Can dogs fully digest added vegetables and fruit? Should I feed them?

It is important to monitor her body weight, condition and coat health and stool quality in order to assess how well balanced her nutritional state is. Many vegetable and grain particles can retain size and structure of the fiberous nature even though the dissolvable nutrients may have been absorbed. Dogs digest neat based products much easier

Dogs are omnivores and require an appropriate balance of nutrients as a part of a healthy diet. Most dogs do well with twice daily feedings. Typically, I recommend commercially prepared foods, such as Science Diet, Royal Canin, and Purina ProPlan. However, many people prefer preparing their dog's food at home. Balanceit.com is a website out of UC-Davis that has a wide variety of recipes for home cooked diets with appropriate vitamin and mineral supplementation. I am not aware of any appropriately balanced vegan diets for dogs, but a vegetarian diet is certainly possible. Common fruits and vegetables that Pelu could consume include green beans, peas, carrots, beans, and apples. I don't understand your question about "dollops" of fruits and vegetables. Simply follow any home cooked recipe closely and be sure to supplement so that Pelu does not experience any mineral deficiencies.

Hello. Dogs are definitely omnivores & can digest grains & vegetables just fine. Many pets enjoy chewing on raw carrots, but a little processing will not hurt with any vegetable. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Neither dogs nor cats are herbivores. Cats are obligatory carnivores, so feeding them fruit and vegetables is not advised as their gut is to short to digest plant material effectively . Dogs can have some fruit and vegetables, but, again, they are carnivores, and therefore fruit and veggies would naturally only be consumed as part of eating a stomach with content. You can give a dog veggie treats such as boiled carrot and green beans, or a piece of apple. Any other vegetables or fruit are not advised. Best is to feed your dog a commercial complete diet for the size and age of your breed/dog.

While dogs can eat plant material, they are carnivorous. This is show in the design of their teeth. They have sharp, blade like molars that are designed for slicing food rather than grinding it. Herbivores, like cows, have molars that are flatter and are made to grind up the plant material. In addition, their digestive system is designed to digest protein and fat, and due to that, they have trouble digesting produce. Produce should therefore be pureed to help them fully digest it.

If this canned food is proper dog food then there should be no problem for your dog to digest it. Dogs do not need pate'd food to be able to digest the food. Just make sure that you calculate the added canned food into her total daily intake, like you do with her treats.

You may want to add some kibble (dry complete dog food) to make up the remaining 60-70% of her ration. I do not think mashing up the vegetables will make a difference. Pate canned food has the same digestibility as any other good quality food. 10 to 15% extras in form of treats is ok provided you only feed 85 to 90% of dog food, ie , your total should be 100% of her daily ration . You can give her boiled carrots/ carrot pieces or green beans as treats.