BARF, or biologically species-appropriate raw feeding, is becoming increasingly popular among dog owners. The goal is to «recreate» or recreate a prey animal as completely as possible in order to provide your four-legged friend with everything it needs to stay fit and healthy. Fruits and vegetables are intended to replace the fur, feathers, stomach and intestinal contents of the prey animal, as well as grass or berries eaten in the meantime to aid digestion. In our article we have summarized for you why plant-based ingredients can be important and which fruits and vegetables are suitable for dogs.
Why fruit and vegetables for your dog?
The fruits and vegetables given do not primarily act as a source of vitamins, minerals and trace elements for your dog, but primarily act as a “digestive aid”. Offal and bones are mainly used to cover the main requirement for vitamins, minerals and trace elements. In this case fruit and vegetables only make a very limited contribution.
Information: Offals are a real bomb of vitamins and minerals. 100 g of calf liver contains on average 39.0 mg of vitamin A, while 100 g of carrot contains only 2.2 mg.
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The crude fibers contained in fruit and vegetables promote the further transport of food pulp into the intestine (preventing constipation) and contribute to the formation of stool. Crude fiber also serves as food for the bacteria in your dog’s intestines which are involved in digestion and therefore contribute to healthy intestinal flora and a strong immune system.
Secondary plant substances contained in fruits and vegetables, such as: B. various flavonoids and antioxidants, can also have a positive effect on your dog’s organism and strengthen his well-being. But be careful! Not all secondary plant substances have positive effects; Furthermore, there are a whole series of secondary plant substances that are harmful to health. Therefore, to keep your pet healthy, it is important to give him only healthy fruits and vegetables. You can read about which fruits and vegetables your dog can eat and which ones are best not to eat in the following sections! Our list includes the most well-known types of fruit and vegetables, but does not claim to be complete.
If you are unsure about the compatibility of the individual components, contact our colleagues at the adventure markets at Kölle Zoo or ask your veterinarian or nutritionist!
What fruits and vegetables can you feed?
The fruit and vegetables listed here can be administered (almost) safely. However, keep in mind that fruit can have a laxative effect or even cause diarrhea due to the fructose it contains. The riper the fruit, the more fructose it contains and the more calories it has.
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Cooling in the heat for small animals
- Various leaf lettuces, Chinese cabbage, rocket, watercress
- Boiled potatoes, boiled sweet potatoes, raw or steamed pumpkin
- Carrots, cucumbers, courgettes, red and overripe peppers, fennel, parsnips
- Apple, pear, banana, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries
Suggestion: It may happen that your four-legged friend cannot tolerate one of the fruits or vegetables mentioned above. If you notice that your pet reacts with diarrhea, vomiting or flatulence, leave out the corresponding fruit or vegetable.
Which fruits and vegetables can be fed with restrictions?
Peas and various types of cabbage (e.g. cauliflower, broccoli) can cause bloating and stomach pain. If you still want to feed them, you should definitely boil the peas, cauliflower and broccoli before feeding them, as vegetables are easier to digest. However, many dogs still react with digestive problems. By the way, cooked peas are excreted undigested, for example: B. It is also recommended to mash vegetables before feeding them.
Spinach (506.5 mg oxalic acid/100 g), chard (670.0 mg oxalic acid/100 g) and red beets (180 mg oxalic acid/100 g) contain relatively high levels of oxalic acid. In comparison: 100 grams of carrot contains only 6.1 g of oxalic acid.
Oxalic acid can put a strain on the kidneys of animals with kidney disease if larger amounts are administered frequently. The acid also binds calcium in the intestine and prevents absorption of the mineral. This can have a negative impact, especially on young growing animals and osteoarthritis patients.
Which fruits and vegetables are best not to eat?
It is best not to give the fruits and vegetables listed here at all. How they affect your dog can range from digestive upset to severe poisoning and death.
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- Raw potatoes
- Grapes, raisins/sultanas, bitter almonds
- Ornamental pumpkins, avocados
- Tomatoes, aubergines, green and yellow peppers
- Onions, raw garlic
Important: It is often recommended to feed raw garlic in reference to its deterrent effect against parasites and toxicity is minimized. We strongly advise against feeding raw garlic, as the allicin contained in garlic leads to anemia! Dried garlic granules for dogs, however, can be administered safely (in the recommended quantity)!
Here we have summarized for you what foods are poisonous for dogs if you want to delve deeper into this topic.
How to prepare fruit and vegetables?
Because dogs and cats do not have chewing surfaces on their teeth, they cannot sufficiently cut raw fruits and vegetables “in one piece” and therefore cannot use them. Plants have a double cell wall that must be destroyed (e.g. by chewing) for their ingredients to be released. Only by releasing the ingredients from the plant cells will your dog be able to benefit from them. For this reason it is advisable to blend or grate fruit and vegetables before feeding them. By the way, cutting your fruit and vegetable ration has another advantage! Acceptance has increased greatly because many dogs disdain the larger pieces of fruits and vegetables in their food and separate them. If preparing fruit and vegetables is too demanding for you, you have little time or you are on holiday, you can also use fruit or vegetable flakes!
Feed your dog, e.g. For example, if you occasionally eat a whole carrot to keep yourself busy or to fill your stomach, its nutritional value is almost zero.
Information: Cellulose, the main component of the cell wall of a plant cell, is an indigestible fiber for dogs, cats and us humans! However, cellulose serves as food for intestinal bacteria, fills your stomach and fills you up – you can take advantage of it!
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Vegetables as a stomach filler
If you want more volume of food to “satiate” your dog, low-calorie vegetables are a good option. Carrots and various salads are suitable for this. The stomach filler concept is especially useful for constantly hungry dogs with a normal figure and for dogs who are losing weightit should be interesting, because it makes dogs happier.
Danger: However, if your dog is constantly hungry and is too thin even if you are already giving him a relatively large amount of food, be sure to check the fat content of the food ration!
Additional Information: Dogs do not have the classic “satiety receptors” in their stomach like humans, but rather have “stretch receptors”. Basically your dog feels full when his stomach has filled to a certain point and then expanded. With BARF you can feed up to 30% of the total ration of stomach-filling vegetables, but no more, since the digestibility of the remaining food decreases as the amount of crude fiber in the total ration increases.
Conclusion
Fruit and vegetables can represent an important component in a balanced BARF ration that covers needs, they provide important nutrients and, with their high crude fiber content, act as a digestive aid. To make the vegetable components as usable as possible for your four-legged friend we recommend boiling or grating them. Not sure how much fruit and vegetables you should give or would like your BARF plan checked? Our employees in our Kölle Zoo Adventure Markets will be happy to assist you with advice and support!
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