Can Huskies Eat Broccoli?

Siberian Husky with blue eyes looking at a broccoli

It’s important to feed your husky a healthy, nutritious diet and avoid giving it foods that can harm it. You may be wondering if your husky can eat broccoli as part of its diet and whether it is good for it. 

Huskies can eat broccoli. However, it should be given in moderation and should not exceed more than 10% of your dog’s diet. You can serve broccoli cooked or raw, but you should cut it up into small pieces to prevent your dog from choking, and you should avoid serving it with salt or oil. 

To learn more about why you might want to include broccoli in your husky’s diet and why you may want to avoid it, continue reading. 

The Benefits of Broccoli for Huskies

Broccoli has many nutrients that are important for both humans and animals. Let’s go through some of the various vitamins and nutrients your husky can get from eating a diet that includes broccoli. 

Vitamin A

Vitamin A can help improve eyesight. Many eye supplements meant for dogs contain vitamin A. However, by feeding your husky broccoli, it will be able to get this important vitamin naturally. Vitamin A also helps dogs grow and boosts the immune system. 

B Vitamins

Broccoli has important B vitamins, like vitamins B6 and B12. Vitamin B6 helps boost the immune system, improves red blood cell and nervous system function, and regulates hormones. Vitamin B12 helps enzyme function. 

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is an important nutrients for huskies to get in their diets, as it can help fight inflammation and even fight aging. Although dogs can usually synthesize vitamin C in their own livers by themselves, supplementation can help if they are not synthesizing enough. 

White husky looking up at the raw broccoli piece

via Instagram: @rangerdangerpants

Vitamin D

Vitamin D helps improve bone health. Getting enough vitamin D is important because it helps your husky balance calcium and other minerals for bone health. Although your dog can get vitamin D from the sun, broccoli is another great source. As such, if your dog is missing time in the sun, such as during the winter, including broccoli in its diet can help it get its recommended vitamin D allowance. 

Iron

Broccoli contains iron, which is an important nutrient. Without iron, your husky can develop a disorder called anemia. If your husky has anemia, it may feel tired all the time and not have enough energy. 

Riboflavin

Dogs can also get Riboflavin from broccoli. A lack of sufficient Riboflavin can lead to weight loss and eventually death. If your husky is still growing, it is important that it gets enough Riboflavin so that it can grow properly. 

Zinc

Zinc is a powerful mineral that is super important for huskies, which is why many husky owners will go and buy zinc supplements for their dogs. However, it is best if your dog can get zinc from its daily diet, and broccoli can be an important source of zinc. 

Zinc helps boost the immune system, and it also plays a role in the production of hormones and enzymes. In addition, it helps thyroid function. If your dog is not getting enough zinc, it may not be able to fight off infections and viruses easily, as its immune system will be weakened. 

Fiber

Broccoli is super high in fiber. Fiber is one of the most important things to include in your husky’s diet, because without enough fiber, they may experience constipation and difficulty digesting their foods. Although protein is important, your husky needs fiber to digest that protein. 

Are There Any Downsides to Broccoli for Huskies? 

On the other hand, there are a number of negative ways broccoli can affect your husky, which is why you need to serve broccoli in moderation and mix it up with other vegetables.

One side effect is potential gastric irritation, which can occur in all dogs and not just huskies. This is due to the presence of isothiocyanates in broccoli florets, according to Dr. Jerry Klein of the American Kennel Club.

Every dog responds differently, so your dog may not experience any significant symptoms. On the other hand, it may experience only mild irritation or even severe gastric problems. As such, it is better to start off small and see how your dog reacts.

 Start by serving small portions of broccoli, and if your husky is not experiencing any negative side effects, you can increase the portion size. 

Dr. Klein recommends that you keep your dog’s broccoli intake to less than 10% of its total diet. This is safe for most dogs. Although some dogs will be able to have more than that, it can be toxic if a dog’s broccoli intake makes up more than 25% of its diet. 

Another negative side effect of broccoli is that it can cause your dog to choke. Huskies are larger dogs, so this is less than a problem for them than it is for smaller dogs, but you should still keep an eye out on your husky when it’s eating broccoli to make sure that it is okay.

Black and white husky holding a big piece of raw broccoli in the mouth

via Instagram: @bluewick_roxywick

How to Prepare Broccoli for Your Husky

There are a number of ways you can serve your dog broccoli. Let’s go through a three different preparation methods. 

1. Serve It Raw

Many dogs enjoy raw broccoli. The only downside of feeding raw broccoli to your dog is that it is harder to chew. This can lead to a choking hazard. As such, it is important to cut the broccoli into bite-sized pieces so your dog can handle it. You can also grind them up in a mixer. 

2. Serve It Cooked

To make the broccoli easier to chew and digest, consider cooking or steaming it. This will soften it and reduce the risk of choking. However, it is important not to add any salt or oil when cooking the broccoli, as this can lead to various health risks, such as dehydration. Instead, cook it and serve it plain. 

Tip: Crush cooked broccoli into very small pieces or to use a blender to mash it up and throw some other vegetables into the mix to add flavor and make it more enjoyable for your dog. 

3. Serve It Frozen

Many dogs enjoy frozen broccoli. Even huskies that don’t like raw or cooked broccoli may enjoy frozen broccoli. This is because freezing the broccoli changes its texture, and texture is important to dogs when it comes to the foods they like.  

When in Doubt, Ask Your Vet

If you don’t know whether your husky will be able to handle a certain type of food, ask your vet before including that foot in its diet. If you feed your husky broccoli or any other kind of food and you are afraid it caused a negative reaction, see a vet as soon as possible. 

Conclusion 

Not all huskies will enjoy broccoli, but if your husky does, there’s no problem with giving it some from time to time. However, make sure not to overdo it, and make sure to serve it chopped up or crushed, without added salt or seasonings. 

About the author

Danny Bainbridge

A genuine husky lover who enjoys spending time with his huskies. Huskypuppiesinfo.com was created purely out of passion for these dogs.

1comment

Leave a comment: