How many veggies per day?

[Diva'sOwner]

I've been trying to limit or altogether stop Haley's growth. I reduced her food from 3.5 cups of CA Natural Puppy to 3 cups of CA Natural Adult food. She is a solid 89lbs and 10 months (I posted pictures of her in another thread on the puppy forum).

My question: How much of a veggie mix can I give her? Now she's acting hungry all the time and I'm thinking I might need to cut back a little more on the kibble because I want her to look lean and fit and she is maybe a fit chunky pup but definitely not lean.

I am giving her 1/2 an apple and about 10 baby carrots after her lunch time meal. Is this too many calories? Remember, she's still acting like she's starving no matter what I do with the veggies. I'm afraid I'll have a puppy riot on my hands if I cut back to 2 3/4 cups of kibble a day. And I don't want to add so many veggies that they offset the food that I've taken away. Green beans were suggested in another thread--she threw them and her food up. I may turn to other greens but I'd really like an idea of how many veggies to supplement. 1/2 a cup? 1 cup?

(As I type she is trying to "eat" the tiny bits of food crumbs that have fallen into her water dish. So she is drinking ALL the water to get at those crumbs. It's like she knows my resolve is weakening...)

[brunie's mom]

Don't cut back on her kibble anymore. At 10 months of age she has a bit of growing to do still. Just do not let her gain more weight...let her grow into her weight.

Most veggies and fruit are low in calories, you could give some steamed broccoli, or canned pumpkin. As far as fruit...apple slices and baby carrots are good treats, as well, any kind of melon (watermelon, cantalope,etc).

Most Rottweilers are "starving" all of the time. You just must learn to ignore those pleading brown eyes.

Gina

[DogFather]

Carrots are fine, but not so many. They're very high in sugar, sorta like giving your dog a candy bar. Virtually all fruits are good, but just a few, not tons.

If you're just trying to make to her feel more "full" without adding too many more calories, take a half-cup of rolled oats (not the instant variety, just plain ol' Quaker oatmeal in the round box/container) and soak them in a half-cup of skimmed milk overnight in the frig. Feed as a dessert after her meal.

If you have a food processor, you can pulverize leaf lettuce (not head lettuce) and make up a "salad dressing" of 1-part apple cider vinegar and 2-parts honey. Feed just a quarter-cup or so at a time. If you like, you can toss in a piece of carrot, a thin slice of bell pepper, and a broccoli floret too (or a cherry tomato, a little slice of pear-peach, whatever, but no onions, no raisins/grapes). But to get nutritional benefit you must pulverize the stuff as finely as possible, virtually a veggie slop. (note: for vinegar, us raw food fanatics prefer to use the stuff from the health food section at the Kroger store; cold-processed and unfiltered)

Have fun...

Terry

[debbiej]

I've heard green beans are good to help with veggie filling. my dogs love raw broccoli, especially the stalks.

[Diva'sOwner]

Thanks! It is a good suggestion to try to hold her at this weight. I just went to weigh her and she is 84lbs, down from 89lbs a few weeks ago. Since she is still growing, I'll stay with the 3 cups and see how she does. I'll also take some of the suggestions here for using more greens.

[tmatty]

Diva'sOwner, please check out the BARF website. There is a complete list of veggies, if you go to the BARF Diet - Specifics page. I do a raw(not cooked or steamed) puree in my food processor. This breaks down membranes for easy digestion. My kids get a level 1/3c with both am and pm feedings. This can be adjusted according to stool firmness. As to the weight of your girl, I would be more concerned with overall condition and muscle tone and less obsessed with the numbers on the scale. Skinny is not fit, it just happens to be the opposite of fat.