Increasingly, owners are questioning whether dry food can truly feed their dog completely, bearing in mind that proper nutrition will also help maintain a completely he althy body.
With this doubt in the head and veterinarians who warn that the feed is not as suitable as it might seem, there is a boom in natural food for dogs, and even those owners who distrust all the toxins that a feed can contain begin to opt for organic food for dogs.
If you want to provide your pet with natural and he althy food, you may have wondered if can a dog eat nuts, this is the question that we solve in the next AnimalWised article.
Why can the dog eat some nuts?
When we talk about feeding our dog naturally we usually make a very dangerous mistake: believing that this diet consists of giving our pet the same food that we prepare for ourselves. It is not exactly like that and it cannot be like that, since the dog's digestive system is very different from the human digestive system and we are not prepared to assimilate the same nutrients or in the same way.
One of the premises on which natural food for dogs is based is the following: Could the dog find this food in the wild? The dog could find some nuts, therefore, the dog can consume them, however, it would not be its main food, which already indicates that the consumption of nuts cannot be daily
When we sporadically add these foods, they will provide our dog with fatty acids essential, very important for the coat and to control the inflammatory processes, in addition to fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.
What nuts can a dog eat?
The dog can eat a wide variety of nuts although not all of them are going to be equally he althy, the most recommended being the following:
- Walnuts
- Almonds
- Hazelnuts
- Peanuts
The nuts that we must avoid at all costs because they are toxic to our dog are raisins and macadamia nuts, the which can cause everything from diarrhea to systemic failure.
How to feed the dog nuts?
You must be very clear that it is not an everyday food, therefore it should be used to sporadically supplement the dog's diet (being the best alternative to nutritional supplements of fatty acids) or as a trinket.
It is very important Crush the nuts as much as possible before our dog eats them, because if he were to ingest a piece of a certain nut could not obtain any nutrients from it since it would not be digested at all, it would even be possible that it was evacuated in such a way that it could be distinguished between the faeces.
The powder obtained from the grinding of dried fruits can be added to their usual food, but it is not convenient to mix them with feed since they the digestion times are very different and this could cause problems. The ideal is to mix it with some homemade recipes that we offer you occasionally.
Bibliography
Steven R. Hansen, DVM, MS, DABVT, Macadamia nut toxicosis in dogs. Veterinary Medicine Publishing Group April 2002
Hansen, S. R. et al: Weakness, tremors, and depression associated with macadamia nuts in dogs. Vet. Hmm. Toxicol. 42(1):18-21; 2000
Pallares, D. E.: Allergy to macadamia nut. Ann. Allergy Asthma Immunol. 85(5):385-386; 2000
Alexander Campbell BSc Grapes, raisins and sultanas, and other foods toxic to dogs VPIS (LONDON), MEDICAL TOXICOLOGY UNIT, AVONLEY ROAD, LONDON. SE14 5ER
