Found A Good And Convenient Way Of Getting Vegetables And Natural Vitamins Into The Dogs

[thefensarefarbutistillgo 2,481]

Been recently looking into feeding the dogs a better diet and more natural rather than all this processed crap, one thing I've started doing to get some natural vitamins and minerals into them is lightly boil a mixture of swede, sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, tomatoes and spinach in a pan then drain the water and get the hand blender into it and blend it all up, then let it cool down and spoon it into those plastic party cups and bung them in the freezer, then every other day take one cup out of the freezer in the morning let it defrost and mix it into there feed at night (mixture of raw meat and complete buiscits). It must better for the dogs than just getting there vitamins from complete dry dog food which must just get a processed vitamin powder added to it, or am I just wasting my time lol, does anyone else bother feeding there dogs vegetables ?

[Sirius 1,391]

Yes I do batches up in ice cube trays of pulverised raw veg done it for years! Also add other veg ad hock when it's available along with other bits and pieces.

Edited February 19, 2014 by Sirius

[Chid 6,489]

aye i do but raw vegtables are better no goodness boiled out of them

[littlefish 574]

From what I remember from home economics classes at school.........30 years ago..........Boiling veg destroys a lot of vitamins......and the water you are draining......probably contains a lot of those vitamins......down the sink.......

 

Perhaps it might be better to lightly steam the veg in a very small amount of water and just throw it of top of their food?

[thefensarefarbutistillgo 2,481]

Yea I know boiling veg can kill vitamins in it, only did it for 10 mins to cook the swede and sweet potatoe and did the carrot and broccoli for less and only 1 min for spinach leaves and added tin if chopped tomatoes at the end, got 12 cups out of 1 pan full, fed every other day nearly a months worth, havnt got time to be doing it every nite fresh so made a batch and froze it all

[toby1066 413]

good idea mate could also try grating some raw veg like carrot swede ect into the dogs meat then mix it all up so the meat gives it flavour like chid says cooking can take away a lot of the vitamins

[terryd 8,376]

Chuck neck of lamb in and you got your dinner sorted too

[pesky1972 5,217]

I feed mine veg with every meal. Probably 20-30% veg (mix of carrots, peas, leftover potatoes, brown rice, and whatever's knock-down at Tesco). I'd read that dogs don't have the enzymes in the gut to break down the cell structure in veg like we do so that you've got to boil it up and at least get it softened up for them first, otherwise it just passes straight through barely digested. I boil it long enough that I can smash it all down and mix it through minced chicken/tripe/beef, or whatever I'm feeding. I do mine in big batches, maybe every couple of weeks & freeze them. Very rarely feed meal/mixer now. Dog can't get enough of it.

[thefensarefarbutistillgo 2,481]

I feed mine veg with every meal. Probably 20-30% veg (mix of carrots, peas, leftover potatoes, brown rice, and whatever's knock-down at Tesco). I'd read that dogs don't have the enzymes in the gut to break down the cell structure in veg like we do so that you've got to boil it up and at least get it softened up for them first, otherwise it just passes straight through barely digested. I boil it long enough that I can smash it all down and mix it through minced chicken/tripe/beef, or whatever I'm feeding. I do mine in big batches, maybe every couple of weeks & freeze them. Very rarely feed meal/mixer now. Dog can't get enough of it.

yea I read that aswell that's why I mash the veg up with an electric hand blender so the dogs get more out of it and use the complete dry dog food as a carbohydrate source as it mostly cereals wheat maize etc and add minced lamb or beef as good source of protein and fat

[Hurlock 114]

Fens bit of a partial boil to the veg wont harm. Wild carnivores generally eat the stomach and its contents first on a kill and the vegetation in the stomach is partially digested so prob not a lot different to boiling it up.

 

I use the tinned pumpkin out of a tin coz i'm lazy very good for a dog with loose stools as well

[cocker 2,654]

i feed them on food wi veg mixed in every day, but i buy them big cheap bags of frozen raw veg out of the freezer counter, theres al sorts of veg in it, and there chopped up small already, i let it defrost then cos its small bits of diced fresh veg, i can mash it up raw, which keeps all the vitamins in but makes it easy to digest aswel, plus doing it this way theres no hassle takes a minute to chuck it in a bowl and mash it up,

 

plus i mixed tinned chopped tomato, brown bread, pasta, and a load of fatty butchers mince in, dogs love it and hold there weight and condition well on it through winter

[cocker 2,654]

tried my dogs on all them top dried foods, eukanuba hills science plan the lot and my dogs won't hardly touch it, and if they do they just shit all over, on the stuff i said i feed em on above they take no keeping clean, never no shit in there pens, (i do mix a little bit of complete in with me other stuff but not much)

[sandymere 8,263]

Bit of veg is common sense , the idea that cooking destroying vitamins etc was a bit oversold, its swings and roundabouts, raw more vitamins but harder to digest, cooked slightly lower vitamins but easier to digest, likely ends up about equal to all intents and purposes. Frozen is good as it tends to hold the vitamins where fresh may be days old so deteriorates plus freezing breaks down the cells helping digestion. Having said all that any veg cooked, raw frozen or fresh as long as its fed regularly will supply plenty of vitamins, minerals and fibre, add meat protein and carbs and can’t go wrong.

[lee 99]

Feed veg raw , mix various ones up in a blender with a bit of water, this way it will be easier for the dogs to digest and get the most of out them.

[thefensarefarbutistillgo 2,481]

Would just giving them half a tablet of sanatogen A to Z just do the same job thow and be a lot easier