This is why you need to feed your dog pureed vegetables

Doctors have been telling us this, even good diets keep stressing on it – they all continue to tell us that we need veggies to be healthy. But does our dog need them too? Unlike cats, which are obligate carnivores (which means they can eat ONLY meat), dogs are omnivores and can handle vegetables and fruits in their diet. While the jury is still out on whether there is any use of these food items, we believe that it can’t hurt. Let’s read a little more on this, shall we? What do dogs get from vegetables? There are several advantages and reasons to include vegetables in your dog’s diet. Here they are, in no particular order:

#1. Evolution:

• If you look at wolves and wild dogs, they have been known to eat vegetable naturally for thousands of years.
• Wild canines eat the gut contents of their prey, which in most cases is a herbivore.
• They have been observed scavenging for fruit, berries and other vegetable material.

#2. Vegetables help alkalize the body:

It is important that your dog’s diet maintain the alkalinity and acidity balance in the body. Organs, such as liver, heart, kidneys, pancreas, gallbladder and hormones, require a more alkaline environment to function efficiently. Proteins like meat make the body more acidic, leading to inflammation. Vegetables and some fruits, on the other hand, have an alkalinizing effect on the body.

#3. Wide range of nutrients:

Vegetables contain proteins, fats, lipids, carbohydrates, phytonutrients and fibre which are required to offer your dog a complete meal.

#4. Water:

Dogs that eat kibble are in a chronic state of dehydration which can lead to kidney disease or even the formation of stones in the bladder. Fruit and veggies offer an excellent and natural source of water to your pooch.

#5. Vitamins:

Vegetables can be a source of these vitamins for your dog:

• Vitamin B, except in B12 and B1, for which you need to feed your dog foods like liver and eggs.
• Vitamin C and co-factors
• Vitamins A, E and K

#6. Minerals:

Dark leafy green vegetables are good for us and they are good for our dogs since they contain crucial minerals like calcium, potassium and magnesium. You can add spinach or even consider including alfalfa and seaweed to make sure your dog gets adequate minerals.

#7. Phytonutrients:

Phytonutrients are for your dog as they perform several tasks, such as:

• Kill cancer cells.
• Reduce inflammation
• Promote gut health
• Support a healthy liver

And these super ingredients are only found in vegetables.

#8. Enzymes:

Enzymes help your dog help digest food and manage all metabolic processes. Some enzymes survive the acid in your dog’s stomach and pass into the intestine to offer anti-aging, anti-degeneration and pro-health benefits.

#9. Antioxidants:

We all know that vegetables and fruits are nature’s treasure trove of antioxidants. In fact, they are the only source. Antioxidants have been known to protect against free radicals that damage the cells and organs.

#10 Fibre:

Raw vegetable is your dog’s supply of healthy fibre. Any untouched fibre goes to the colon from where it turns into healthy substances called short chain fatty acids that are used for energy, to promote growth of immune cells and to protect the mucus lining in the gut.

Why to feed pureed vegetables to dogs:

Now that we’ve sold you on the idea of feeding your dog vegetables, the question is ‘how?’. For starters, they must be fed raw for maximum benefits. Does that mean giving it to them whole? Nope, that’s not how your dog will get all the nutritional benefits of eating vegetables. Plant cells have a sheath of a cellulose cell wall. Bad news: dogs can’t digest cellulose. Which is why when you feed your pooch a whole carrot or beans, it comes out looking the same as it went in. What would the dogs do in the wild? Consider what wolves and wild dogs do. They eat the stomach contents of their prey, and since their prey are usually herbivores, the stomach contains pre-digested vegetable matter.

Teeth of dogs:

Also, dogs don’t have the same teeth as that of a herbivore. Instead of flat teeth that are able to grind and crush vegetables, dogs have sharp caninesthat rip and tear flesh. So this clears the air on why you shouldn’t feed dogs whole vegetables or fruits, but that doesn’t tell us how they will get access to vegetable matter as part of their regular. It is up to us, their guardians, to help them get that vegetable nutrition in other ways.

Here’s what you can do:

For your dog to be able to get the maximum benefit from the vegetables you feed him, you will need to recreate the condition of vegetables as they would eat in the wild. A whole vegetable is an excellent source of fibre for your dog, but if that cellulose cell wall isn’t breached, either in the body or before eating, then your dog’s body can’t access those nutrients.

Breaking pureed vegetables down:

You have to break down each and every cell to make this nutrition available. And this means crushing or pureeing the vegetables. You can also juice them and then add the pulp back to the juice to give your dog a healthy protein shake to be had along with his daily meal. Alternatively, you can also cook the vegetables before feeding them. While dogs can digest cooked vegetables, the downside to this is that cooking destroys most of the nutrients and kills the natural enzymes that help in digesting the food.

Feeding Fresh:

Feed fresh, raw vegetables to keep the nutrition intact and also to preserve the living enzymes, or ‘life force’, which is much required for your dog’s overall wellbeing.

Conclusion:

Your pooch can benefit tremendously from a helping of fresh veggies and fruits, provided you feed them in a pureed form. Don’t cook and definitely don’t give chopped up pieces either. Neither one will offer your dog any nutritional advantages. Yes, the first works as a great filler and the other is an excellent way to keep your dog occupied and entertained for some time. But for feeding and as part of a healthy diet, vegetables in pureed form only. Bon appetit!