Can dogs eat beetroot?

The detail

Beetroot is mostly water and natural sugar, at around 44 calories, 6.8g of sugar and 2.8g of fibre per 100g. None of that troubles a healthy dog eating a spoonful, and the fibre is genuinely useful in small, regular amounts rather than an occasional novelty.

A 44-calorie, 7-gram-sugar vegetable is not going to make or break a dog's weight on its own, but it is worth counting against the day's treat allowance in a dog that is already managing its weight, the same as any other fruit or veg treat rather than treating it as a free extra.

The pigment that gives beetroot its colour, betanin, passes through a dog's system largely unchanged and can turn urine or stools pink or red for a day or two afterwards. It looks alarming the first time it happens and is harmless on its own, though colour that lasts beyond 48 hours, or comes with straining, is worth a vet check rather than an assumption.

The genuine caution is oxalate. VCA Animal Hospitals lists beets alongside nuts, rhubarb, green beans and spinach as high-oxalate foods that dogs with a history of calcium oxalate bladder stones should not be fed, because oxalate binds with calcium in the urine and helps those stones form. A dog with no history of stones does not need to avoid beetroot for this reason, but one that has had them should.

Raw feeders sometimes add beetroot to a dog's bowl for its antioxidant and nitrate content, borrowing from beetroot's reputation as a human sports supplement. There is no dog-specific veterinary evidence that beetroot improves canine stamina or performance, so any such claim on a product label is worth treating as marketing rather than as medicine.

Fresh or plain cooked beetroot, with no salt, vinegar or seasoning, is the only version worth giving. Skip pickled beetroot from a jar and any beetroot salad dressed with vinegar, oil or mustard, since the vegetable itself is the safe part and the jar generally is not.

Raw or cooked beetroot

Both are fine in small amounts. Raw beetroot is firmer and takes longer to chew, which some dogs manage well and others turn their nose up at, while cooked beetroot is softer and easier to digest, particularly for older dogs or smaller mouths.

Cook it plain, by boiling or roasting with nothing added, and let it cool before cutting it into small pieces. Grating raw beetroot into a meal is another way to add a small amount without handing over a whole chunk to chew.

Pickled beetroot

The vinegar-packed slices sold alongside chip shop food or in jars are a different food from the vegetable itself. The brine typically carries salt, sugar and vinegar, none of which a dog's kidneys or stomach need, and the sharp acidity can upset digestion on its own.

A dog that steals a single slice from a plate is unlikely to come to harm. A dog that gets into a jar, or eats a whole portion from a chip shop tray, has had a genuine dose of salt and should be watched for excessive thirst or vomiting over the following hours.

Beetroot juice for dogs

Beetroot juice is sold as a health shot for people, and some owners wonder whether the same applies to dogs. A small amount of plain juice is not toxic, but it concentrates the sugar and oxalate of several beetroots into a small glass, so it is a bigger dose of both than a few chopped cubes ever would be.

There is no dog-specific research showing a performance or health benefit from beetroot juice, unlike the human sports nutrition studies it is often marketed alongside. A vegetable in its whole form, in a small amount, remains the simpler and safer way to share beetroot with a dog.

Red urine and stools after beetroot (beeturia)

Beetroot's colour comes from betalain pigments, and in some dogs, as in some people, those pigments pass through largely unmetabolised. The result is urine or stools that look pink, red or purple for a day or two after eating it, which is harmless and needs no treatment.

The colour should clear within 24 to 48 hours. If it lasts longer than that, looks more brown than red, comes with straining, or your dog seems unwell in any other way, treat it as a symptom rather than a beetroot side effect and get it checked, since blood in urine has other causes too.

Beet pulp in dog food

Beet pulp, a fibrous byproduct left over from sugar extraction, appears in many commercial dog foods as a source of fibre, and it is a different ingredient from the beetroot on a dinner plate. Most of its sugar has already been removed, and manufacturers use it to help firm up stools and support gut bacteria.

It has picked up an online reputation as a filler or an allergen, but there is no veterinary evidence that beet pulp in the small percentages used in complete dog food causes harm to a typical dog. If a specific food genuinely disagrees with your dog, the reaction is more likely to trace back to another ingredient in the recipe than to the beet pulp itself, such as a protein source or a grain.

Beetroot for dogs with kidney or bladder stones

This is the one group of dogs that should give beetroot a wide berth. VCA Animal Hospitals names beets as a high-oxalate food that dogs with a history of calcium oxalate bladder stones should not be fed, alongside spinach, rhubarb, nuts and green beans.

If your dog has had bladder stones before, ask your vet before adding beetroot, or any of the other foods on that list, back into their diet. Dogs with no history of stones do not need this precaution and can treat beetroot as an ordinary vegetable, though it is still worth mentioning to your vet at a check-up if your dog eats it regularly.