With Christmas never too far away, many dog owners wonder which bits of their Christmas meals they can feed to their dogs, and there seems to be some confusion in particular about the healthiness of parsnips when it comes to your dog’s digestion. Let’s find out if this classic roasted veg is ok for them.
Parsnip for the course
Yes, dogs can eat parsnips, which great news for both dogs, and those people who don’t like parsnips and want to slide them off their plate surreptitiously to feed to their pet pooch. What’s more, parsnip, raw or cooked, is very healthy and full of vitamins and minerals that will be good for your dog. That being said, there is a catch…
The catch
As with most foods, preparation is what can make or break them in terms of being good for your dog. If you are cooking your parsnips with onions or garlic, or anything that contains any ingredients from the Allium group of vegetables (leeks, spring onions, chives, etc), then they will no longer be suitable for your dog to eat as this will make them poisonous. What’s more, if you are using a lot of salt in your roasted vegetables, or cooking them in lard or goose fat, consider how this will affect your dog’s weight and health.
The last caveat is specifically for dogs with diabetes. Parsnips have the unfortunate habit of causing spikes in a dog’s blood sugar levels so before slipping your diabetic dog a bit of parsnip, check with your vet to make sure that this is ok.
Of course, if you’re looking for a treat tailor-made for dogs, you’ll find plenty of delicious treats at tails.com.