After reading the research about the possible healthful benefits of supplementing the diets of dogs with vegetables (see Eat Your Veggies Part 1 October Newsletter), I decided to implement a plan to add more color to the diets of my dogs. Not willing to go completely into the homemade diet route, I decided to take a middle road, still feed the commercial diet but, as a veterinary nutritionist had advised me, replace 10 percent of the commercial diet with colorful veggies.

This, it turned out, was not as easy as it first seemed. I have two dogs on the opposite ends of the canine spectrum: Raven is a kibble purist who views anything not from a bag or of animal origin with complete distain. Veterinary publications recommend using baby carrots or frozen green beans as a crunchy alternative to high calorie treats for overweight dogs. Offering these and most other veggies to Raven resulted in a single sniff followed by an expression that could only be translated, as “You want me to eat that? Surely you jest.” Rosie, on the other hand, owing to the portion of her life spent homeless, will eat practically anything vaguely resembling food, but unfortunately has a delicate digestive system that is upset by almost everything. When Rosie eats something she shouldn’t, we are usually greeted in the morning with a smelly mess on the living room floor. (Spring, my third dog, seems willing to try and able to digest pretty much anything I offer him).

So this gave me two of the most important challenges when supplementing my dogs’ diets with veggies—getting them to eat it and making sure it was what they should be eating.

Getting my finicky dog to try something new was a matter of changing the size or texture until I found things he liked. For example, Raven rejected raw carrots, but he likes them cooked, and they are probably more easily assimilated this way. People who feed raw food homemade diets to dogs often puree the veggies to increase acceptance and ease of assimilation of the nutrients (remember, dog’s molars weren’t made to grind food as ours are). Veggies that are finely chopped and cooked in scrambled eggs are a big hit with Raven (and the high quality protein in eggs is also a good choice for an aging dog). He also enjoys cooked Brussels sprouts, a choice that surprised me, after trying for so long to get my human family to eat them.

For a dog with delicate digestion like Rosie, the watchword is “go slowly and keep a good eye on what is coming out the other end.” Many of my attempts to start supplementing with a homemade diet for Rosie have been greeted by gleeful guzzling followed by complete rejection by her digestion. A dog on a diet that she is assimilating well will have well formed stools and a minimum of gas. Anything other than this and you need to look at the specific ingredients to see what your dog isn’t able to digest. (However, chronic diarrhea or diarrhea that is not in response to a dietary change, especially if accompanied by lack of appetite or depression, means a trip to the veterinarian without delay is in order).

Commercial pet food manufacturers have also paid attention to the research showing that healthful benefits for pets might be derived from the antioxidants in fruits and vegetables and have started adding these compounds or even dried vegetables to their foods. However, because I don’t know for any particular manufacturer, how much is a demonstrated improvement and how much is advertising hype, and because natural foods contain a greater complexity of interacting antioxidant compounds, I still feel like hedging my bets and supplementing their diets with vegetables that I prepare for them myself.

Important to remember: According to the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), Animal Poison Control Center, food and beverages dogs should never consume include alcoholic beverages, chocolate, coffee, fatty foods, macadamia nuts, moldy foods, raisins/grapes, onions, garlic, yeast dough and anything containing the sugar substitute xylitol.