What vegetables and fruits are best for our dogs? Mine likes carrots, green beans and apples but there must be others that he can enjoy. And I know all of you can give me many ideas! Cooper is on a kibble diet but would like to give him some fresh treats. Can you help? Thank you.
Apart from carrots and apples Juno also likes banana, cherries (minus the stones) a bit of peach or nectarine, peas - fresh or frozen. She only ever gets these in moderation I.e. around 1" of banana or a quarter of apple.
Holly loves broccoli, especially if it's uncooked and crunchy. She's also very partial to melon, picks her own blackberries, and helps us with strawberries when they're in season. Dogs should never be given onions or avocados as they are toxic.
I don't deliberately feed my dog fruit and vegetables - it just doesn't occur to me as something obvious to feed a dog. I do not think that it's something they need. Particularly fruit with the sugar content. That said, Charlie will get some - he nicks soft fruit out of the veg garden given the chance, and he'll scrounge things in the kitchen. He is not a big fan of veg, though, he will often beg and beg, get given a bit of mushroom/swede/whatever that I'm chopping, spit it out, and beg for more.
Jubilee loves all of the above plus asparagus. Our last lab used to sneak in the garden and steal peas. She also knew the location of every wild apple tree and wild asparagus patch on our old farm.
Haven't come across any fruit or veg Lilly doesn't like - apart from aubergine and parsnip. Carrots, melon and bananas are THE favourites, without a shadow of a doubt though.
My first Lab would eat any fruit or vegetable except undressed lettuce and raw mushroom. He enjoyed crunching up a raw sweet potato (but don't give raw normal potatoes, they have to be cooked). He'd help himself to any fruit from the garden...figs, cherries, plums, tomatoes and even chillies! Obi is fussier and will mainly only eat cooked veg. He doesn't mind a raw carrot though. He likes apples, bananas and pears.
Dogs will eat anything and a lot of stuff they shouldn't. But fruit and veggies? Yes, they'll eat them but should they?
A fair question, but I don't see anything unnatural about having these things as a small portion of the diet. They can digest them. While dogs aren't wolves, wolves will eat berries and all sorts of things in a natural environment - whatever is seasonally available. Have a look at the ingredients list on premium kibble brands. You can see fruits and vegetables there. Mind you, I would not advocate a vegetarian diet for a dog (not that anyone here has..). Mostly they should be eating meaty products.
Willow will eat anything. Shadow, like Charlie, will desperately want some of whatever you're preparing, but will often spit it out. I once gave him the limp outer leaf of a lettuce. He sat with it dangling out of his mouth for ages, with a look of utter disdain on his face. I think he thought I was trying to poison him.
Do you mean for a treat or as part of the regular diet? Either way, the list they should NOT eat is much shorter. Grapes and onions are the big No, no. I see someone has mentionned avocados but the flesh of avocado is fine, but not the pit or skin. Some things are gassy and tend to give us gas too so small amounts of cole crops and beans. REgulars for treats for us are apples, bananas, oranges, red pepper and carrots. the occasional red beet but watch out, they turn pee and poop dark red, looks just like blood. Gave our Vet a worry one day when I forgot to tell her the dog had eaten a beet. I also like beets for the good hard chewing they give, almost as good as a bone. If you mean to feed as part of regular diet though then it would be best to research a BARF diet. Percentages of veg and fruit to meat are important. AND, as part of regular diet you will have to process the matter with a food processor, blender or juicer. Dogs cannot digest many fruit and veg at all and won't get nutritional benefit unless you grind the stuff up first. Some fruits are ok, I found, but I mush them with stuff like kale to make it taster better. As per our Vet we fed BARF after Oban recovered from serious illness and I Loved how much better he looked on the raw meat and BARF diet. It eliminated his allergic itching and his coat was glorious. We were at the Vet on Friday and discussed going back to the BARF diet in spring. You will need to do quite a bit of research if you plan to feed BARF. We had our Vet to help us and it sure is nice if your Vet approves. Honestly, I think Prey Model for raw diet would be easier but we will go back to BARF with it's vegetables and fruits.
Hattie and Charlie love carrots cooked or raw, peas, strawberries, melon, tomatoes, apple, blackberries, kiwi but their favourite is banana's which they smell at a 100 meters even if they are fast asleep! I don't see any harm in feeding them in moderation, a little of what you fancy! x
Fred loves blackberries when we go blackberry picking and just helps himself. We also have to watch him in the summer or he will helps himself to black and red currants, plums, raspberries and apples out of the garden. He is always ok. I do give him bananas in his kong. I don't know about Annie yet, but we will soon find out this summer.
Sam also loves blackberries , he often " helps " with the picking , and has been known to strip the wild ones in our garden . Both dogs love bananas, apples and most veg, although I do tend to lightly cook their veggies as I believe that dogs cannot break down the cell walls of raw veg easily . I do give both raw carrot to munch on, for their teeth , plus broccoli stalks .
Thank you ALL for your list of veggies and fruits. No, these are ONLY for treats....not as a regular meal. I would like to get away from the biscuits and such treats and do more of this kind. Have copied down all the suggestions here.....do you find that he/ she does more poo or as more gas/wind with fruits and veggies? I see blackberries mentioned several times.....will have to give these a shot. I have done carrots, broccoli and apples. Oh, when you mention melon.....is this watermelon, canteloupe, honeydew? Again a wonderful list for my Cooper and he thanks you so much.
Homer loves crunchy carrots and bananas, he's not fond of anything green especially green beans and doesn't like oranges although he begs for a piece then spits it out!
We generally buy Santa Claus melons (I had no idea they were called that in English and had to look it up!) and give the dogs a tiny bit once in a blue moon. I'm always rather concerned about the amount of sugar in fruit, so only give it very, very rarely. Be careful with tomatoes; they are fine when ripe, but both the plants and unripe fruits contain tomatine and solanine, which are highly toxic to dogs.
I forgot to add raspberries, Juno used to help herself in the garden in the summer. Don't think it matters what type of melon you offer although I would go for honeydew or cantaloupe but that's because I don't enjoy watermelon. Being a young lady Juno doesn't do gas/wind but I haven't noticed any difference to her poo.
Definitely haven't noticed more wind associated with veg. But overdoing it on plums makes poo very runny, so watch that if you have a plum tree. If I feed raw veg (carrot/sweet potato/peeled pumpkin) it seems to be digested just fine. However mostly if Obi gets veg as part of a meal, as opposed to a munchy snack, we cook it lightly which makes it more digestible. And, yes, avocado flesh is fine. It's not toxic. Just don't give them a whole one in case they swallow the big seed whole.
