Is fruit and veggies okey for dogs

[ilovehounds]

I have a three your old beagle who is 15 pounds over weight.

I have cut her off of all treats except for rawhide bones and science diet light dog treats.

But being a hound she is always hungry and she loves to eat fruit and veggies like pears, apples, bananas, carrots, potatoes ... is it alright for her to snack on these foods ? will it help her lose weight eating healthy like us humans or are foods like that not good for dogs ?

She goes for a walk twice a day and I have cut her amount of supper down aswell.

I was just wondering if it was alright or if it would help :0)

[carrie]

It would help if you actually put out all her food for the day and take a portion of that away to use as treats. Hounds are usually as happy with a bit of their normal diet as a reward as they are with doggy chocolate. Let's face it - it goes down so quick they don't have a clue what it is!!!

As for fruit and veg.... great idea but introduce it to the main feed gradually!! A lot of extra fibre that the dog is not used to digesting is going to make life pretty unpleasant for you - if you get the wind I'm sailing on?!?!

Raw, minced carrots, cabbage and any cooked (not salted and not buttered) root vegetables are excellent as tummy fillers and add vitamins. Garlic, raw and minced is great ( one clove every other day).

If you intend to make vegetables a major part of the diet you must be careful with the dog food you mix them with. Although it is highly unlikely that you could get to the stage of overload no supplements should be given unless the vet approves.

All in all an excellent idea, but as a gradually introduced main diet food before you get to the treat stage. It will not hurt your dog to give little bits as treats - but if your going to do it, why not go for the full benefits?

[carrie]

Forgot to say that onions are a bad idea. In large quantities they can be toxic to dogs.

[jackiesdaisy1935]

I buy "Natures receipe" for Daisy in Lamb and Rice cans, it also has carrots and potatoes in it. It is for adult maintenance, and she loves it. Perry loves the dry food and also has Lamb and rice. For treats, they get "People crackers", the crackers are made like people, mailman etc, and I also make cookies for them.

[RachelJ]

My dogs get bites of apple, celery, banana, canalope, brocoli, carrot, and pear, all of which they love. The only thing that didn't seem to be agreeable to Hannah was strawberries.

[Karen]

One of the dogs we had growing up LOVED cooked carrots - would drool at the thought of getting one slice - and her favorite summer chew toys were corn cobs (okay, we often left a few kernels for her) and watermelon rinds! Bones were okay, too, but corn cobs were extra special!

[mruffruff]

My dogs consider raw carrots and lettuce a real treat. I have to watch that they don't get too much so I limit them to one 2 inch piece of carrot each day. They have a lot of calories in them but they keep the teeth clean. I often mix cooked leftover vegetables with their dog food. They don't care for fruits.

[ownerof3dogs]

Hercules loves Veggies and fruits. One time I gave him the rine from a Canalope that still had some left on it and Herc ate it like he was eating corn on the cob. He ate everything except for the rine. He loved it!

[tatsxxx11]

My guys love all sorts of raw or cooked veggies and fruits. Just watch out for the fiber content and amount!! (Phew~~~~!) They get chopped raw apples and carrots in their dinner meal every day, and snacks and treats of cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, bananas etc. Haven't found one they don't like yet! Vet says that espec. raw veggies and fruits are good. Good luck with your little beagle! You're doing such a good thing for her! (What's her name?) She'll really love you for it in the end. And like Carrie has said in posts past. The loss should be slow and steady, not drastic; and don't give up! (I'm paraphrasing you Carrie...forgive me!)

[This message has been edited by tatsxxx11 (edited March 29, 2001).]

[ilovehounds]

Thanks for the heads up :0) My Big Baby Beagle Hannah has gianed about 15 - 20 pounds over the winter and is feeling the strain of the weight so she has been ordered to lose at least 15 pounds.

Its mostly my fault I spoil her rotten and everytime I go shopping she meets me at the door looking for her treat because she knows I always buy her something to, and we are a little lazy over the winter months.

I have cut her off of all treats as I said in my first post and we go for walks twice a day (well I use the word walk to Hannah but its a twenty to thirty minute run in our back 20 acre field, I sit in the middle of the field on a lawn chair and her and Copper my other hound run like crazy, then we have a game of ball.) So far she has lost three pounds, we are pretty proud of that :0)

I know she loves veggies and fruit so I though that would be the perfect low fat treat. I give her alittle as a snack in the afternoon, and mix alittle in her food.

Carries suggestion of taking some food from her supper as a snack is also a great idea. I think once the weather warms up and we get back to agility, and all the summer fun we have the weight should fall off.

Thanks for all the suggestions, you guys are a great help. Im glade I found this board I have gotten alot of good advice on many things. Im only 21 so I have alot to learn :0)

[shais_mom]

Jackie, I just bought a can of that today and Shai inhaled it with the carrot and potatoe chunks. She get the chicken natures blend dry food, and loves it.(YEAH) and I can't get her to eat the people crackers for nothin!! not even in her food!!
And she won't eat any fruit or veggies. She has actually spit them out!!PFFFFT!!!!
But she did like the INNOVA dog food I bought for her.
I wonder if she won't eat them b/c I didn't have her as a puppy and give them to her from the beginning??
Oh and if I tried to hold back her food for treats she would fall on the floor laughing at me!!!!

[This message has been edited by shais_mom (edited March 31, 2001).]

[Daisy's Mom]

ilovehounds, from one hound mom to another, I know that hound appetite you are talking about. They are seriously not happy with just kibble, really! Daisy also loves fruits and veggies (and anything else, edible or not ) but she too is a little chunky. She is one pound away from being overweight and I am trying to cut down the human treats I give her. You may all think I am horrible but I share my food with her a lot... before you think that of me though, you try to eat and say no to big droopy brown hound eyes! It's not so easy okay? But I am trying to slim her down. It will be easier when all these feet of snow melt and Daisy can run around more, and I can walk her.

[ilovehounds]

I know what you mean Daisy's Mom, non hound owners don't know how hard it is to say no to big sad eyes and those adorable hound dog ears :0) And its hard to fill a hound up without them gaining alittle now and then. They will eat till they burst.

She has always been a happy healthy 25 pounds, she is a little taller then what a beagle should be so thats a good wieght for her but just a few weeks ago I started seeing her acting uncomfortable when trying to sleep, she snores alot now, and she wasn't her happy hyper self. Then my mom had said something like no wonder look at the size of her, and my dad said something like look at that a$$ she has gained weight. I didn't really notice the weight but they don't see her as much as I do and they noticed it.
So when we went and had her weighed she weighed 40 pounds. She was order to lose at least 15 and she should feel alot better.

But she has lost some so we are making progress :0)

[ilovehounds]

Hi, I just wanted to tell you that the diet is working Hannah has now lost 7 pounds.

She gets so excited when I go to weigh her because no matter if she has lost weight or not I tell her what a great girl she is being and give her big hugs and kisses then say "who wants an apple" (favorite treat) and she goes nuts.

She is suppose to lose the 15 pounds by the 18th of July when we go back to the vets but I'll be proud of her wether she looses it all or not. She is more healthy and happy now so thats all that matters.

Thanks for all your advice, you guys are great :0)

[carrie]

Well done!!

I'm not sure if I've posted this story before - if I have, I'm sorry.
One of our Greyhounds would always take his food bowl up onto his bed to eat. We fed meat and a high energy biscuit mix with minced vegetables and barley. Every morning his bowl would contain only the tiny bits of minced carrot in the bottom. It must of taken him hours to sift through every scrap of food and no matter how little carrot we fed him he never ate it!