Because I feed a commercial dog food I like to give my dogs fresh food also for better nutrition. I am a Pescatarian (similar to a vegetarian, but I eat fish) so I always have a variety of veggies in my house. I also feed my birds fresh vegetables & some fruit. Dogs can eat quite a few vegetables, but just a little fruit (due to their natural sugar content). Some Vegetables are far easier digested when lightly steamed & cooled to room temperature before fed to dogs. When they have harder to digest foods they can get gas, bloating, stomach discomfort or stools harder or softer. If you have never fed your dog fresh foods introduce them slowly, so you know how they will respond. My former dog Sydney would eat so many veggies & loved them, my current dogs are pretty good. Hunter will grab anything you drop so I have to be careful, especially when I cut onions as they can be toxic to dogs (Yes, it would take a pretty large amount for dogs of their size). I don’t want to risk it & often use a slicer (like the one linked here) that has a connecting container to catch cut food. https://amzn.to/3GrmsA0 They are nice for a variety of veggies & when cutting onions less tears.
The above photo is of my former dog Sydney, she was a purebred Wire-haired Pointing Griffon, who was my 105th foster, whom I adopted. She would eat so many fresh foods & I used them during training & visiting new places & meeting new people to help her build confidence. She was abused (admitted) by her former owner & needed so much confidence. I will blog about her story in the future. Not every dog will like every veggie, just like us, some they will like & some they won’t.
I will give you a list of some fresh foods you can feed & I will say raw or how to prepare them behind it. Steaming them when possible versus some other ways of cooking helps retain more of the vitamins & minerals.
- Sweet Potatoes (baked, small amt raw, dehydrated, boiled) If going to bake sliced to make like chips then I recommend you use a ceramic knife to cut them prior to baking as they can turn dark from the use of a regular knife.
- White potatoes (diced & boiled)
- Broccoli (lightly steamed)
- Cauliflower (lightly steamed)
- Green Beans (lightly steamed)
- Carrots (just a small amount due to their higher natural sugar content) raw, steamed or shredded into their food.
- Red or green cabbage (raw)
- Garlic (fresh) I wrote about this in post #34
- Alfalfa Sprouts
- Raw Eggs (recommended maximum of 1 every 2 weeks)
- Bell Peppers (lightly steamed)
- Zucchini (raw)
- Yellow squash (raw)
- Spinach (raw -chopped finely)
- Banana (small amount -natural sugar)
- Apple (small amount – NO SEEDS– natural sugar)
- Tofu
- Brussels Sprouts (lightly steamed)
- Pure Canned Pumpkin (ingredient should be just PUMPKIN)
- Canned Sweet Potatoes (ingredients:sweet potatoes & water)
Do NOT use oil, seasoning or butter when making fresh foods for your dogs. These vegetables can be added into their food bowls at mealtime (do not do this if you free feed, as they could go bad (bacteria growth)before your dog finishes the food). You can keep a bowl of prepared veggies in your refrigerator & feed them as treats or as a reward. Many dogs are overweight these days & fresh veggies may be a much healthier way to help your dog lose that extra weight. Adjust their regular food intake to make up for the fresh food if adding it to their food bowl.
I hope you are learning something &/or smiling when reading my blog. I would really appreciate it if you would help me to get the word out there by visiting often, sharing on your social media pages, telling friends, commenting on what you learned or liked, liking my post (click button at bottom) & subscribing (you won’t get spam, just notices when I publish a new post). My goal is to use my experience, knowledge & share it with fellow pet owners to help them help their pets not to just survive, but to thrive. I want to see pets live longer healthier more enjoyable lives. On my home page is a table of context for all my posts, you will find it by clicking on the 3 lines in the upper left corner. I can be emailed at echoinggreatpetcare@gmail.com Thanks for reading, Debbie
Echoing Great Pet Care 