Can dogs eat zucchini?

GALLIPOLI, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 13: Gallipoli town Organic food market on September 13, 2019 in Puglia, Italy. Puglia is the southern region of Italy that forms the heel of Italy's “boot,” and is known for its whitewashed hill towns, centuries-old farmland and hundreds of kilometers of Mediterranean coastline. (Photo by Saverio Marfia/Getty Images)
GALLIPOLI, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 13: Gallipoli town Organic food market on September 13, 2019 in Puglia, Italy. Puglia is the southern region of Italy that forms the heel of Italy's “boot,” and is known for its whitewashed hill towns, centuries-old farmland and hundreds of kilometers of Mediterranean coastline. (Photo by Saverio Marfia/Getty Images)

Summer is here and for a lot of us that can mean fresh fruits and vegetables are making their way into our kitchen. Zucchini is one of those veggies. And when these fresh fruits and vegetables come into our homes, they sometimes end up in our dog’s food dish.

With that being said, it is important to know whether or not it is safe for our dogs to actually indulge in this fresh produce. Is it actually safe for dogs to eat some of these vegetables and fruits? This is a question we have been asking for a while.

And considering zucchini is definitely one of the vegetables of summer, it makes sense that we would want to know whether or not our dogs can actually eat it. So what did we learn about zucchinis and whether or not our dogs can eat them?

Is zucchini safe for dogs to eat?

According to the American Kennel Club (AKC), our dogs are in luck! They can not only eat raw zucchini, but they can also eat cooked and steamed zucchini as well. However, there is one thing that we must point out about them eating cooked zucchini. When we make this vegetable for ourselves, we often add in seasoning, including salt and pepper, and that is something that we need to avoid when giving this cooked vegetable to our dogs.

"Oils, salts, seasonings, and vegetables, such as garlic and onions, are harmful to dogs, so you should not feed your dog zucchini that has been prepared with any of these ingredients."

We already know that garlic and onions are harmful to our dog, but we should also be paying attention to anything else that we are adding to our meats and vegetables to add flavor. These are all things that can be toxic or harmful to our dogs.

However, knowing that our dogs can eat this vegetable is great news. It means that as long as we are giving them unseasoned zucchini, it really is something that they can have in their food bowl this summer.