Vegetables provide dogs with vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Dogs can eat almost all types. Vegetables suitable for dogs include lettuce, carrots, celery, spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, parsley, zucchini, cucumber, beetroot... Less suitable vegetables that dogs can have only occasionally include garlic. Caution is also needed with legumes (peas, soybeans, beans) as they can cause bloating in dogs.

Before giving your dog vegetables, you should prepare them properly. Why it is important to prepare vegetables and what methods are suitable can be found in our article. In this article, we will focus on frozen vegetables.

Freezing

Freezing preserves all necessary nutrients in vegetables. Therefore, frozen vegetables are certainly suitable for dogs. Vitamin C does not become inactive as it does with heat treatment. Freezing also kills bacteria and parasites that can attach to vegetables (especially if you grow vegetables in your garden, and cats use it as a litter box). Vegetables should be frozen similarly to meat, for at least 48 hours.

What to watch out for

If you find that you have no vegetables at home and the store only has wilted lettuce, you can safely buy frozen vegetables. However, always check the ingredients. The package should only contain suitable vegetables for dogs, and it should not contain any preservatives, flavor enhancers, or salt. If there is something on the label that you don’t understand, it is better to choose a package where everything is clearly written so you can be sure it won’t harm your dog.

Good advice

Ideally, grate or blend more vegetables at once. You can then portion the prepared vegetables into bags or ice cube trays and store them in the freezer. This will save you time and make feeding your dog easier. You won't need to measure out the exact amount every day or mess up the kitchen—just take it out of the freezer, let it thaw, and serve it to your dog. However, never give your dog frozen vegetables directly. It can cause digestive problems. The best temperature for vegetables before feeding is around 38°C, or at least room temperature. If your dog refuses vegetables, you can start by mixing them into ground meat until they get used to the taste.

We hope this article helped, and you won’t panic if you find yourself without a fresh carrot at home. Simply head to the store and buy some frozen vegetables that your dog enjoys.