Can Dogs Eat Asparagus? Cooked, Raw and the Smell

People ask us can dogs eat asparagus every spring, and the answer is yes: a little plain asparagus, cooked and cut small, is fine for most dogs. What goes wrong is rarely the spear. It is the butter, the oil, the garlic and the hollandaise that landed on it before it reached the plate.

This page covers raw against cooked, the smell that people ask about afterward, the garden bed, and how much to hand over by dog size. We also make a freeze-dried beef heart treat in Malvern, Pennsylvania, so there is a short section on what to give when the asparagus is gone. We do not make an asparagus treat.

Can dogs eat asparagus raw or cooked

Asparagus is the green spear that shows up in spring, with a closed tip at one end and a tougher base at the other. Cooked is the easy answer. Raw is where people hesitate, and for good reason. The American Kennel Club writes: "We humans don't usually eat raw asparagus because it would be very difficult to chew."

So we cook it. Steam it or boil it with nothing in the water, drain it, and let it cool all the way. Then cut the spear into small coin-size pieces before it goes in a bowl. If you would rather serve it raw, slice it thin and small, because a whole raw spear is long, stringy and firm. Roasting works too, as long as the pan was dry.

The woody ends

Every spear has a tough base, and a cook snaps it off where the stalk bends on its own. The same trick works for the dog's share. We leave the woody ends out, since they are the hardest part of the spear to chew even after cooking. The ends go in the compost.

Butter, oil, hollandaise and the grill

Most asparagus on a table has something on it. It might be hollandaise, which is melted butter and egg yolk. It might be a char from the grill with oil and garlic salt brushed on first, or a pan of spears roasted in oil with a little cheese on top. None of that is plain, so none of it goes to the dog. On butter and oil, the American Kennel Club writes: "When cooking asparagus for your dog, do not use any butter or cooking oil, as these can make a dog sick."

Garlic is its own reason to skip the plate. The ASPCA writes: "Onion, garlic and chives are members of the Allium species of vegetables." That is why garlic asparagus stays on your plate, and why we pull the dog's few pieces out before the seasoning goes on. Rinsing a seasoned spear under the tap does not get the garlic back out.

The smell afterward

This is a real question, so here it is plainly. The American Kennel Club also writes: "Feeding your dog asparagus can result in urine that smells unpleasant (this happens in humans, as well)." That is all the source says on the subject, and we will not stretch it. If the yard smells odd the morning after a spring dinner, you now know where to point.

The garden bed

If you grow asparagus, the spears are only the first part of the season. Left to grow, the plant turns into a tall, feathery fern, and the fern is the part to keep your dog away from. The American Kennel Club writes: "If you're growing asparagus in your garden, put up a fence to ensure your dog can't access the plant." A low fence around the bed does it.

How much asparagus

Asparagus is a small treat, not a side dish. A piece or two for a small dog and a few pieces for a big one, cut coin-size, is the whole serving. Those are a few times a week pieces from the cutting board, not daily ones, during the weeks it is in the market.

The first time

Start with one piece, plain, cooked and cooled, on a day when nothing else new is happening. Wait a day before you offer more. If your dog is on a special diet, or you are not sure a new vegetable fits, ask your veterinarian first.

The rest of the spring plate

Asparagus rarely arrives alone. Green beans come next to it in nearly every spring dinner, usually steamed or buttered, and the same plain rule applies, so we wrote up can dogs eat green beans separately. Brussels sprouts get roasted in oil until the outer leaves char, which makes them the less obvious one, and that is in can dogs eat brussels sprouts. Plain and small goes to the dog, and anything with a sauce stays with you.

What to hand over instead

If the dog is hovering and the asparagus is not going to work out, a real treat solves it. Ours is Freeze-Dried Beef Heart. The only ingredient is beef heart, freeze-dried in small batches in Malvern, Pennsylvania. The texture is firm and it snaps into small pieces, milder than liver. On our own scorecard the piece size is medium, crunch gets 3 of 5 and training value gets 5 of 5. We list it for dogs of all sizes, adult and puppy, in 1.5, 3 and 6 ounce bags. The label says: "Feed as a treat or meal topper. Not intended as a complete diet. Provide fresh water at all times. Always supervise your dog while feeding."

For a dog that wants something crunchy and savory, we also make Freeze-Dried Cheddar Cheese Dog Treats. The only ingredient is cheddar cheese. It contains dairy, so it is not suited to dogs with dairy sensitivities. Both sit with our other freeze-dried treats for dogs.

Storing it

Cooked plain asparagus keeps in a covered container in the refrigerator for a day or two. After that it goes limp and starts to smell, so cook only what you will use. For the freeze-dried treats, reseal the bag after opening and store it cool and dry.

Asparagus questions

Can dogs eat raw asparagus?

A small amount, sliced thin, is the most we would try. A whole raw spear is long and firm, which is why we steam it first and cut it into coin-size pieces.

Are the tips better than the stalks?

The tip is the closed end of the spear. The rule is the same for the whole spear: plain, cooked, cut small, and no woody base.

Can dogs eat canned asparagus?

We skip it. Canned spears sit in salted water, and that counts as seasoning. Spears you cook yourself with nothing added are the way to go.

How often can a dog have asparagus?

A few times a week at most, in the amounts above. It is a spring vegetable, so we treat it as an occasional piece from the cutting board and not as a regular part of the bowl.

Can puppies have asparagus?

Once a puppy is eating solid food, the same plain rule applies, only smaller. Start with one tiny piece of cooked asparagus and wait a day.

Can my dog eat the asparagus fern?

No. The fern is the tall, feathery part that grows after the spears are picked, and it is the part to fence off. Keep the dog out of the bed and out of the clippings.

How do I cook asparagus for a dog?

Steam or boil it with nothing in the water. Drain it, let it cool, snap off the tough base, and cut the rest into small coin-size pieces. No butter, no oil and no seasoning.