FAST to chew (or not chew) them!

Edited June 16, 2010 by Monah

[Guest]

Nekhbet, our pup loves carrots I peel and slice down the middle, I would watch a a young pup eating a carrot though in case it got stuckin his throat, may be grated would be alright, I hear that is good for worms as well. I used to give our Shepherd rawhide chews untill I noticed that it made her poo's slimey, our shepherd loved carrots too but only when she could share them with our horse, they shared a 20 kilo bag with other horses as well.

lablove

[W Sibs]

Emmy is about 3 kg... i give her half a carrot to chomp on (she loves it more after I put it in the freezer). I usually give it to her every second day, because I also give her a bone every other day.

[Cockerlover]

I have always supervised carrot eating, but it is great for cleaning teeth also !!they love to chew on them .

[Bjelkier]

Mine all have carrot to chew occasionally. One of the dogs just likes to chew it and spit the pieces out, I end up with munched carrot all over the floor and orange stains are not good for a white show dog

I always supervise them however as they can choke.

Personally I like to give bones more then carrots.

[persephone]

Ours have carrots occasionally- but bones are preferable

[W Sibs]

Mine all have carrot to chew occasionally. One of the dogs just likes to chew it and spit the pieces out, I end up with munched carrot all over the floor and orange stains are not good for a white show dog

I always supervise them however as they can choke.

Personally I like to give bones more then carrots.

Emmy loves chomping on them but she doesn't really eat them... so carrots is strictly an outside food now.

[Niques]

Mine all have carrot to chew occasionally. One of the dogs just likes to chew it and spit the pieces out, I end up with munched carrot all over the floor and orange stains are not good for a white show dog

I always supervise them however as they can choke.

Personally I like to give bones more then carrots.

Emmy loves chomping on them but she doesn't really eat them... so carrots is strictly an outside food now.

Mmm, carrots are very much a sometimes food here as James also enjoys the "chomp on the carrot and spit out little pieces around the living room" game.

He doesn't really like them all that much past the intial couple of minutes of chewing so bones are the preferred option. When he does get one, I've always just snapped it in half so it's too ungainly to swallow easily and it's fun for him to push around the floor.

[Bundyburger]

Bundy gets bones on a regular basis but we always have heaps of carrots for me and also my pony. He'll often get half a carrot when i pop him away before I go to work.. He loves them so much he doesn't notice when I leave. He takes tiny bites and crunches them up so there's carrot all over the floor before swallowing.. then when he's finished he hoovers up the crumbs.

Edited June 16, 2010 by Bundy's Mum

[aussielover]

Is it actually ok to give young pups a bone?

my puppy is 10 weeks old (but weighs 9 kg already) I was thinking of giving her a lamb shank (supervised of course) but not sure whether she was too young?

I heard they can get tummy upsets etc

[labsrule]

Is it actually ok to give young pups a bone?

my puppy is 10 weeks old (but weighs 9 kg already) I was thinking of giving her a lamb shank (supervised of course) but not sure whether she was too young?

I heard they can get tummy upsets etc

Yes and I would start with some of the softer, fully digestible bones like beef brisket bones, chicken wings & frames. Get the butcher to cut up the beef brisket bone into smaller sizes for pup and then as she grows get them cut into bigger sizes and introduce other bones, like lamb necks, roo tails etc.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

I give my dog carrots. I usually chop them down to the length of my finger, and sometimes I cut them lengthwise too.

Mostly just to reduce the quantity.

I sometimes give my dog a "beef chip" which is an unflavoured slither of raw hide because if she chews that up and swallows it, it doesn't seem to do any harm. Unlike the raw hide bones which she eats far too quickly now and they come back to haunt us at the other end.

I have much more trouble with her eating bones and choking or vomiting or getting generally clagged up on the bits, as they're much harder to pass than a piece of carrot.

I guess anything hard, bulky, or lumpy a dog eats can be trouble on the way through. If the spikey bits like carrot splinters are soft I think that works better than bones with hard and sharp edges.

So far so good, never had to take the dog to the vet to get carrot out. Have been several times for bones she should not have eaten.

[Tilly]

When my boy was a little pup he had the runs for a while (I had tried to switch him to a dry food) he ended up getting chicken and pumpkin for a while. At night while I was trying to cook his dinner he would usually be "absolutely starving" ... so I often gave him a carrot to chew on while I was waiting for chicken/pumpkin to cool down enough for him to eat. My mother used to think he was strange the way he loved his carrots.

He usually eats anything I give him as long as isn't a dry food or processed doggy treat - he definately prefers vegetables (raw or cooked), mince and raw bones.

[Guest belgian.blue]

My two go crazy for a raw carrot and they share one a few times a week.

Handy to keep them busy when they are being annoying. Whats a bit of chewed carrot all over the loungeroom floor :D