Fruits and Veggies for Dogs: Jackson & Tinkerbell’s Top 7 Produce Picks
By Lynn Stacy-Smith
Yesterday was National Biscuit Day and I shared my favorite and trusted brands of dog treats, so today is a perfect time to share some of Jackson and Tinkerbell’s favorite fruits and veggies for dogs. My teenagers joke that our dogs are “nerds” of the dog world because they beg for things like kale and cucumber slices but don’t even wake from their slumber if we cook a nice juicy steak or burgers on the grill.
It doesn’t help that I do not allow the dogs to eat wheat, corn, soy, white potatoes, chicken, any other poultry products, beef, or any of the more “mainstream” brands of food or treats that you might find at a big box retailer. By-products and anything with the word “animal” is a huge no-no in this house and I have not shopped at big box stores for pet products for over six years. Part of this list of things they cannot have is due to food sensitivities in one or the other dog, and part is simply because I am extremely cautious with what they are allowed to ingest. Losing two dogs in a row to cancer will do that to a dog owner.
Here are the produce department items that send Jax and Tink racing into the kitchen waiting for their portion to be handed to them or for something to drop onto the floor. These are Jackson & Tinkerbell’s Top 7 Produce Picks:
1. Kale, spinach & green leaf lettuce: I make my salads with my own mix of kale, spinach and green leaf lettuce and both dogs come running into the kitchen the moment they smell the greens coming out of the fridge. They stand patiently, one dog on each side of me, eyes firmly on the counter top, and I had them small bunches of leaves that they wolf down happily. Sometimes I will put a handful into their bowls like their very own salad. I try not to do this when any other humans are around; they already think I’m a bit dog crazy so the last thing I need them to catch me doing is making the dogs a salad.
2. Cucumber slices: I can eat just plain slices of cucumbers as a yummy snack and so can the dogs. They were particularly happy the summers we grew our own in our veggie garden. According to Modern Dog Magazine, cucumbers are good sources of calcium, potassium, and beta-carotene.
3. Carrots: Carrots are legendary as dog treats, and according to the American Kennel Club, they provide some dental benefits with their crunchy texture and contain vitamin A, potassium, and fiber. Jax and Tink know the word “carrot” very well, to the point that it is almost a reliable recall word. Carrots make an easy to purchase treat when running to the local healthy pet store is not convenient as you can pick up a bag of organic mini carrots at most stores.
4. Bell peppers: Red, yellow and orange bell peppers are right up there with cucumbers as veggies that I love to just eat plain. They are one of my favorite nearly zero calorie treats for me, and the dogs love them too. Just don’t give your dogs any hot peppers, only sweet bell peppers are ok.
5. Bananas: I have officially given up any hope of eating an entire banana on my own, and that’s just fine because there’s nobody I’d rather share it with than Jax and Tink. In fact, on those days when they are so interested in the smells of the yard that they come down with the “selective hearing” that Labradors are prone to get, all I have to say is “Who wants to share a banana with me?” and they will run as fast as they can to the kitchen door while I hope that nobody ate that last banana that was on the counter earlier.
6. Watermelon: We eat a lot of watermelon in this house. Every last one of us loves it and the dogs are no different. We will cut a huge melon into chunks and put it into a massive Tupperware bowl. It usually lasts two days and you end up with two dogs sitting in front of you with drool streaming out of their mouths while you eat it. Pavlov’s dogs had nothing on these two! Just make sure you take the seeds out before giving any to your dog.
7. Celery with peanut butter: Ants on a log are a holiday tradition in our house. Jax and Tink are obsessed with peanut butter so we’ve started making them their own ant-less (aka raisin free) version on Thanksgiving and other holidays. I limit them to one or two small pieces each, though. And always make sure your peanut butter does not contain the potentially deadly fake sweetener xylitol!
Jax and Tink have enjoyed strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, cantaloupe, broccoli, cooked sweet potatoes and green beans from time to time, although not enough to recognize them by smell like the seven items listed above. Tinkerbell is hilarious with blueberries and an odd cherry tomato here and there because of the shape and texture. She spits it out, rolls it around, tries again, looks at Jackson as if to say, “really, I’m supposed to eat this?” before finally consuming the fruit.
Remember that all dogs are different and some will love fruits and veggies as snacks and others will not. Always research whether a dog can safely consume an item before giving it to them as not all fruits and veggies are safe for canine consumption. Here is a nice list from Trupanion so you can make your dogs part of the club of canines who enjoy dog friendly produce.
Photo credit, Carrots oh yum, photo credit: Canopener Sally Carrots, oh yum. via photopin (license)