Did You Know That An All-Meat Diet Can Be Harmful To Your Dog?

As a dog lover, you may notice some dogs like eating vegetables and fruits while others don’t, some dogs like eating various veggies while others like certain type. But you may spend little time to think about further and just let it go.In Fact, feeding your dog with some vegetables and fruits really matters.

Can Dogs Eat Veggies?

It’s commonly believed that the wolf is the ancestor of the dog. Wolves were and still are meat-eating animals. Dogs have evolved from wolves over thousands of years under the influence of man – they live on the food scraps of the human. Thus, it proves that dogs have the ability to consume a diverse diet and they have evolved as omnivores although they possess a carnivorous bias.

The Benefits of Feeding Veggies

In General, dog’s diet is similar to human beings. It contains carbohydrates with 30-70%, proteins with 18-25%, fats with 10-15% and vitamins and minerals. Vitamins and minerals are found mostly in fruits and vegetables.

Many conventional veterinarians don’t believe veggies are necessary for dogs while some experts like Dr. Richard Pitcairn encourages vegetarian diets for dogs because of his concerns about toxic levels in meats.

Dr. Billinghurst, a famous nutritionist, he highly recommended giving vegetables and fruits to dogs, for he believes that appropriate amount of vegetables and fruit play a crucial role in a Balanced canine diet.

According to a study from Purdue University in 2005, dogs ate green leafy vegetables had reduced the risk of developing bladder cancer by 90%. And dogs that consumed yellow or orange colored veggies reduced their risk by 70%.

Besides, according to Steve Brown, renowned dog nutrition expert, "a healthy diet improves the quality of the gut bacteria and supports a healthy microbiome," which means your dog will be healthier with a balanced diet.

Here We List Five Veggies That Are Good For Your Dog.

1. Apples

Apples contain abundant vitamins A and C, as well as fiber for your dog. Vitamin A is essential for maintaining healthy skin and hair, and vitamin C are good for immune system health and iron absorption. In a word, feeding apples to your senior dogs will contribute to their overall gastrointestinal health and will leave them with soft and shiny hair.

2. Strawberries

Strawberries are a great source of fiber and vitamin C. They have an enzyme that can help whiten your dog’s teeth when they eat them. Pay attention to give them in moderation for they are high in sugar.

3. Watermelon

Watermelon is full of vitamin A, B-6, and C, as well as potassium. Along with this, watermelon is 92 percent water, and it’s a great food to keep dogs hydrated in summer. Don’t forget to remove the rind and seeds first, for they can cause intestinal blockage.

4. Alfalfa and Seaweed

Alfalfa and Seaweed are good sources of minerals. Minerals are necessary for helping the body perform certain functions and prevent deficiencies. Make sure these foods are organic rather than produced with synthetic fertilizers.

5. Sweet Potato

Sweet potato is one of the highly alkaline vegetables. Meat makes the body more acidic, and too much acidity will cause inflammation that is connected to chronic disease. Thus sweet potato will alkalize the dog body and significantly reduce the risk of chronic disease.

Harmful Veggies Should Be Avoided

Here we also list Five veggies that are fatal to your dogs, so you must be alert and never feed them to your dogs!!!

1. Grapes

Grapes and raisins are very dangerous to dogs! They have been proved to be very poisonous to all dogs. They can lead to acute sudden kidney failure. Don’t give them to your loving dog!!!

2. Tomatoes

It is considered that the fruit of the tomato (the red part humans eat) is safe for dogs, while the green areas of the plant include a toxic substance called solanine. Even if a dog needs eat a lot of green parts to make him or she sick, you should be careful enough to feed them with tomatoes.

3. Avocado

Avocado should avoid being given dogs. The pit, skin, and leaves of avocados contain Persin, a toxin that often causes vomiting and diarrhea in dogs. Although the inside of the fruit contains less Persin than the rest of the plant, it is still too much for dogs.

4. Onions

Onions are very toxic to most pets. Feeding onions to your dogs can cause their red blood cells to rupture, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, and nausea. Some Japanese breeds of dogs such as Akitas and Shiba Inus are more vulnerable to the onions poison.

5. Cherries

Cherries will cause your dog’s blood cells to starve of oxygen. If you find your dog with the symptoms of dilated pupils, difficulty breathing, and red gums, as these may be signs of cherries’ poisoning. Keep away from cherries! Oh no, it’s a dilemma!

How To Feed Veggies?

1. Dr. Billinghurst suggested you should start feeding vegetables to your dogs from puppies at about six weeks old.

2. Vegetables should take up 10% of your dog’s diet. For therapeutic reasons in treating illness, he thinks the veggies proportion can be as high as 50%.

3. Feed them raw and pulverized veggies to maximum benefits and help dog digest.

4. Use various vegetables and fruits, but avoid toxic veggies.

5. Don’t overfeed plants. Too much is bad.

Finally and importantly, you must choose the veggies your dog likes, or they won’t eat them at all. If they really don’t like any type of veggie, I guess you may need to have a talk with them!