Does Your Dog Always Want What You’re Eating?

 

Best Foods We Can Share With Our Dogs

Yep there is food we can share with our beloved dogs. And it’s good for them!

Dogs don’t share the same sense of texture and appearance of food as we do. This means they will consume many foods mixed up in ways not acceptable to most people.

 

We can use some left-overs to give our dogs. But not everything. One thing we can share with them is carrots! These are excellent for dogs. They’re effective in managing a dog’s weight, if necessary. They can be eaten raw or cooked and put through a food processor and mixed with their regular dog food.

As an example, replacing a third of the normal allowance of dog food with carrots will provide real weight control benefits while meeting the dog’s dietary needs. Additionally, raw carrots are a great asset to managing a dog’s breath and oral hygiene. They naturally clean the teeth while the dog chews them and polishes the surfaces, removing particles of food that could cause odors.

Carrots are also one of the best treats that can be used for rewards and training, and the more a dog favors carrots as a preferred food, the more he will benefit from it. If a dog suffers from a sensitive digestive tract but balks at most commercial foods,  Cesar Millan recommends mixing in some cooked pasta (without the garlic and sauces) to add variety to the food.

Additionally, a serving of many table vegetables make a good addition to commercial dry foods. Just put a couple spoonfuls of the ones in the following list in their own dog food. They’ll enjoy it and get the nutrients from them, fiber, electrolytes, calcium, potassium and various vitamins.

Peas  Brussels sprouts, Bananas, Sweet potatoes, Asparagus, Green beans, and Spinach. These also add very little sugar or fat if prepared from fresh, not canned.

Pumpkin is a great source of fiber and also provides a good supply of beta carotenes, which is a way to get your dog additional Vitamin A. The fiber is as important to your dogs as it is in humans in keeping the digestive tracts clear and functioning properly.

In fact, I have a Pumpkin Treat recipe here on my blog for dogs. And all 3 of mine love them. You can just add a little canned pumpkin to their dog food. (Not the pie one, just regular pumpkin). It has fiber and Vitamin A, vets point to the presence of both iron and potassium as another reason to add pumpkin to a dog’s diet.

IMPORTANT – For these same reasons, pumpkin is a food to be avoided if your dog has shown signs of a sensitive stomach or the vet has told you to limit fiber in his diet. Pumpkin in even small amounts can upset these dogs and harm, rather than improve digestion.

  Another food we can share with our dogs is chicken. It has lots of vitamins and nutrients for both of us. They include, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B3 (niacin), Vitamin B12, Carbohydrates, Iron, Calcium, Iron and Amino acids.

The next good food for them, is Oatmeal. It’s included in many quality dog food products. It is one of the grains considered a good choice for dogs and is often in higher concentrations in specialty dog foods. The choice of oatmeal in such dog food is due to its help with digestion in dogs with sensitive stomachs and digestion problems.

Oatmeal is an excellent source for nutrients, vitamins and antioxidents for both humans and dogs.

Next is Yogurt, but you have to pick the right kind. Select the basic, unflavored and unsweetened yogurts. Avoid those marketed as desserts or treats. Some dogs are sensitive to the artificial compounds in these yogurts. Secondly, ensure the yogurt chosen has live and active cultures. Labels will indicate this important fact about the ingredients.

If a dog has not been eating yogurt, it is good to test them for tolerance over a few days. Simply add a bit of yogurt to meals over three or four days of feeding and watch for any symptoms of lactose intolerance or related issues. If these are observed, the dog should be checked out by a vet.

Another great food for dogs with sensitive stomachs and those recovering from surgery or other trauma is Rice. It’s really bland by itself, but it can be mixed with egg yolks. Vets always recommend rice if your dog has a stomach problem.

Look for the words ‘whole grain’ in the ingredient list. Rice is identified as one of the preferred whole grains. For active dogs, white rice is a good supplement to other foods, providing a good source of highly digestible carbohydrates. This provides the extra energy some dogs need without the large number of calories in alternative foods. Likewise, this energy source will help older dogs or those with upset stomachs. White or brown rice is fine.

They won’t know the difference between instant and cooked. So just make some and keep it in the refrigerator.

Cheese is the next food we can share. It makes an excellent snack or training food. Unless you suspect or know your dog is lactose intolerant, many types of cheese are great snacks, especially low fat cheeses such as cheddar and cottage cheese.

Many studies show cheese to be one of the new health foods, providing benefits such as adding anti-inflammatory properties and helping to reduce acidity in stomach linings. This is a highly desirable characteristic for older dogs, particularly in breed prone to joint and hip problems.

Cheese seems to counter a sense of hunger and often satiates the desire to eat in excess. So if your dog is over-weight this would be a good choice.

According to Tori Avey, a popular food blogger, there are some cheeses to avoid, especially those high in fat levels, such as Gruyere. However, cheese is generally ounce for ounce lower in fat and problem ingredients, than most other foods. This would work great with rice, put a little shredded in it or cottage cheese.

As science and dog food companies focus time and millions of dollars on researching optimal dog dietary habits, some trends prove to be less than desirable. They make foods which are highly digestible and reduce the overall volume of stool produced by your pet. This eliminates a lot of the fiber considered important for your pet’s overall health!

Salmon, apples, and liver are also ok to share with your dog. These foods have a lot of vitamins and nutrients in them. They’re good for us and them!  So when you’re eating these, you can share it.  Or if you want, you can just put some in with their dog food. Which for me, I’d have to, with the liver.  Cook it first, them give them a little.

Instead of just treating the dog as a garbage disposal getting all the scraps, select the right foods to share.

I hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful.  I know we all love our dogs, as family and want to keep them as healthy as possible!   Thank you for stopping by!  Give your furbaby a kiss for me!

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