Of all the fruits available, many dogs find all sorts of berries extremely palatable. Personally, I’ve had many foster dogs through my home and they all seek out their favourites in the garden. It’s intriguing to watch as they gently traverse the plant with their nose quivering, before gently wrapping their lips around a ripe berry to ‘pluck’ it gently from the plant. It’s difficult not to recommend a fruit which brings out such a strong natural behaviour. Added to this, they are simple enough for anyone to grow at home, in pots or the garden, right there when you want them.
Preparation:
Unlike many other fruits which have inedible or even toxic parts berry fruits are entirely edible, although you do want to ensure the fruit hasn’t been sprayed or treated in anyway, another reason to grow your own. In order to make the nutrients available the fruit should be squashed or pulverized before feeding or you may have the berries simply transition through the digestive system only to be expelled almost entirely intact, albeit with other ‘stuff’ that’s carried along for the journey, a gentle cleanse of sorts.
Nutrients:
Berries are a rich nutritional source, so much so that they are widely marketed as ‘superfoods’, all in a neat little edible package. They are rich in flavonoids, a type of antioxidant with particularly beneficial health impacts. Anthocyanins, a type of flavonoid which are found in the red, blue and purple berry varieties have a proven anti-inflammatory function in addition to improving circulation. Blueberries are a particularly rich source of anthocyanins with 163mg/100g plant matter making them top of the list for those wanting to add a nutritional boost to their pets’ diet.[i]
For those that need a little more convincing berries provide a wealth of vitamins such as A, C, E & K as well as folate and choline which gives them great wound healing capability. An assortment of minerals such as zinc, potassium, copper, iron, calcium, manganese and magnesium are also present.
Portion control:
Like all fruits their carbohydrate component needs to be considered but their convenient size and packaging makes portion control simple, 3 or 4 berries would be a suitable serving to add to a meal for a medium sized dog.
[i] Oregon State University., 2021. Flavonoids. Retrieved April10th, 2021, from Oregon State University – Linus Pauling Institute -Micronutrient Information Center: Https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/dietary-factors/phytochemicals/flavonoids#sources.
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