Can Dogs Eat Peas? Is This Vegetable a Safe Snack?
What kinds of vegetables should your dog eat? Are peas a safe snack for your furry friend? Here’s what you need to know about dogs and peas.
As a kid, you probably weren’t too fond of peas. While fresh and frozen peas are rich in nutrients, fiber, and blah blah blah, they likely weren’t your favorite treat. Nonetheless, you would eat them to appease the grown ups at the dinner table.
Now that you’re a dog parent, you may be wondering whether it’s your turn to feed peas to your own (fur) baby.
Can dogs eat peas? Is this vegetable a safe snack? The short answer is, yes! Dogs can, and should, eat peas.
Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of peas for dogs and whether you should give your pup this tasty treat.
What Kind of Peas Are Safe For Your Dog?
Can dogs eat peas? The answer is yes, in the right quantities. When it comes to peas, there are many different types available. It’s important to know what kind of peas are safe to give your pup and what kind to avoid.
Peas For Your Pup
These are packed with a variety of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that are excellent for your pup, not to mention the quality plant protein peas have to offer.
Dogs can eat fresh, frozen, or thawed peas. A general guideline with pea pods is as long as the pods are safe for humans to eat, they’re generally safe for your dog to enjoy, too.
Be sure to monitor your dog while they eat peas in pods to make sure they don’t choke.
Peas To Avoid
As a rule of thumb, you should generally avoid giving your dog canned fruits or vegetables, including canned peas. These are often packed with excess sodium, sugar, and preservatives and are lower in nutrient content.
It’s also important to avoid peas with shells. If you have peas in your garden, be sure to shell these before feeding them to your dog.
What Are the Benefits of Peas for Dogs?
Peas have a variety of benefits for your furry friend, whether they eat them fresh or in their kibble.
First, they’re packed with nutrients and vitamins.
- - For instance, peas are rich sources of Vitamin A which supports eye health, skin health, organ function, and immune system health.
- - In addition, peas are rich in Vitamin K, an essential vitamin for blood clotting.
- - Peas are also packed with a range of B vitamins, like thiamine, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, folic acid, and Vitamin B6, which are excellent for energy, metabolism, nervous system function, hormone health, and more!
- - Minerals such as iron, zinc, potassium, magnesium, and fiber are also found in peas.
How Do I Incorporate Peas Into My Dog’s Diet?
Peas are an excellent source of nutrients for your dog, but how can you incorporate this tasty vegetable into your dog’s diet? Here’s what you need to know.
How To Prepare Peas For Your Pup
If you’re concerned about retaining nutrients and getting the most out of every bite, preparation is key. It’s important to look for minimal processing, low heat, and minimal added ingredients.
If you’re preparing peas at home, be sure to avoid seasonings like garlic or onion, and too many fats like butter and oil.
You can saute, steam, or even microwave peas, just don’t add any seasoning and use a healthy oil like olive oil or coconut oil.
Precautions
Whenever you introduce new food into your dog's diet, it’s important to closely monitor their behavior. If you notice any significant changes in behavior like lethargy, or any adverse reactions like diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting, stomach pain, or excessive itching, see a veterinarian right away.
A small percentage of dogs may have an intolerance to peas and can experience discomfort, so it’s important to closely monitor their behavior with this food.
It’s also important to incorporate peas into your dog’s diet slowly. Dogs are creatures of habit. They have set routines and schedules they enjoy. This extends to their diet. If you make sudden changes to your pup’s food, they may experience sensitivity, discomfort, and gastrointestinal pain.
To avoid this, introduce peas gradually. If you’re giving your dog peas as an addition to their food, start with small amounts and slowly increase. If you’re switching their dog food to one that contains peas, it’s important to gradually introduce the new food into your pup’s diet anyway.
Adding Peas Into Homemade Dog Food
Making homemade dog food is becoming an increasingly popular option for pup parents. When you make homemade dog food, you can choose exactly what goes into your dog’s diet and what doesn’t. Many commercial dog foods contain filler ingredients, artificial ingredients, preservatives, chemicals, and harmful additives.
Homemade dog food is also a great way to add peas! You can choose the correct portions, amount, and type of peas included, and prepare them properly. This is a great way to keep your dog happy and healthy.
While homemade dog food comes with many benefits, it isn’t for everyone. It can be time-consuming to make your dog’s food from home.
That’s why we made Sundays. You should enjoy more time playing with your pup and less time worrying about their diet. Choose our gently air-dried, human-grade, nutritious dog food with healthy ingredients and none of the fake stuff.
Are There Any Risks of Feeding Dogs Peas?
It’s important to avoid giving peas to dogs with kidney problems. Peas contain chemical compounds known as purines which can produce uric acid when filtered through the kidneys. If your dog has pre-existing kidney issues, this can lead to kidney stones and further complications.
Finding a Balanced, Nutrient-Rich Diet
Peas are a rich source of vitamins, nutrients, and minerals for your pup. However, they don’t need the same amount of peas (and other vegetables) in their diet the way we do.
While there are certainly benefits to giving your pup a scoop of peas every now and then, there are other ways to give them the nutrients they need.
Take a look at our ingredient list here to see what we include in Sundays — legumes, sweet potato, wild mushrooms, broccoli, and spinach are just a few of the nourishing ingredients you’ll find on our list.
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