[Corky/Max]

[B][COLOR="Red"]I am about to attempt here to bring as much info on what to feed (and NOT) and why (And Why NOT) as I can. This will be a long process and on-going. Am starting with a generalized intro and will be listing each food separately as I get it together.[B] [COLOR="Red]


As the popularity of raw diets and home cooked diets have grown, people often wonder about adding vegetables to a dog’s diet, and how much to use. There are many diets out there, how-to books, and so much advice on the internet that it can get confusing.

Feeding vegetables may not be entirely necessary, but they can offer benefits of fiber and calories in home cooked diets and they may offer some useful nutrients in raw diets. Bones in raw diets can give the bulk or ‘fiber’ needed for firm stools, but since cooking bones are not an option for home cooked diets, vegetables can help with bulk in diets not using whole or ground bones.
Types of Vegetables
For feeding dogs, I will divide vegetables into two categories. These will be starchy and non-starchy vegetables. They are also called high glycemic (sugars) and low glycemic. For dogs, we generally like to stick to the non starchy varieties. High sugar vegetables can cause weight gain, gas, yeast problems and larger stool volume.
Low Glycemic Vegetables Include
Dark leafy greens
Summer squash (such as zucchini and yellow crook neck)
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Brussels Sprouts
Green Beans
Cucumber
Celery
High Glycemic Vegetables Include
Carrots
Winter Squash (hard rind squashes)
Green Peas
Potatoes (very high)
Parsnips
Rutabagas
Corn
Beets
Sweet Potatoes (moderate)- vomiting
Use mostly vegetables from the low glycemic list for best results
Preparation
Dogs have difficulty with fermenting and breaking down of vegetables, so we try to prepare vegetables to allow them to be utilized as fully as possible. This is achieved by several methods, including cooking, steaming, pulverizing (as in a juicer or grinder) or freezing and then fully mashing when thawed. The vegetables can be mixed together and it is important to use a variety if choosing to use vegetables. After cooking, steaming or pulverizing, the vegetables can be frozen for future use. Be sure to thaw completely before serving.
Also note that when feeding dogs that have hypothyroid conditions, you must cook cruciferous vegetables, including cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, broccoli, kale and cauliflower. These vegetables have the ability to suppress thyroid activity, but when cooked this process is eliminated and then they are fine to feed.
To be continued------------------------------------------------------->

[Corky/Max]

Serving
Not many dogs will eat vegetables alone. I probably wouldn’t recommend the amount be over 20% of the diet if feeding raw, nor over 40% of the diet if home cooking (although note special cases may apply in certain health conditions. Generally mix the vegetables with the animal protein and fat ingredients of the diet. This could include ground meat, organ meat, eggs and/or dairy.
If the dog’s stools appear too loose or voluminous, reduce the amount of vegetables or the total amount of food being fed. Too many vegetables and certain types of vegetables can also cause gas in some dogs.
Nutrient Values
Vegetables are rich in vitamin C, vitamin A and B vitamins. They also contain some minerals, including phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium, zinc, selenium, iron and copper. However, the calcium is often not freely available, so they are not a balanced meal (nor do they contain the right amino acids for dogs that are carnivores). It is also unknown how well dogs, as carnivores, can utilize these nutrients from plant sources. But they will not harm dogs if used in moderate amounts, with the bulk of the meal being animal protein and fat, and bones if feeding raw. In other words, small amounts are fine, and may even be useful for some nutrients.
Another form of nutrients found in vegetables is phytonutrients. These are not found in animal food sources and while it is unknown if carnivores can use them, new research is finding many benefits of phytonutrients.
Phytonutrients include
- Carotenoids, from carrots, papaya, pumpkin, squash, sweet potatoes, broccoli, asparagus, kale, green leafy vegetables, peppers
- Lycopene, from tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato juice, watermelon
- Flavonoids, from tomatoes, sweet potatoes, cruciferous vegetables
- Indoles, from cruciferous vegetables
- Sulforaphane, from cruciferous vegetables
- Anthocyanins, from wild blueberries, bilberries, black berries
- Sterols, from cruciferous vegetables, cucumbers, squash, sweet potatoes, eggplant, tomatoes
- Elegiac acid, from Strawberries
- Lignans, from nuts and seeds
For dogs, probably the most phytonutrient dense vegetable to feed would be broccoli.

[Corky/Max]

The experts may not agree on whether dogs are carnivores or omnivores, but at worst, fruits and vegetables in small amounts won't harm a dog and at best they may be powerful disease-fighters.
Fruits and Vegetables as Snacks
Dogs lack the digestive enzymes to properly break down plant cellulose and absorb the nutrients from raw fruits and vegetables. These should be cooked or run through a blender first if you want your dog to derive full nutritional value from them. However, if you simply want to give your dog low-calorie, fun treats, raw fruits and vegetables are fine too. Dogs often enjoy broccoli stalks, carrot, celery and summer squash chunks. Virtually any pitted fruit or berry makes a nutritious snack. Yams and sweet potatoes, though sugary and starchy, are good for dogs. Some of the new grain-free kibbles include sweet potatoes as a major ingredient.
Hazardous foods
Some fruits and vegetables can make your dog sick and in rare cases may be lethal. Never give a dog grapes or raisins: they can cause liver damage. Onions and foods (such as baby food) containing onion powder can cause hemolytic anemia. Although garlic is in the same family, it is generally considered OK for dogs unless eaten in extremely large quantities.

Health Benefits
A 2007 Purdue Veterinary School study found that adding antioxidant-rich green and yellow cooked vegetables to Scottish terriers' diet at least three times a week cut the risk of bladder cancer by 70 percent. When only cooked green leafy vegetables were used, the risk was cut by almost 90 percent. Scottish terriers are highly susceptible to bladder cancer--studies are under way to test the effects of vegetables in the diet on other cancer-prone breeds.

Fruit- and vegetable-based supplements (or the fruits and vegetables themselves) are used in other ways. Cranberries or cranberry capsules ward off bladder infections. Papayas or papaya enzymes aid digestion. In fact, many fruits and vegetables may have the same health benefits for our dogs as they do for us.

[sibebaby]

Quick question!!

I give my dogs raw broccoli stalks to chew on as the occassional treat. They really love them. Should I be steaming them or smashing them up? Is it ok to give to them raw?

[Lara's mom]

Very informative. Thank you once again for putting all that information together. I, for one, appreciate it!!!

[Corky/Max]

Before I start about each fruit/veggie---Want to emphasize: Never feed moldy or spoiled foods! And do not overfeed as may cause upset stomach, diarrhea, etc. Also note that if dog has never been fed these things--Their system may need to get use to them gradually---another reason not to overdo! Will try to keep these in alphabetical order. I will be adding more info on each separate selection as I find it. One more thing about fruit----Fruit should be fed separately because it will 'sit and rot' in stomach waiting for the rest of the food in stomach to be digested before it is all eliminated. If feeding a raw diet, prob. best to wait at least 3 hrs. either before or after the reg. meal. Home-cooked or com. dog food even longer--up to 6-7 hrs. Also best to feed fruit raw---Fruit turns aciddy when cooked! Starting with APPLE:
Apples are fine for dogs,as long as you don't let them eat the seeds.Apple seeds contain a very small trace amount of cyanide,humans can filter it out of their system if they ingest a few seeds here and there.Dogs however,cannot filter it from their system like humans do.Eventually it would build up to toxic levels if the seeds were eaten on a regular basis. Of course do not give them the stem or leaves and please no green unripe apples!! Here is a comment I found: My corgi likes apple slices, I don't give him to many of them though. I've heard it can cause loose stool.

[Corky/Max]

In general, apples are harmless to dogs. However, there are a couple of things to be cautious about: the seeds and too many apples.

The Seeds
Apple seeds contain amygdlin, a form of cyanide, which is very poisonous to every living thing. Cyanide prevents the blood from carrying oxygen throughout the body.

If the dog swallows a few seeds, the body will detoxify itself. Actually, the dog must ingest large quantities of apple seeds to do major damage. Also, the cyanide is within the seed covering, and if the covering isn’t broken, it will pass through the dog’s system intact. Sort of a no harm, no foul situation.

So, if you’re going to give your dog apples, core the apples. Then, cut them into bite-size pieces and feed the dog this way. This may seem overly cautious, but why take the chance.

The Good Things
Apples are a good source of dietary fiber and vitamin C as well as low in saturated fat and sodium. Some believe that vitamin C can help hip dysplasia, a common ailment in large and large, purebred dogs. Saturated fat contributes to heart problems. Apples contain omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which contribute to a healthy, glossy coat and help to control skin allergies.

Too Much of a Good Thing
On the down side most of the calories in apples come from naturally occurring sugar, not processed sugar that might be found in other treats it’s true. Still, sugar is sugar, so it can contribute to weight gain in large quantities.

Also, apples contain calcium and phosphorous, so if your dog has kidney trouble, don’t give him apples. Too much calcium and phosphorous in the kidney are indicators of kidney stones and early- to end-stage kidney disease.

Be careful of omega-6 fatty acids because they can cause inflammation, which wouldn’t be good for an arthritic dog. They also aren’t good for dogs with kidney disease. The apples themselves don’t have that much omega-6, but if the dog gets it from other sources, it can be a problem.

Eating too much apple can loosen a dog’s bowels, and you don’t want that. How much is too much depends on the dog, so show caution.

Don’t fear apples as a treat for your dog. Just remember to core the apple, so those pesky, poisonous seeds get thrown away. Keep the portions a reasonable size, and the dog’s coat will gleam, he won’t have diarrhea, and he’ll be one happy camper.

[Corky/Max]

Originally Posted by sibebaby

Quick question!!

I give my dogs raw broccoli stalks to chew on as the occassional treat. They really love them. Should I be steaming them or smashing them up? Is it ok to give to them raw?

Just saw an answer (while I was researching) to that!! If you are just giving as a snack and don't care about the nutritional value (food value) it is okay raw----Take all the leaves off as a precaution---Read somewhere that not good to give these. If you are using as 'food' you could steam or pulverize/smash fine if raw. Although I have not got to the broccoli 'addition' yet---And can't remember the exact reason, It sounds like it would be best to cook this because it eliminates something being depleted from the system when fed raw----Which I have been doing (I feed raw, period) But after reading this will prob start cooking it. An occasional raw stalk for a treat shouldn't do much harm. If you go to my original post--maybe it mentions why there! If not--When I do my total research on broc, will be posting on it. If not in 1st post--You could put dogs/broccoli in your browser and prob. find out why if want to know now!

[Corky/Max]

It was about the broccoli in the 1st post! Here is the copied paragraph: Also note that when feeding dogs that have hypothyroid conditions, you must cook cruciferous vegetables, including cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, broccoli, kale and cauliflower. These vegetables have the ability to suppress thyroid activity, but when cooked this process is eliminated and then they are fine to feed.
Even though it is stressing dogs with Hypothyroid conditions--It still states that raw has the ability to suppress thyroid activity so guess you have to decide what to do!

[Corky/Max]

list of vegetables and their nutritional valuesVEGETABLE NUTRITIONAL VALUES IN ORDER (considerations)
Arugula carotenoids, fiber, A, C, K, folate
Asparagus K, folate, C, A, tryptophan, B1, B2
Avocado (fruit) essential fatty acids (fat, glycemic)
Beets flavonoids, folate, manganese, potassium (glycemic)
Bell peppers carotenoids, C, A, B6, fiber (pesticides, nightshade)
Bok choy cruciferous, A, C, K, B6, folate
Broccoli carotenoids, cruciferous, C, K, A, folate, fiber
Brussels sprouts carotenoids, cruciferous, K, C, folate, A, manganese, fiber
Cabbage cruciferous, K, C, fiber, manganese, B6, folate
Carrots carotenoids, A, K, C, fiber, potassium (glycemic when cooked)
Cauliflower cruciferous, C, K, folate, fiber, B6
Celery K, C, potassium, folate, fiber (pesticides)
Collard greens carotenoids, cruciferous, K, A, C, manganese, fiber, calcium

Corn, yellow A, iron (glycemic)
Cucumbers C, molybdenum, A, potassium, (wax coating)
Dandelion greens carotenoids, A, C, E. folate
Eggplant fiber, potassium, manganese, (nightshade)
Garlic allicin, manganese, B6, C
Green beans flavonoids, K, C, manganese, A, fiber, potassium, folate
Green peas K, manganese, C, fiber, B1, folate
Kale carotenoids, flavonoids, cruciferous, K, A, C, manganese, fiber
Leeks Manganese
Mushrooms selenium, B2, copper, B3, tryptophan, B5
Mustard greens carotenoids, cruciferous, K, A, C, folate, manganese, E
Okra carotenoids, fiber, A, C, K, thiamine, B6
Olives essential fatty acids (fat, glycemic)
Onions sulfur compounds, flavonoids, chromium, fiber
Parsnips fiber, C, K, folate (glycemic)
Potatoes C (pesticides, nightshade, glycemic)
Pumpkin carotenoids, A, C, E (glycemic)
Romaine lettuce carotenoids, K, A, C, folate, manganese, chromium (pesticide)
Spinach carotenoids, K, A, minerals, folate, iron, C, B2, B6, fiber, B1, E
Squash, summer manganese, C, magnesium, A, fiber
Squash, winter carotenoids, A, C, potassium, fiber
Sweet potatoes carotenoids, A, C, manganese (glycemic)
Swiss chard carotenoids, K, A, C, manganese, potassium, iron
Tomatoes (fruit) carotenoids, C, A, K, molybdenum, potassium (nightshade)
Turnip greens carotenoids, cruciferous, K, A, C, folate, manganese, fiber

Watercress carotenoids, cruciferous, A, C, folate
Yams (glycemic)
Zucchini carotenoids, C, magnesium, A, fiber