Vegetable Processing In Barf Diet

[poodlefan]

I make up the veggies to 50% of the meal, but they only eat those every three days - the other two days is RMB's.

I add eggs, yoghurt, Missing Link and other bits and pieces if I have them to the meat/veggie mix.

I feed the odd canned fish meal too. The poodles are fond of Snappy Tom Pilchards in fish oil in those foil packets. Just as well, the cat won't touch it.

Edited February 3, 2005 by poodlefan

[Prydenjoy]

Poodlefan, you could try an apple corer?

Blade, I used to believe the same thing! Its funny what kids will believe... I also believed that the reason I couldn't bring my Hampster to Australia was because she would explode on the aeroplane, dad only had to make that up because I wouldn't believe that Hampsters weren't allowed in Australia!

My dogs veggie meals are just veggies, offal, eggs and apple cider vinegar (with a little sugar free fruit juice if it doesn't blend properly!). They get these 3 times a week BUT they get their veggie meals smaller than their RMB meals so the ratio works out at about 70% RMBs. There are two reasons for this, one because it is my version of a fast, I believe dogs wouldn't naturally eat weighed out amounts of food every day, so instead they get different sized meals, the other reason is that I could feed two veggie meals a week and have the meals the same size as the RMB meals, but I like to add various supps more than twice a week and can't add them to the RMB meal.

[Guest Kristin]

Jeanne, would love to know a bit more about what your dogs get - your thoughts have got me intrigued

[gemibabe]

Hi.

Well, I've been using a Moulineux Food Processor and the veggies haven't been getting eaten.

So, it looks like the juicer is going to be called up for duty.

PS Vegetable juice, hmmmn.

Well, maybe not.

pewithers I use a juicer... it doubles for both of us at the same time...

recipe is for 2 large glasses

4 medium carrots

2 long sticks celery

4 apples

4 pears

I then mixed the pulp with some yoghurt and it didn't last at all.

My staffy gobbled it up quick smart.

I will use it to churn up other vege mixes but this one I do atleast 3 times a week...

[cate]

I just did a search and you are on the money - apple seeds can be toxic to dogs.

Looks like its back to chopping up apples again (sigh)

Poodlefan, does that mean that your juicer actually grinds up and "juices" the apple seeds? Mine just spits them out.

Apparently, dogs can't digest them if they are intact, so the toxins aren't released.

Since we give them the pulp and the seeds "might possibly" bruise, I just cut the apples in half and flick (most of) the seeds out.

Usually it's not even necessary to remove the core.

Occasionally I give my dogs a whole apple and I don't worry about it.

Besides, apple seeds contain Vitamin B17 which is a cancer preventative, but of course I'm not suggesting that anyone should experiment with that.

I'm just saying that we should probably remove them if we can, but we shouldn't worry if the dogs ingest a few.

[poodlefan]

Cat, it does grind up the seeds. I find coring apples with a corer to be a pain so will just chop them into pieces and through the core away.

[V.A.H.]

I like the juice when I do an apple, an orange , a stick of celery and and a carrot together--PEW try it --truly its very good first thing in the morning.

,

My grandie tells me I should also add a bit of beetroot juice ,.seems it has good properties too--but I cannot quite come at RED juice in a glass--

I prefer to get mine on the salad roll

OOps meant to add , I use the food processor and no sign of the vegies being undigested by the poodles and German girl at all.

Edited February 4, 2005 by V.A.H.

[Prydenjoy]

Kristin, my dogs get very meaty bones 4 times a week. This is usually rabbit, roo, chicken, turkey, and occasionally lamb. 3 times a week they get their veggie meal, when I make them up I use a couple of large bowls to mix them up in so I can put different veggies and offal in each lot, to ensure variety over time. I aim for a base of spinach for one lot, and celery for the other, but don't have a set mix, I just buy what evers cheap and try to aim for variety. I only put garlic in one of the mixes, as I have come to believe that garlic is best fed only occasionally.

Their meat meals are about twice the size of the veggie meals. So their diet is roughly 70% RMB's, 20% veggies and 10% offal, before I add eggs, cottage cheese, yoghurt etc. Oh and I occasionally replace a veggie meal with fish. Because they have three veggie meals a week, it means that one day I can add Evening Primrose Oil, another Cod Liver Oil, and the other Salmon Oil. I add vit E to all veggie meals, as well as yoghurt. I will also add either cottage cheese, an egg, or some oats that have been soaked over night to their veggie meal, unless they are looking tubby! I make meals slightly small for this reason - I can always add something to bulk it up, but if the dogs start requiring less (and I've bagged up 2 months worth!) I can't make the meals smaller.

[cate]

it does grind up the seeds. 

Wow!

In this case it's definitely safer to get those seeds out.

Says a lot about that Breville. You almost sold me one...

[gemibabe]

hmmmm.... I wonder what they did way back when scientists weren't discovering whats good and whats bad.

She gets bits of apple from my son and the pulped whole apples when in the juicer.

Maybe all these things are bad for dogs because of the chemical diets they have been fed on.

Are the tests about apple seeds done on dogs feed a BARF diet or a chemical diet?

Gotta make you wonder?

[Vehs]

I always thought apple seeds had cyanide in them - I remember mum telling me they didn't grow apples at mental institutes in case people collected the seeds to kill themselves

Cyanide deprives the blood of oxygen - whether or not the dog is on a commerical or natural diet

Still you need to eat a hell off a lot to get sick and the shell of the seed protects it - I cut the seeds out of the apples I give Dieter, but if he ever ate one or even a hole apple with seeds I wouldn't panic -- actually we have a apple tree in the backyard.