The Importance of Vegetables for Dogs

You’re not the only one who can and should eat your veggies. Dogs benefit greatly from eating vegetables as well. Nutrient-dense foods, such as whole fruits and vegetables, provide dogs essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytochemicals and much needed fiber. Additionally, vegetables for dogs will keep illness and even cancer at bay. So it’s important to add a simple, yet delicious mix of vegetables to your dog’s daily meals.

Should You Add Vegetables to Kibble?

The simple answer is yes. All dogs and puppies should have access to fresh, raw vegetables every day. Even though certain brands of dog food kibble already contain fruits and vegetables, most vital nutrients are lost when food is cooked at high temperatures. By adding small amounts of fresh veggies, you’re restoring vitamins and antioxidants back into your dog’s food. The great part about topping off your dog’s food with vegetables is it won’t cause upset tummies.

If you’re still hesitant about adding vegetables to your dog’s daily diet, there’s research that explains how adding vegetables good for dogs to their meals has proven to keep illness and cancer away. There’s a study pertaining to bladder cancer and Scottish Terriers. (This dog breed is more likely to develop this type of cancer than any other breed of dog.) Research shows that adding certain vegetables to a dog’s diet decreases chances of cancer.

Below is a short video with specific facts pertaining to the importance of fruits and vegetables to your dog’s diet as well as cancer prevention tips from Dr. Jean Dodds, DVM. You can check out the full video discussing functional foods for dogs here. It’s about 15 minutes long and packed with great information.

Which Vegetables are Good for Dogs?

Vegetables good for dogs include cruciferous vegetables (such as broccoli), green leafy vegetables and yellow-orange vegetables. How often you feed your dog vegetables matters just as much as the type of vegetable you use. In a study, it was found that “in order to have a positive effect, vegetables had to be fed [to dogs] at least three times per week” (Dawson & Lounsbury, 2005). The power of vegetables for dogs amazes me every day!

How to Incorporate Veggies Into Your Dog’s Meal

You can feed your dog broccoli, carrots, kale, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and yellow squash raw so long as they’ve been pulped in your food processor. Feeding your dog raw vegetables is ideal. Before you do, make sure to clean and rinse vegetables to remove dirt, pesticides and any seeds. For super tough vegetables, such as sweet potatoes and squash, bake them on a low temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour and remove any tough skin once cooled.

Interestingly, dogs have a hard time digesting vegetables, especially cruciferous varieties due to the tough outer membrane that protects vegetables. By pulping veggies in a food processor or blender before feeding to your dog, you actually break down the membrane, making it easier for your dog to utilize all of the nutrients. Once a month, I purchase and pulp enough vegetables to last about a month. I store extra portions in the freezer. Pulped veggies last about 5 days in the refrigerator, so portion and freeze them as needed for your dog’s size.

I add 1 teaspoon of pulped vegetables to my dog’s food every day. I recommend 1 teaspoon per 25 lbs. For example, my Rottweiler eats 1- 1½ tablespoons per day. Believe it or not, my dogs eat their vegetables first. If your dog’s unsure about eating pulped vegetables, add a bit of low-fat, plain yogurt on top of the veggies. That should entice picky eaters. 🙂

Pulp some vegetables for your dog today!