Adding Vegetables For A Healthy Dog Diet

Dogs are, by very definition, within the order Carnivora along with wild and domestic cats, bears, raccoons and weasels. Cats and weasels are known as obligate carnivores, which simply means that they must have the flesh of animals to sustain their health and nutritional balance within the body. Dogs, while still carnivores are also considered by some researchers to be close to omnivores, able to exist on a wide variety of diet types.

While dogs can adjust to different food sources there is considerable research on the best possible diet for a dog. The balance of the proteins in the diet should come from meat sources while other foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains and even vegetation can provide supplemental nutrients and food. In the wild a dog will scavenge and live off of whatever he or she can find including fruit that falls from trees, wild berries, root vegetables and a variety of other foods including eggs, insects and wild grains.

Adding raw or slightly cooked vegetables to your dog's diet of Blue Buffalo dog food or Natural Balance brand dog food is not a problem provided a good supply of meat based protein is also available. The bulk of the diet needs to be protein, which simply cannot be provided by vegetables. Some promoters of raw food diets for their dogs don't use vegetables at all while others use only specific vegetables in very limited amounts. The different diets, most famously the diet created by Dr. Billinghurst the vet that is credited with the popularity of the BARF or Biologically Appropriate Raw Foods diet recommends that 20-40% of the daily intake for a dog be in vegetables and fruits.

Dogs do get nutritional value from vegetables including phytonutrients and phytochemicals which are plant based compounds that help prevent disease and boost the immune system. Some alternative or holistic vets recommend specific diets high in the green leafy vegetables to help dogs with chronic health conditions such as arthritis, diabetes and allergies.

When feeding your dog a few vegetables start with steaming the veggies to help with ease of digestion. You can steam and then puree the vegetables in a blender with a bit of low sodium chicken or beef stock and add to the dog's food once or twice a week. Small raw or steamed broccoli florets or a small piece of carrot are often a treat for many dogs, particularly if you start feeding them as puppies. Keep in mind a very small amount, about 10-20% of the total diet is all that should be fed in veggies.

Green veggies of most kids including kale, spinach, zucchini, green beans, peas and cabbage can also be added to the diet. Experimenting and finding out which is the best combination or most desirable for your individual dog is important. Remember that if your dog doesn't want to eat vegetables it isn't going to be a health problem. Keep offering the vegetables and try steaming them more or less until you get the right combination.

There are definitely some vegetables you should not feed to your dog. It is important to avoid feeding tomatoes, garlic, onions, potatoes or avocadoes. In addition most dogs won't eat mushrooms, which is a good thing as they can be harmful, particularly wild varieties.