Can You Give Vegetables to Puppies?

Puppies have different nutritional needs than adult dogs. Although adult dogs can have a piece of broccoli or meat once a month without doing severe harm, puppies should only receive puppy dog food in dry kibble format and shouldn't be fed vegetables. Also to be avoided are canned dog food, which is higher in fat, and semi-moist puppy food that's high in either salt or sugar.

  1. Welcoming Your New Puppy Home

    • Puppies need to transition to a new environment. On the first night, maintain the same feeding times and dry kibble food he received before coming home to you. Gradually mix in your dry kibble food with his old one over a week. Adjust kibble proportions until you are giving him only your food by the end of your puppy's first week. Do not include vegetables in this diet.

    Puppies Do Not Receive Necessary Nutrients From Vegetables

    • For puppies, vegetables and other table scraps are off the menu. They are not poisonous and the puppy can eat them but they are not good nutritional choices. Some table scraps are higher in calories and can contribute to puppy obesity. Vegetables and other human foods are not fortified with the vitamins and minerals growing puppies need.

    Puppies Cannot Properly Digest Vegetables

    • Although dogs are omnivores, a puppy's digestive tract is still growing. It cannot process the same food an adult dog could. Table scraps that include can cause digestive problems, leading to diarrhea. They fill the puppy without giving it the nutrients its growing body needs.

    Feeding Puppies Vegetables Can Encourage Begging

    • Placing a small piece of broccoli or celery in your puppy's dish will give him a taste for human food. Puppies will whine, pout and bark to get the human food they want. A puppy's diet influences the adult dog's health.