Adding vegetables for dogs with weight issues can offer a little extra feeling of fullness when trying to cut calories. But that is only one benefit.
I can’t think of many reasons NOT to love vegetables. They are famous for protecting health.
Vegetables have numerous vitamins and minerals, but also beneficial plant compounds, antioxidants, fiber and more. They offer hydration, since they are mostly water. This is important because many dogs who eat a kibble based diet walk around in a constant state of dehydration. Feeding your dog fresh foods can help offset this problem. And a tip: when cooking vegetables, you can save the cooking water and use it elsewhere. This is an extra benefit since some of the nutrients cook out into the water.
Veggies come in a wide range of colors, textures, flavors, smells and more. And some are more famous than others. For example, cruciferous vegetables are well documented for their anti-cancer actions.
As with most of my diet related suggestions, I definitely suggest cutting calories gradually, not suddenly. And same with increasing vegetable content. We don’t want our dogs getting upset bellies because they had too many vegetables all at once, or too many too soon. Slow and steady really does win the race.
I have had many clients with dogs who are overweight. I help construct nutritious diets consisting of appropriate proteins, fats and other nutrients, and when it comes to excess weight, I make sure we gradually start incorporating a wider variety of vegetables.
Adding vegetables in an appropriate way will not only benefit your dog’s weight, but it will offer great nutritional protection, both short term and long term.
Visit my Services page to get started on a truly nourishing diet for your dog. Thank you! ~ Sarah
PS – Do you have an overweight golden retriever? Visit my other website, GoldenRetrieverDiet.com.