Whether it’s human or dog food, all-natural ingredients are all the rage when it comes to healthy eating. While many veterinarians prefer to see dogs eat foods made specifically for them, there are some trendy human foods that are perfect as a treat or as an addition to your pet’s food.
Dogster asked Johnna Devereaux, clinical pet nutritionist and expert at Bow Wow Labs, and Minnesota shelter veterinarian Dr. Julie Steller about seven common foods we can feed our puppies.
Peanut Butter
Johnna says peanuts are packed with antioxidants like manganese and vitamins E and B. They also contain omega-6 fatty acids, which can help lower cholesterol levels. There’s no doubt that dogs go crazy for peanut butter, but Dr. Steller says to be careful. “Don’t use a brand that contains xylitol. Check the ingredients.
How to feed: Peanut butter is high in calories, so use it in moderation. Our pet nutrition expert says to make peanut butter last longer, “Mash it with a frozen banana, fill it with a favorite toy, and freeze it. Moderation is key, so feed it with parsimony.
#tendency : All-natural peanut butters are all the rage. These usually only contain peanuts or peanuts and salt (feed the one without salt) and should be refrigerated.
Peanut Butter Spreading Dog Products:
- Polkadog Magic Nuggets
- Bocce’s Bakery Peanut Butter Banana Cookies
- Zuke’s Mini Naturals Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Recipe
- Old Mother Hubbard Soft & Savory Peanut Butter & Bacon Mini Cookies
More vegetables
Dr. Steller says vegetables are full of vitamins and minerals, and green beans and carrots are a great snack for dogs who need to lose weight. Johnna says to be careful, as some vegetables are extremely high in starch and quickly break down into glucose. It ends up being sugar! Also, look at the best way to serve vegetables based on time, price, and how your dog prefers them (or his stomach prefers them #flatulance): canned, steamed, roasted, raw, etc.
How to feed: For time-pressed animal lovers, canned carrots and green beans may be the answer. Always rinse vegetables several times to ensure the sodium has been removed. For pet owners, Dr. Steller thinks canned vegetables can be an inexpensive way to provide your dog with reduced-calorie food when he’s overweight. (We all know price can matter when it comes to feeding our pets.)
#tendency : Vegetables are always in fashion for anyone who cares about a healthy diet. Today, plant-based diets, root vegetables and cauliflower are all the rage for humans. We have a cauliflower pizza crust, so next will it be cauliflower dog bones?
Dog food chops these vegetables:
- Zuke’s Z-bones with carrot
- Chicken, carrots and peas recipe Nulo Freestyle
- Purina Beyond Grain Free Chicken, Carrot & Pea Wet Dog Food
Sweet potatoes
And speaking of trendy root vegetables, let’s talk about the ever-popular sweet potato. Our canine health nutritionist says sweet potatoes are high in fiber, vitamins A, B6, and C, and an excellent source of magnesium. (On the other hand, white potatoes are high in starch and can cause inflammation in a dog’s body.)
How to feed: Serve the sweet potatoes raw to provide the most nutrients possible. Johnna recommends mashing the potato to break down cell walls for better nutrient assimilation and to ensure there is no risk of intestinal blockage. Or you can boil, roast, or bake sweet potatoes for a short time to help retain most of the nutrients. (Find the time/temperature online.)
#tendency : Today, people love sweet potato more than ever because it is considered a healthy carbohydrate (lots of vitamins and minerals) with a low glycemic index. “Sweet potatoes are great for humans, so the thought has spread to the canine world,” says Dr. Steller. “Just know that any type of potato is extra calories for your dog.”
Sweet Dog Foods on This Potato:
- Stir more bark less meatballs
- Jinx Salmon Brown Rice and Sweet Potato
- Grain Free Real Merrick Salmon Sweet Potato Recipe
Simple complex grains
As a canine nutritionist, Johnna is keen to point out that dogs have little to no carbohydrate nutritional needs. If you’re going to feed them, complex grains are best, as they have a moderate glycemic load. (Check with your veterinarian before changing your diet.)
How to feed: Dr. Steller believes that a high-quality commercial dog food containing the best complex grains, such as buckwheat, quinoa, brown rice or barley, is ideal.
#tendency : Complex carbohydrates are gaining popularity in the field of human nutrition. (For example, quinoa has gone from unknown to superstar thanks to the fact that it’s gluten-free, nutritionally dense, and a complete protein with all nine essential amino acids.) With the word on the high carbohydrate complexity, pet parents are looking to add more. proper nutrition to their dogs’ diets through the use of these superfoods.
Products for dogs choosing complex carbohydrates:
- Earth Animal No-Hide Chews
- Complete health and wellness dog food
- Tim’s dog food
- Dog food for all life stages for canines
Low Sodium Bone Broth
Simmer the bones and connective tissues for hours in water, and you have bone broth (more or less). As a shelter veterinarian, Dr. Steller often uses broth to help entice his sick patients to eat, as well as to further hydrate their bodies. Bone broths are better than regular broths because they’re packed with collagen, chondroitin, glucosamine, gelatin, and magnesium.
How to feed: Both experts agree that bone broth is an easy way to get dogs to eat. “Make sure any broth you choose is low in sodium and does not contain onion in the ingredients,” says Johnna. Bone broth can be fed on its own, over kibble, or frozen in ice cubes for a delicious, chilled treat.
#tendency : Paleo diet enthusiasts and now other health-conscious humans drank from the bone broth, with many making it themselves from scratch. Today’s pet lovers have also embraced bone broth, though thankfully some pet food companies have made it so we don’t have to.
Lapping up the bone broth:
- Brutus Broth, Nugget Bone Broth
- Bison broth with green juju
- Merrick Chicken Bone Broth Grain Free Dog Food Topper
Eggs
Our two experts say eggs are rich in healthy fats and nutrients like vitamins A, D, E, choline, iron and folate. The eggshell is also rich in calcium, the membrane being an excellent source of glucosamine, chondroitin, collagen and hyaluronic acid.
How to feed: Johnna says you can feed the eggs raw or cooked and, if you get your eggs from a local farm, you can feed the shell with the membrane for added benefits, “but never feed the shell of an egg purchased in a store. The shell may have been cleaned with a chemical solution. Dr. Steller prefers that dogs eat only cooked eggs.
#tendency : Thanks to social media platforms like TikTok, eggs are all the rage again. The affordable, protein-rich egg is easy to share with our pets and is now considered a health food. Just be sure not to cook the egg in fats, oils or spices, or give your dog too much of it – keep portions small.
Foods cracked on eggs:
- Purina Beyond Dry Dog Food (Selected Flavours)
- Weruva Bed & Breakfast (chicken, egg, pumpkin and ham in sauce)
- Jinx chicken, sweet potato and egg
Cooked lean meat
Careful nutrition enthusiasts are always interested in lean meats because they are a good source of protein with less fat and fewer calories than non-lean meats. (Check the USDA for lean meat recommendations at usda.gov.) Johnna thinks adding lean protein to a dog’s meal to entice him to eat or take a pill is a great choice – just make sure you don’t overdo it.
How to feed: First, always cook it thoroughly so your dog doesn’t get a bacterial infection or foodborne illness. Give it as a treat or as a garnish to your dog’s food. (Raw food diets are a whole other story.) With a strong human-animal bond thanks to the pandemic, who doesn’t want to give their dog a little piece of their turkey sandwich? You might want to hesitate on that. Our pet nutritionist says to beware of the nitrates lurking in many deli meats.
#tendency : Humans love protein which supports the immune system and is great for weight loss. Popular lean meats today are grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, turkey, bison, white fish, and lean meats like rabbit and pheasant.
Check out these lean meat pet foods:
- Bow Wow Labs Waggy Wafers Organic Chicken // KEEP INSIDE
- Evanger Whole Chicken Thighs
- Acana Wholesome Grains Sea to Stream, fish and grains
- Wellness Core Reduced Fat Dog Food
Share them?
Experts from the University of California Davis Veterinary Hospital Nutrition Support Service say that fruits and vegetables are good options for many dogs because they are low in protein, fat, sodium and phosphorus. Just make sure you never feed them chocolate, macadamia nuts, garlic, onions, grapes, and raisins.
