Okra is one of the oldest cultivated crops, and it originated in Ethiopia. It’s a multipurpose crop valued for its tender and delicious pods. In West Africa, leaves, buds, and flowers of okra are also consumed. The okra plant is used in Ayurvedic medicine. 

Okra is rich in fibre and protein, and low in calories. Vegetables often lack significant amounts of protein, making okra unique in this aspect. It has a grassy flavour with a hint of sweetness, and people in the southern United States commonly use it in hearty dishes.

When it comes to pets, it’s always a better idea to get your facts checked before you take any steps. No matter how big or small. , there are vegetables you should avoid, some you should absolutely add to your dog’s diet, and a few that are better off in moderation. 

Despite being full of nutrients and high in protein, too much okra can be tough on your dog’s digestive system. 

As a pet owner, you always want to provide your furry friend with a balanced and nutritious diet. While feeding your dog vegetables, like okra, may seem like a great way to keep your dog healthy and strong

Okra is chock full of green goodness that humans thrive on. So, if you’re preparing a meal with this vegetable, it might get you wondering, “Can dogs eat okra?”

The short answer is yes. Your pooch can safely consume a little bit of okra if it is prepared properly and fed to them in moderation. You obviously cannot feed every vegetable, fruit, and food item to your dog in large quantities because they are vegetables. 

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at whether dogs can eat okra and what you need to know before sharing this vegetable with your furry friend, if this is what you want to see, then keep reading for more interesting information.

Nutritional Benefits Of Okra For Dogs

Okra is a nutritious vegetable that can provide several benefits to dogs. It is a good source of fibre, vitamins, and minerals. Here are some of the nutritional benefits of okra for dogs:

1. Fiber: Okra is high in fibre, which can help regulate digestion and prevent constipation. Okra seeds are a great source of dietary fibre, vitamins, and minerals that provide health benefits to your pup.  The easiest way to boost your dog’s fibre intake is to add high-fibre food to their meals. Additionally, fibre can help reduce the risk of certain health conditions, such as colon cancer and diabetes.

2. Vitamins: Okra is a good source of vitamin C, which can allow your dog’s body to balance minerals like phosphorous and calcium for healthy bone growth. Vitamin can benefit your pet’s heart, liver, kidneys, eyes, and immune system, helping to promote overall well-being for your pet.

3. Minerals: minerals  are the building blocks that contribute to developing bone, muscle and tissue, as well as maintaining energy levels.  Okra contains several minerals that are important for dogs, including calcium, magnesium, and potassium. 

4. Antioxidants: Antioxidants play a major role in maintaining your pet’s health. Okra is rich in antioxidants, which can help protect cells from damage caused by free radicals.  Adult dogs in their prime need a balance of antioxidants to reduce system-wide inflammation and restore their active muscles

5. Low in calories: The okra pods are among the very low-calorie vegetables. They provide just 30 calories per 100 g, which can make it a good option for dogs that need to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.

Okra can benefit dogs greatly because of its vitamins and minerals like folic acid also note that too much of everything is bad and too much okra can cause digestive upset, such as diarrhoea and vomiting. Additionally, okra should be cooked before feeding it to dogs, as raw okra can be difficult to digest and may cause stomach upset.

Read  More: Can Dogs Eat Nopales? What You Should Know

Risk Of Feeding Your Dogs Okra

While okra can provide several nutritional benefits to dogs, there are also some risks associated with feeding it to them. Here are some of the risks of feeding your dog’s okra:

1. Digestive upset: Okra is high in fibre, which can be difficult for some dogs to digest. If dogs eat too much okra, they may experience digestive upset, such as diarrhoea, vomiting, and gas. Additionally, the seeds of okra can be difficult to digest and may cause an intestinal blockage in some dogs.

2. Oxalates: Okra is high in oxalates. The most common type of kidney stone consists of calcium oxalate. High oxalate foods, such as okra and spinach, may increase the risk of kidney stones in people who have had them previously. While the amount of oxalates in okra is relatively low, feeding too much okra to dogs can increase their risk of developing kidney stones.

3. Allergic reactions: While it is rare for dogs to be allergic to okra, some dogs may be sensitive to it, which can cause a range of symptoms, including itching, swelling, and difficulty breathing.Observe your dog’s behaviour after eating a lot of okra to check for signs of suffering. 

4. Pesticides: Okra can have pesticides on it that can severely harm or even kill your dog. In fact, pesticides and food stabilizers aren’t good for humans either. But our filter organs are more robust than those of dogs.  

5. Choking hazard: The seeds of okra can be a choking hazard for some dogs, particularly small dogs. The fibrous texture of okra and the stems may also pose a choking hazard for dogs with dental problems or are prone to swallowing food without chewing. If you feed your dog okra, it’s important to cut them into small pieces to reduce the risk of choking.

Overall, while okra can provide several nutritional benefits to dogs, it should be given in moderation and cooked properly. It’s also important to be aware of the risks associated with feeding okra to dogs and to watch for any signs of digestive upset or allergic reactions. If you have any concerns about feeding your dog okra, it’s always best to consult with a veterinarian.

How To Safely Feed Your Dogs Okra

If you want to feed your dog okra, you should do so in moderation and take steps to ensure that it is prepared safely. Here are some tips for safely feeding your dog okra:

1. Cook it thoroughly: Raw okra can be difficult for dogs to digest and may cause digestive upset so its better cooked or steamed to make it easier for them to digest, cooked or steaming softens the texture, making it easier for them to chew. Avoid feeding your dog fried okra, as the high-fat content can be harmful to their health.

2. Remove the seeds: The seeds of okra can be a choking hazard for some dogs and it contains a high amount of fibre, which can lead to digestive upset or even blockages in your dog’s digestive tract. Therefore, it’s best to remove the seeds from the okra before feeding it to your dog You can do this by cutting the okra into small pieces and removing the seeds with a knife or spoon.

3. Introduce it slowly: If your dog has never eaten okra before, it is important to introduce it gradually to their diet to avoid any digestive upset such as diarrhoea or vomiting. If your dog tolerates the okra well, you can gradually increase the amount you feed them.

4. Feed it in moderation: Generally, okra should make up no more than 10% of your dog’s daily diet. it should be given in moderation as a treat or supplement to their regular diet. Too much okra can cause digestive upset and other health issues. 

5. Choose organic: Okra is often treated with pesticides to protect it from insects and other pests. If possible, choose organic okra to reduce your dog’s exposure to these chemicals. Organic okra is grown without the use of synthetic pesticides or fertilizers.

6. Consult with your veterinarian:Feeding your dog a balanced and nutritious diet is essential for their health and well-being. If you have any concerns about feeding your dog okra, it’s always best to consult with a veterinarian. 

They can provide you with advice and guidance on the best way to incorporate okra into your dog’s diet based on their individual health needs and dietary requirements.

When feeding okra to your dog, it is important to avoid adding any harmful ingredients or seasoning. For example, onions and garlic are toxic to dogs and should be avoided. Stick with plain okra or add a small amount of plain chicken or turkey for extra flavor.

Risks of Feeding Your Pup Okara

Okra doesn’t have many risks for dogs as long as it’s made without harmful ingredients. First, some dogs may have an allergic reaction to okra, especially if they have a history of food allergies .

Allergic reactions to okra are rare, but they can be severe.  Symptoms of an allergic reaction to okra include swelling of the face, difficulty breathing, and vomiting. If your doggie experiences any of these symptoms, it’s essential to seek immediate medical attention.

It is best to avoid giving Okra to your dog if they have hypothyroidism since it can interfere with an enzyme required for the thyroid to create hormones. 

Another potential risk of feeding okra to dogs is the risk of choking. Okra has a slimy texture that can make it difficult for some dogs to swallow. If you decide to feed okra to your dog, make sure to cut it into small, bite-sized pieces to reduce the risk of choking.

Healthy Dogs Food Made With Vegetables – Recipes

1. Homemade Dog Food With Meat and Vegetable

Ingredients

• 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into big chunks
• 4 pounds of boneless beef chuck roast, cut into large chunks
• 2 pounds of ground bison
• 3 (15 ounces) cans of carrots, drained
• 3 (15 ounces) cans peas, drained
• 2 (15 ounces) cans green beans, drained
• 2 (13.5 ounces) cans of spinach, drained
• 6 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 (29 ounces) can of pumpkin puree
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Place sweet potatoes in a large Dutch oven filled 3/4-full with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Add chuck roast and bison to the pot and cook until meat is no longer pink, 10 to 12 minutes.
2. Add carrots, peas, green beans, and spinach to the pot and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. Add oats and stir until the mixture has thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in pumpkin and olive oil; remove from heat and let cool a bit, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer roast to a plate and dice meat; return to the mixture.
3. Use a potato masher to mash up the mixture to a mushy consistency. Let mixture cool sufficiently, about 30 minutes. Place into resealable containers and freeze.

2. Skillet Sausage And Vegetables

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 45 mins

Servings: 5 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound red potatoes, halved, or quartered if larger than 2 inches
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound fully cooked chicken apple sausage, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 red onion, sliced vertically
• 1 1/2 cups sliced bell peppers, mixed colors
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with salted water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain.
2. Heat olive oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat; cook and stir potatoes until just beginning to brown, about 15 minutes.
3. Add sausage and red pepper flakes to skillet, and cook for 1 minute. Stir in onion, bell peppers, and broccoli; cook until broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.
4. Stir in garlic and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, and cook until liquid is evaporated. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Homemade Vegetable Dog Food Recipe 

Author: Elizabeth Van Lierde

•   Prep Time: 10 minutes
•   Cook Time: 20 minutes
•   Total Time: 30 minutes
•   Yield: 8-10 meals for a 75 lb dog 1x
•   Category: Paw-sta
•   Method: Stovetop
•   Cuisine: Dog Food

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp olive oil

3 lbs ground turkey

3 medium sweet potatoes

3 carrots, pee

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook turkey: In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add ground turkey, begin to break it down, and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until mostly cooked through.
2. Chop veggies: With a food processor, finely chop sweet potatoes, carrots, zucchini and broccoli.
3. Add vegetables and stock: Add in the chopped vegetables and chicken stock (or water). Cook on a strong simmer for 7-8 minutes, or until veggies are tender and cooked through.
4. Stir in pasta: Mix in your cooked pasta noodles to the turkey vegetable mixture.
5. Feed your pups: Portion out meals accordingly. For every 10 lbs, you need roughly 1/2 cup of food per meal. Example: If you have a 20 lb dog, they will eat 1-1.5 cups of the batch per meal (2-3 cups total per day). Rascal weighs 70 pounds and eats about 3-3.5 cups per meal (7 cups total per day).

4. Ground Beef And Vegetable Homemade Dog Food

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 6 cups water, or more as needed
• 4 cups uncooked brown rice
• 1 pound assorted beef bones (shin, shank, short ribs, or marrow bones)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 (15 ounce) can sliced carrots, drained
• 1 (13.5 ounce) can spinach, drained
• 6 eggs
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

Directions

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir ground beef in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and discard grease.
2. Place 6 cups water and brown rice into a stockpot. Add browned beef, bones, and rosemary; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low or low and let simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, until rice is mushy, about 45 minutes. Add water if necessary to keep mixture a little thicker than a porridge-like consistency.
3. Meanwhile, place carrots, spinach, and eggs with their shells into an electric blender. Blend until completely pureed and no eggshells are intact.
4. Mix pumpkin and blended egg mixture in a bowl until combined. Remove meat mixture from heat and pour egg mixture into the pot to cook the eggs in hot contents, about 5 minutes. Let cool thoroughly before feeding to your dog, about 30 minutes.

5. Grilled Okra

YIELDS: 3 – 4 serving(s)

PREP TIME: 5 mins

TOTAL TIME: 15 mins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb. fresh okra pods
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning
• 1 tsp. seasoned salt
• Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

1. Trim the stem ends from the okra pods.
2. In a large bowl, combine the okra, oil, lemon pepper, and seasoned salt.
3. For the grill: Preheat a grill (charcoal or gas) to high heat (450°F to 500°F). Place the okra directly on the grill grates. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until grill marks form. Using a pair of tongs, flip the okra to cook the other side, 3 to 5 minutes more, until the okra is charred all over and tender. 
4. Alternatively cook in a grill pan: Heat a large grill pan over medium-high heat. Add the okra in a single layer. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until grill marks form. Using a pair of tongs, flip the okra to cook the other side, 3 to 5 minutes more, until the okra is charred all over and tender.  
5. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.

Tip: Use fresh okra for this recipe! Frozen, thawed okra will be too soggy to crisp up on the grill. 

6. vegetable Biscuits

• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• ¼ cup peanut butter
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup old fashioned oats
• 3 cups whole wheat flour, or more, as needed
• 1 carrot, peeled and shredded
• 1 zucchini, shredded
• 1 cup baby spinach, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat pumpkin puree, peanut butter, and eggs on medium-high until well combined, about 1-2 minutes.
3. Gradually add old fashioned oats and 2 ½ cups flour at low speed, beating just until incorporated. Add an additional ¼ cup flour at a time just until the dough is no longer sticky. Add carrot, zucchini, and spinach, beating just until incorporated.
4. Working on a lightly floured surface, knead the dough 3-4 times until it comes together. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to ¼-inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut out desired shapes, and place onto the prepared baking sheet.
5. Place into oven and bake until the edges are golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.*
6. Let cool completely.

7. Homemade Vegetable Dog Treats

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups brown rice flour
• ¾ cup oat flour
• 1 cup fresh, baby spinach (finely chopped)
• 1 cup raw carrot (unpeeled and coarse grated)
• ¼ cup fresh parsley (chopped)
• ½ cup applesauce (unsweetened)
• ¼ cup plain yogurt (low fat or fat-free)
• 1 tsp baking powder (gluten-free variety)
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder

Optional Yogurt Glaze:

• ½ tsp plain yogurt
• 2 tsp water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Line the baking tray with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
2. Put brown rice flour and oat flour (sieved) into a medium-sized bowl. Add baking powder and stir to combine.
3. Finely chop spinach and parsley and coarsely grate carrots (washed but unpeeled).
4. Put spinach, parsley, carrots, and applesauce into a large bowl and stir with a wooden spoon to mix well. Add yoghurt and stir into the fruit/vegetable mixture. Sprinkle turmeric over the mixture and stir in. 
5. Add flour mix to the vegetable mixture one cup at a time. Stir well between each addition. Once all flour is mixed in, use your hands to form the dough. Knead well, adding more flour if the dough is too sticky.
6. Turn dough out onto floured wax paper and top with a second sheet. Roll dough out to 1/4″ thickness and use cookie cutters to cut treats into the desired shape.
7. Mix yoghurt and water to form a glaze and brush it over the treats before baking. (optional)
8. Bake at 325F for 35 minutes
9. Remove treats from oven and allow to cool completely. Store treats in the refrigerator for 7 – 10 days.

8. Dehydrated Sweet Potato Dog Treats Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 1/2 pound green beans
• 2 red bell peppers

Directions

1. Fill a stockpot about three-quarters full of water and set to boil. If the water boils before you’re done prepping, just turn it down to medium-low until you need it. It will perk back up quickly.
2. Rinse all your veggies well.
3. Snap or snip the ends off your green beans and set aside.
4. Peel sweet potatoes and slice into 1/4″ pieces, rounds, or strips. If you have a mandoline slicer, this step goes quickly.
5. Put green beans and sweet potatoes in boiling water to blanch for 4 minutes.
6. Add ice and cold water to a large bowl to drain blanched veggies when they’re ready.
7. Prepare sweet bell peppers by removing seeds and white pith. Slice into 1/4″ strips.
8. Remove beans and potatoes when done by dipping a long-handled strainer into the boiling water, draining a second, and then pouring veggies into ice-bath.
9. When all veggies are removed from the boiling water, add the bell pepper strips and blanch for 1 minute. Remove them from the stockpot and add to the ice bath.
10. When all veggies are cooled, proceed to the drying stage.
11. On a large cookie sheet or sheet pan, place a clean dry tea towel or two layers of paper towel.
12. Place cooled veggies onto the dry towel, adding another towel on top and another layer of veggies on top of that until are the veggies are nestled in. Pat or squeeze gently.
13. Layer dried veggies onto dehydrator trays, taking care to make sure nothing is touching.
14. Dehydrate between 110-140 degrees for at least 8 hours.
15. If you want your sweet potatoes chewier, you can pull them out and continue drying your other veggies to the crisp stage.
16. When fully dehydrated, allow veggies to cool to room temperature. Then, pack loosely in an airtight container or bag.

9. Pumpkin And parsley Treats

Ingredients:

• 2 cups garbanzo bean flour
• 1 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 3 tbsp coconut milk
• 1 tbsp chia seeds

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 325F
• Line baking tray with silicone baking mat
• Put flours and chia seeds into large bowl and stir to blend
• In smaller bowl mix together pumpkin puree, coconut oil and coconut milk
• Make well in center of flour mixture and add wet ingredients
• Mix together with a wooden spoon
• Use your hands to form dough
• Knead well for several minutes until dough is workable
• Turn dough out onto floured wax paper
• Use lightly floured rolling pin to roll dough out to approx. 1/4″ thickness
• Cut treats to desired shape using cookie cutters or sharp knife
• Bake at 325F for 25 minutes
• Remove from oven and allow to cool completely 
• Store treats in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week

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Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion 

In conclusion, dogs can eat okra. Okra is a safe and non-toxic vegetable for dogs to consume in moderation.

Your dog will reap many nutritional benefits from having okra in its diet. When introducing okra to your dog’s diet, do it in moderation to monitor their reactions to it.

We hope you enjoyed this article.