Fruits and Vegetables for your Dog
I was trying to find out if carrots were healthy for Geo our dog and I found the following list helpful and interesting.
* Apples (they contain potassium, which stimulates the immune system, and pepsin, which helps the stomach)
* Broccoli (rich in vitamins)
* Carrots (rich in vitamins, great treats to substitute for biscuits)
* Cabbage (rich in vitamins, good for digestive system and skin)
* Cucumber (good for teeth and bones due to potassium content; can combine with carrots to promote a healthy liver and kidneys; in juice form, a good diuretic … peel cucumbers unless organically grown)
* Celery (chopped or juiced; can help with arthritis)
* Garlic (removes waste from blood, can help repel fleas; use fresh garlic finely minced)
* Green beans (lightly steamed; healthy and low-cal treat)
* Parsley (can reduce allergy symptoms and aid kidney function; chop finely or boil parsley and add the juice over food)
* Kale (rich in antioxidants and can help reduce allergy symptoms)
* Spinach (very healthy; serve chopped)
* Bananas (in small quantity; a coveted treat)
* Olive oil (a tablespoon a day is good for skin and fur)
* Preparation suggestions: Many veggies can be served raw, lightly steamed or in juice form. For most vegetables such as broccoli and carrots, it is far better to steam them instead of serving raw for improved digestibility and nutritional value. Also, since dogs have small digestive tracts, you can puree vegetables to enable your pet to digest more. If you use canned vegetables, get the salt-free kinds.
* Organically grown benefits: Due to their smaller size and more compact body systems, pets can be more prone to the toxic effects of pesticide contamination than are people. So it is best to feed them produce that is organically certified, which also has higher nutritional value for everyone.
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20 Comments, add your own...
1. mar | March 20th, 2006 at 4:44 pm
MIKI is so spoiled now. he has already developped a food screening habbit and i dont think hell accept any veggies and fruits in his diet
2. Mark | March 20th, 2006 at 4:47 pm
we introduced geo to Broccoli the other day, he didnt know if it was a toy, food, plant etc.. it just confused him
3. holla | March 20th, 2006 at 4:57 pm
dude dogs are carnivores. they have been surviving well on meat the past 1000 years, no need to change that now. plus feeding your dog garlic yuck, i hope you enjoy extra nasty dog breath and fats.
4. holla | March 20th, 2006 at 4:58 pm
[edit]farts[/edit]
5. Mark | March 20th, 2006 at 5:00 pm
yes dogs were living in the wild and eating animals for the past 1000 years. but they usually also eat the stomach of the animal which contains vegies. i am supposed to either feed geo stomach with its contents or feed him vegetables and fruits.. guess which i chose lol
6. q8techdrive | March 20th, 2006 at 5:17 pm
vegetarian dogs! - interesting …http://www.vegsoc.org/info/dogfood1.html
7. seven | March 20th, 2006 at 5:57 pm
boring crap
8. Nonaw | March 20th, 2006 at 6:18 pm
mark… check this website… you wrote about it months ago… see what happend :P :
http://www.dvdiat.com/
9. Mark | March 20th, 2006 at 6:41 pm
lol thats funny
10. is7aq | March 20th, 2006 at 7:10 pm
poor geo!
what has he done to deserve such punishment!
this is cruelty towards dogs!
when was the last time YOU ate broccoli!
sidj haram!
geo.. run!
11. 3abboud of rak | March 20th, 2006 at 8:00 pm
await the mega fart-fest..
it might be a good idea tho because he’s still young and his digestive might get used to processing shit preferred by herbivore.
your comment about the broccolli introduction was just hilarios lol
12. Noor | March 20th, 2006 at 10:24 pm
Hi Mark,
This is off-topic but I’m working on a research project about the Kuwait blogs and was wondering if you wouldn’t mind taking my survey? Full details are below:
—–
My name is Noor Ali-Hasan and I am a graduate student at the University of Michigan School of Information. As part of my master’s thesis project, I am currently conducting a study about bloggers and their social networks. Based on your blog, you have been selected to participate in a short online survey about blogging. To qualify for the survey, you must meet the following qualifications:
* Be at least 18 years of age
* Currently keep a blog
* Have a blog that contains a blogroll and/or allows comments
* Have a blog that is part of the Kuwait Blogs community
Your participation is completely voluntary. The survey should take about ten to thirty minutes to complete. You may access the survey at this address:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?A=120826072E1053
All survey data will be kept confidential. The study’s findings will be reported in aggregates and will not be used to identify a specific person. If you have any questions about this survey, please email me at nooraz@umich.edu.
Your time and participation is greatly appreciated!
Thank you!
Noor Ali-Hasan
Master’s Student, Human-Computer Interaction
School of Information
University of Michigan
13. holla | March 21st, 2006 at 6:17 pm
lol@dvdiat site.
14. Shelley | June 16th, 2006 at 12:08 am
Our Malinois will do anything — anything — for strawberries and carrots. Even though we live in prime strawberry country, I had to give my plants to my neighbors, because it was too frustrating to never get any ourselves. The Mal would wait until they were perfectly ripe, then pluck them (leaving the greens). We swear he has prehensile lips!
15. megan | July 7th, 2006 at 6:17 pm
Thank you so musch for this web site! My pug gertie loves apples and asparagus and i wanted to try other foods for her, this is just what i needed. THANKS!
16. patti | March 21st, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Dogs, while not true carnivores, are opportunistic, carnivorous scavengers. Cats on the other hand are true, obligate carnivores, requiring animal protein to survive. There is a difference between a carnivorous scavenger and an omnivore though - dogs lack the dental characteristics, longer digestive tract and specific enzymes of true omnivores like humans. That is the reason why they can not digest grains and vegetables unless they are “predigested” by processing, mincing/grinding, breakdown by enzymes, or fermentation through bacteria. Once converted, they are fully available to the dog.
This does, however, not mean that your dog will thrive on a diet mainly made up of poor quality grains or grain fragments, which is what most cheap foods are. Whole grains, including their entire complement of nutrients are much more valuable - and this does not only apply for a dog’s diet, but for humans as well!
17. terena | July 28th, 2007 at 7:23 am
Thanks!!! I have 2 dogs, a lab and a kelpie, both love carrots. They prefer carrots to dog food so I thought I would find out what other veggies dogs like. I tried broccoli but the smell turned them off. One is a bit overweight so I thought I would substitute more veggies for their normal dog food. One site I checked out said all veggies should be steamed or pureed or the dogs couldn’t digest the food and would get no nutritional benefit. Since my backyard looks like an uprooted carrot field, I would probably agree.
18. Veronica | September 4th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Hi
I have a 18 month old lab/cross and is prone to being overweight. I found that tin food and complete dog food made him bloated and gassy.
With the help of my friend and the vet, I now prepare his food at home and he has rice, pasta, chicken, mixer biscuits, grated carrots, brockli, cabbages, sometimes carrots and pears and apples. I also give a supplement “Bob Martin”. He is leaner, happier and full up and contented.
19. Aileen | August 1st, 2008 at 10:25 am
Hi,
Thank you for sharing you information with other people.
I have a 6 month old puppy and ever since we got him I have been feeding him lots of vegetables and fruits daily. Everyday in the afternoon I would give him some carrots as treats and other days I would give him cucumber, broccoli (stem only), beans and bell peppers. He loved them all except celery. He didn’t like the smell. Then at night after dinner I would eat a fruit and my dog would also get some apples (Red delicious, Fuji apple, only sweet ones) or Chinese pears (crunch and lots of juice).
Every time we took him to the Vet. Clinic, the vet would say he’s very healthy: nice teeth and strong bones. So I think adding fruits and veggies to your dog’s diet can definitely made them healthier.
*For those who are skeptic about letting your dogs eat fruits/vegetables, why don’t you give it a try. Introduce eat veggie or fruit slowly to your dog, let them sniff and taste it, if they don’t like it then skip that fruit or veggie. I can guarantee you that you dog will definitely love CARROTS and APPLES (sweet ones only).
Happy Trying!!
20. Marilyn | August 24th, 2008 at 2:13 am
Suggesting the addition of veggies finely chopped/pureed DOES NOT give cause to call the dog a “vegetarian” !! My dogs LOVE the fresh vegetables that I puree and put in 2-3 day serving containers for freezing. I add the veggies to their kibble, along with home-cooked chicken. I buy organic.
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