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Superfoods for dogs; Adding fruits and vegetables to your dog's diet!

1/12/2013

29 Comments

 
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Whole, fresh food is real nutrition; which is why adding whole fruits and vegetables to your dog's food bowl can prove to be a great and highly beneficial addition to their diet. Fruits and vegetables should be treated as a supplement, since dogs do not need fruits and vegetables to survive.

Fruits and vegetables are packed full of nutrients! The amount of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals found in many fruits and veggies are hard to pass up. They also taste great and act as the perfect way to add variety and excitement to your pet's meal plan. A powerful diet plan is one that is full of pure, whole food nutrition, but since dogs are not designed to fully digest fruits and vegetables the best way to serve them is to process them. Boiling them, steaming them or processing them in a food processor will help dogs digest these foods properly and absorb the nutrients more efficiently.

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Blueberries
Best served fresh or frozen, blueberries are a superfood packed full of nutritional goodness! Blueberries are best known for their powerful antioxidants that help fight free radicals and help fight disease. Blueberries are also rich in vitamin K, vitamin C, manganese and fiber!

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Carrots
Carrots are another antioxidant rich food and are also a great source of insoluble and soluble fiber. Carrots are rich in nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin K, vitamin C, potassium, vitamin B6, folate, vitamin B1, vitamin E and so much more! Carrots are also very rich in beta-carotene and act as a coat colour enhancer, intensifying pigment in a dog's fur. Try boiling carrots, processing them raw or grating them over your dog's food to ensure maximum nutrient absorption.

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Spinach
One of the most well known superfoods, and just as healthy for dogs as it is for humans! Spinach is full of iron, zinc, niacin, fiber, calcium, potassium, vitamin K, vitamin B6, vitamin A and much more. Spinach also provides powerful antioxidants and beta-carotene, helping  fight disease and strengthen the body's cells. Blanch, steam or shred raw spinach!

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Kale
Kale is known for helping to prevent cancer and is full of antioxidants. It is a nutrient dense leafy green containing beta carotene, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin K, lutein, zeaxanthin and so much more. Kale also has anti-inflammatory properties, and when combined with antioxidants and healthy flavonoids is has proven to be a fantastic addition to a dog's diet. You can prepare kale for your dog the same way you would spinach

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Apples
NEVER feed apple seeds or the apple core to your dog, feeding the seeds or the core can cause toxicity due to the cyanide found in the seed. The apple meat, however, is packed full of nutritional goodness! Apples are full of phytonutrients, calcium, fiber, vitamins A and C, folate, potassium and magnesium. Feed these raw with the skin, an apple a day keeps the veterinarian away!

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Sweet Potato
Sweet potato is best served boiled and cut into cubes and is ideal for dogs that are in need of some healthy fiber to firm up their stool. Sweet potato is an excellent addition to a bland diet program for sick pets. Sweet potatoes are rich in beta carotene and are excellent for intensifying colour pigment in a dog's fur. They are jam packed full of vitamins and minerals such as vitamins K, C, E and A, folate, potassium and calcium.

Adding these superfoods to your dogs diet in rotation will impact their health long term, providing them with a steady source of extra nutrition that will keep them strong and disease free. Rotate fruits and vegetables to give them new flavours to enjoy on a regular basis!

When adding new food to your dog's diet, make sure you are aware of toxic and dangerous foods to avoid. You can find out about toxic and dangerous foods for your dog by reading the following article: Dangerous and toxic foods that can harm your dogs.


Want to make dramatic positive changes with your dog's nutrition? K9 Instinct provides a collection of great canine diet and nutrition eBooks to help you keep your dog healthy and strong!


Angel
K9 Instinct
www.k9instinct.com

29 Comments
Cindy
1/25/2013 09:09:45 am

Great article, however there are some very important OTHER fruits and vegetables that also should be mentioned. I am not a dog nutritionist, but I do believe the following are TOXIC for dogs:
Onions, Grapes, Raisins, and I have also heard Garlic, but I question that one (you do see it as an ingredient in some dog foods). Angel of K9 Instinct, could you please clarify?

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K9 Instinct link
1/25/2013 09:16:07 am

Hello Cindy! Thanks for your comment!

I wrote an article on dangerous foods for dogs, you can find it here:
http://www.k9instinct.com/1/post/2013/01/dangerous-and-toxic-foods-that-can-harm-your-dogs.html

Garlic used in treats or dog foods is processed, and in very small amounts. I believe this is why the pass without causing immediate harm. The long term results are unknown, as researchers have yet to document the exact reason garlic can be toxic. What we DO know is that garlic has caused fatal illness and even death in many dogs, so better safe than sorry!

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Paula T. link
4/7/2013 12:48:02 am

Garlic has been used for many years by holistic veterinarians. The Confusion about whether garlic is good or bad seems to have risen from the comparison with its close cousin, the onion. Both garlic and onion contain thiosulphate, the substance responsible for causing "Heinx Factor" anemia in dogs. However, the amount of thiosulphate in garlic is considerably lower than in onion. In fact, the amount in garlic is barely traceable in laboratory tests. The fear of garlic is a newer one - propagated by rumor on the internet and not proven by any fact or study.

Mary
3/7/2015 02:06:00 am

just read your comment then read another article about foods that is bad for your dog & onion & grapes & garlic was one of them

http://uk.businessinsider.com/12-foods-that-could-kill-your-dog-2014-5?r=US

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Corinna
7/30/2018 07:39:59 am

Carrots give my dog seizures, and he doesn't need a lot either. It's a interaction with phenobarb, apparently grapefruits are even worse.

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Vinny
1/25/2013 10:42:23 am

Some other great veggies that I feed my dog everyday is broccoli, green beans, and every dog LOVES Watermelon. Even though it doesn't help them much it's a great treat that I recommend giving every dog as a treat in the summer. Also try putting a drop of lemon juice in their water as I've heard it helps clean their intestons but I'm not positive why lemon juice is good for dogs. But make sure you put 2 bowls when experimenting rather your dog likes lemon juice in their water or not so they don't get dehydrated incase they don't! Hope this helped! Bye!

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Julie
12/1/2014 12:52:17 am

Lemon juice is used for cancer pt's who opt to go the natural route over chemotherapy. Interesting!

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Kathy L
3/13/2013 10:01:25 am

My boy gets fruits and veggies on a regular basis and he LOVES them. I could put down a bowl of sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans and broccoli and he would be just a happy as with his regular food. I try to limit the amount of "snacks and cookies" that he gets, so he get baby carrots a lot as a treat. He will sit next to us at night if we are having fruit (watermelon, oranges and apples are his favorites) until we give him a piece or two...The only thing we are careful of is the melons, he loves them and would eat the whole thing if we would let him...

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Laurie link
11/2/2014 03:59:45 am

My Golden's love melon balls and watermelon also

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Laurie
3/14/2013 10:11:45 am

I'm really glad I found your site. Our GSD has food allergies, which have improved but still annoy him. We were just told that one of our Boxer's needs to lose weight and has hip dysplasia and bad knees. The vet told us to give him cheerios instead of treats, but he wants nothing to do with them. I found coconut flour at the store today and am going to make some treats this evening. Thank you for all the healthy options. I was trying to figure out what we were going to do.

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kilie
1/15/2015 04:54:52 am

coconut oil is amazing on your dogs skin and to feed as well as raw eggs (eggs PLUS the shell) :) helps ALOT with food allergies idk if you have tried a raw diet?

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Sophia
4/4/2013 01:54:27 am

HI! I've heard that the oxalic acid in raw spinach isn't good for dogs. Especially those who has problems with stones in the urine and young growing dogs. What's your take on this?

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Lisa Thompson link
1/14/2015 07:43:19 am

I've read that spinach is high in oxalic acid, I think that's it. Small amounts occasionally, but you need to exercise caution.

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julia
4/23/2013 12:09:31 pm

My husband and I are big juicers and we feed our dog the pulp everyday. Fourteen and going strong!

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Teri cordaro
4/23/2013 07:26:00 pm

Can u tell me if squash is ok for dogs ...we have a lot still from last year and I was going to make chews (like the sweet potato ones)? Thanks

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Kimberly Kennedy
8/2/2013 01:13:04 am

I feed my two Great Danes squash every day. I make my own dog food for them and always include zucchini or yellow summer squash (especially in the summer when they are plentiful.) In the winter time we have winter squash that is abundant and I add that to the mix also. My last great dane lived to be almost 12 and in great health except for food allergies - so I'm pretty sure it's safe for dogs. :)

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Teri Ehr
5/15/2013 03:10:07 pm

What about mushrooms?

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Elsie
10/9/2014 12:59:06 am

I thought mushrooms are toxic to dogs.

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Karen Goldthwaite link
5/27/2013 09:09:03 pm

Don't forget pumpkin! We make all natural dog treats from apples, carrots and we also make treats using 100% pumpkin! The carrot recipe is wheat-free!

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bobbie
8/2/2013 01:57:50 am

Question: What fruits and/or vegetables are NOT good for out canine children?

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Bonny Castillo link
9/25/2013 02:18:13 am

I love the thought of home cooked meals for my 5 large dogs but worry about them getting sufficient vitamins and minerals to be healthy...any advice? I do not want to worry about buying all sorts of vitamins and figuring out how much each would get..50 pounds up to 112 is their weights.

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cheryl
10/9/2014 02:34:15 am

I put a dab of nature's sunshine chlorophyll in the dogs /cats drinking water...tastes only a slightly bit minty and is supposed to be good for us and the dogs and they don't seembto mind...

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Jessica
10/9/2014 02:42:31 am

we do sweet potato treats at my house. we dehydrate them in the oven over night... my GSD LOVES them.

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lauren
11/2/2014 05:42:10 am

My two dogs love it in summer when I put their carrots in the freezer for a couple of hours then they enjoy carrot "Icey poles" laying on the deck

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IggieMom
11/5/2014 10:43:46 am

The trainer on a dog-training video I watched some time ago recommended using carrot pieces (raw) as training treats. It was the first I'd heard about it, and I was skeptical - until I tried it. The dogs LOVED them.
My dogs also love cooked winter squash, skin & all. It's so good for them too.

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JP
2/24/2015 07:47:44 pm

I also read in a previous K9 Instinct article that a spoonful of coconut oil is a great treat for dogs and they love it...AND it's anti-bacterial/fungal so it helps with the dogs teeth hygiene and breath!!!

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Lori Hughart
2/25/2015 01:46:50 am

I let my dog eat the apple cores. Maybe about 10 total in last month. Do yo think he is ok I will not let him eat any more

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Natalie
2/25/2015 02:09:51 pm

Apple cores are toxic but apples are not. The seeds have a toxin in them.

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