So should we bother feeding vegetables to our dogs and will it even benefit them?
There are many benefits to including some fresh vegetables to our dogs diet. It is important that they are prepared in a way that our dogs can digest them either through cooking, steaming or blitzing to a smoothie. We should all be including more veg in our diets so maybe the easiest way is just to prepare a bit extra when you are preparing your own meals and then set it aside for your dog.
Phytonutrients
The term ‘phytonutrients’ is a name for a variety of compounds only found in plants that have a vast array of health-giving properties. They are covered in far greater detail in the vegetable and fruit section and are a useful way to provide additional micronutrients and antioxidants to your dog’s diet. If the inclusion of fruit, vegetables and seeds is a new experience for your dog, then start off by incorporating tiny amounts until his system adapts and you find the ingredients that suit your particular dog.
Probably the best known of the phytonutrients are carotenoids and flavonoids.
Carotenoids are plant pigments responsible for the vibrant red, yellow, orange and green hues found in vegetables, fruits and plants that can play an important role in protecting cells against harmful effects of light, air and pollution. Beta-carotene, lycopene and lutein are all different types of carotenoid that can easily be included in the diet. They act as anti-oxidants which protect cells from free radicals, which are substances that work to destroy cell membranes and DNA.
Foods that are rich in carotenoids are:
· Lutein: collard greens, Swiss chard, lettuce, spinach, kale and dandelion greens.
· Lycopene: red/orange bell peppers, watermelon, pomegranate, apples, mint and blackberries.
· Beta-carotene: carrots, sweet potato, broccoli and romaine lettuce.
· Flavonoids: These give berries their red, blue and purple colour and can be included in the diet in the form of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and bilberries.
So, what does the inclusion of veg and fruit have offer to our dogs?
They provide a wealth of vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and fibre, including vitamins A, B, C, E and K, and minerals such as calcium, potassium and magnesium.
Anti-oxidants protect against many diseases due to the aging process, and for a degenerative condition such as progressive retinal atrophy a diet rich in anti-oxidants is the only known way to slow down the deterioration of this eye disease.
Fresh vegetables also encourage enzyme production and offer a gentle cleansing and balancing effect on the ph. levels of the body.
Depending on the type of vegetable, they provide soluble and insoluble fibre, which benefit the gut bacteria, and can bind to and remove certain toxins as well as adding bulk and moisture to the faeces.
With intensively farmed animals and soil depletion becoming a concern, our food is lacking in the level of nutrients that it provided many years ago, so the addition of vegetables, herbs, berries and some grains is a way to try and fill any nutritional gaps. The more variety we can add into our dog’s diet the less we will have to rely on dietary supplements.
An ideal herbal supplement in the Hedgerow Hounds range is the Greens, Seeds & Superfoods which combines vegetables, herbs, seeds & superfoods. https://www.hedgerowhounds.co.uk/products/greens-seeds
How to prepare and feed.
Due to the fact that dogs cannot digest the cellulose in vegetables, the best way to serve is to blend in a food processor to break down the plant’s tough cell wall, until they resemble a thick smoothie consistency, which also mimics the partly digested contents of a prey animal’s stomach.
Other options would be to lightly steam them, or finely grate them into the food.
If you want to make larger batches up or you are lucky enough to grow your own veg and have a glut in the summer, then the pureed, pulped veg can be frozen into ice cube trays or pots for convenience.
If they are served whole many dogs just lift pieces of veg out, eat around them in the bowl, or pass them out the other end undigested, to make full use of the nutrients they need to be broken down.
A good feeding guideline would be 7% vegetables and 3% berries, although if you are looking to reduce the overall cost of home-prepared food, or if the dog needs to lose weight, then more veg can be added to make up a quarter of the meal.
The addition of vegetables will change the overall percentages, so subtract from the muscle meat and not the bone or offal which provides the calcium and vitamins. So, for instance a usual 80-10-10 ratio would become 70% (meat) 10% (bone) 10% offal and 10% vegetables.
Start off with a small amount and then monitor how your dog is handling the inclusion of vegetables in his diet.
It is not essential to feed vegetables every day, but even three times a week will be beneficial, rotating different types and changing with the seasons where possible
