Can Dogs Eat Bell Peppers – Are They Safe? (Dog Health)
Bell peppers, also referred to as capsicum or sweet peppers are colorful veggies that are available in four different varieties.
Despite their diverse colors, they all pack lots of beneficial nutrients that include vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, proteins, fats, and starch.
Bell peppers offer lots of health benefits to human beings, thus promoting overall optimal health.
But can dogs eat bell peppers too and benefit from its nutritional value?
Health Benefits Of Bell Peppers
Bell peppers are packed with enriching nutrients vital in enhancing your dog’s optimal health.
To start with, bell peppers comprise a high percentage of water, enough carbohydrates, small amounts of protein and fat content, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Some of the vitamins your pooch will benefit from eating the bell pepper include vitamins A, B6, C, E, and K.
- Vitamin A supports healthy vision.
- Vitamin B6 supports a healthy nervous system.
- Vitamin C supports healthy immunity.
- Vitamin E enhances your pooch’s skin and coat for healthy, lustrous skin and coat.
Some of the minerals that bell peppers contain include pantothenic acid, magnesium, potassium, folate, and manganese.
What’s more, bell peppers comprise of antioxidants especially carotenoids that work together with lutein compounds to promote healthy vision in your dog.
You can offer bell peppers to your furry friend as a supplement to her diet, especially if you are feeding her with non-processed dog food such as raw meat.
However, if she is taking processed food, serve the bell peepers as a treat since processed dog food already contains essential vitamins and minerals.
Check our article about dog food for sensitive stomachs
Do the varying colors of the capsicum matter?
Bell peppers are available in different colors namely red, green, yellow, and orange.
So, which color variety can you feed your dog with?
Well, dogs can eat all the different color variants of bell pepper since all of them contain the same nutritional content.
However, the red pepper is highly nutritious comprising nine times of beta-carotene, and also has the highest concentration of vitamins C and A compared to the other varieties.
While introducing your Fido to bell peppers, you can opt to add a small portion of each of the capsicum and observe to see which of the four variants she loves most. Then maybe work with her favorite one.
Alternatively, most dog owners prefer the red bell pepper due to its dense nutritional content.
What Proportion Of Bell Peppers Can I Feed My Dog?
Just like any other new dog food, offer your pooch a small slice of bell pepper at a time as you progressively add the portion.
How much pepper to serve your dog depends on its body size and her type of diet.
For a small pooch, you can offer her one or two small slices of pepper per day. Conversely, a large-sized dog can consume up to half a small pepper in a day.
In addition, for dogs that eat bell pepper as a treat make sure to serve less than a slice of it. Remember that treats should not make up more than 10% of your dog’s daily food intake.
Also, do not make bell pepper an everyday food supplement or treat for her.
How Should I Prepare Bell Peppers?
You can serve your dog bell peppers that have been either cooked or raw.
In both methods, ensure that you clean your capsicum well then remove the seeds, stem and inner cores.
This is because your pooch will not only find these capsicum parts hard to chew but also can cause digestive issues.
When serving the raw capsicum, you simply need to cut it into small slices and mix with your dog’s diet.
If you decide to cook capsicum for your fido, ensure not to add any spices as they are likely to cause stomach upsets.
Some of the spices that you should never give your pooch are garlic and onions as well as anything belonging to the onion family.
Also, never give your dog spicy pepper such as chili or jalapenos.
Steaming the bell pepper is arguably the best method of cooking as it preserves its nutritional value.
Alternatively, some dog parents cook the bell peppers in a pan using little or no coconut oil (few drops). Others, however, simply strain it in a food processor.
Whichever method you choose to prepare the bell peppers for your furry friend, make sure not to overcook so as to preserve its nutritional content.
Summary
Dogs can eat bell peppers.
While these richly nutritious veggies are available in different colors, they do not differ in terms of nutritional content except for the red pepper that is highly nutritious than the rest.
Remember to serve bell peppers to your pooch in moderation. Also avoid offering her spicy peppers especially ones contain garlic or onions as they are toxic veggies.
