Pumpkin For Dog Food Season (how much, clean, poop, vet)
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My pumpkins have been harvested and four more purchased because they have been cheap this year. They are now processed and in the freezer.
I had complained about cleaning the seeds out and my son asked why? They are good nutrition. When told they pass through the dogs whole, he offered to whirl them in the food processor.
So, I cooked whole pumpkins and he got out the food processor and whirled everything. Pulp, skins, seeds, everything but the stem. Skins are finely ground so they should not give the dogs any problems, but I am sure it adds more fiber to their diets. Not that dogs don't need a bit off fiber in their diets.
To be fair, I steamed some pumpkin for the human dinner and my son ate all of it, skins and all. Homegrown Jarrahdale pumpkins, which are grown for eating. I suppose if he can eat the skin then the dogs can eat the skin.
There is pretty much a whole year's worth pf pumpkin puree in the freezer for dog food. I hope yams are a bit cheaper this year than last because I' like to have yams for their dog food.
The down side is that I can't grab a bag of dog food pumpkin and use it to make something for the humans. At least I grabbed 1/4 of a Jarrahdale and set it aside to make some cookies or a cake with.
Very interesting! You're very fortunate that your dogs will eat pumpkin, or food with pumpkin in it. My dogs wouldn't touch it, not even mixed with their regular food. Carnivores all the way. They won't even touch peanut butter. Go figure. I imagine that it's really healthy to put pumpkin or yams in a dog's food aside from the fact that it helps the digestive system.
Pumpkin is great for a dog’s digestion. It is a miracle add-in. If your dog has diarrhea, it helps firms up poops. If your dog is constipated, it will have a laxative effect.
I buy plain canned pumpkin for my dog, as he tends to have digestive issues—poops can get a bit mushy. He loves it and will eat it without any problem.
Good for you for being able to grow your own. I don’t know if it was a combination of COVID or inflation or both, but a can of pumpkin has gone up about 150%, compared to pre-COVID prices.
Very interesting! You're very fortunate that your dogs will eat pumpkin, or food with pumpkin in it. My dogs wouldn't touch it, not even mixed with their regular food. Carnivores all the way. They won't even touch peanut butter. Go figure. I imagine that it's really healthy to put pumpkin or yams in a dog's food aside from the fact that it helps the digestive system.
My dogs get home cooked food, so they grow up eating fresh meat with veggies and a carb. They all love pumpkin. Someone tried to eat a pumpkin out in the garden as it was growing, but it was too big to get a mouth around and the rind is hard, so the pumpkin got some tooth marks, but they couldn't get into it.
Usually fruit and vegetables have to be fenced so the dogs can't reach them. They will stand there carefully picking and eating blueberries and the ripe tomatoes right off the plant if I can't keep the plants away from them. With the pumpkin that got nibbled, the vine had grown through the fence so that pumpkin was outside the fence.
I just saw a 40 pound box of yams for $29.99 and that might be as cheap as they get this year, so I will go to the store and buy a couple of boxes. If the price comes down, I will buy some more. I'm sure the days of the 19 cent a pound yam is gone forever.
Grocery prices have gone up so much, I am working even harder to try to save money on ingredient costs. I start moaning about the cost of cooking for the dogs and then I see how much the super premium dog kibbles have gone up in price, and then I shut my mouth and keep cooking.
As a benefit, I never have vet bills and the dogs are glowing with good health. (touch wood)
That is awesome. I wish my dogs (now dog, since my other doggo passed away recently) would eat everything. And it does seem that genetics is changing with dog becoming more and more domesticated and eating many of the same things that their humans eat.
it is very healthy for dogs...matter of fact, pumpkin seeds are an extremely effective deworming agent because they contain an amino acid called cucurbitacin. This paralyzes the worms making them easily eliminated from the intestine. They can be fed whole as a treat or you can grind them into a fine powder and add to Fido's food.
That is awesome. I wish my dogs (now dog, since my other doggo passed away recently) would eat everything. And it does seem that genetics is changing with dog becoming more and more domesticated and eating many of the same things that their humans eat.
If I had a dog now, I would feed it raw, because I'd buy a puppy and train it....however, I know a whole lot of people who raw feed and their dogs love it....I even belong to a raw and holistic forum....dogs do better on raw or home made food, I hated kibble and never fed our dogs kibble....there are way too many chemicals in it, but that's my opinion....
I found yams on sale and now there are 8 yams, sliced thin, and in the dehydrator, to be dog treats. The rest of the yams will go into dog food.
If you cook for your dogs, you have to watch the sales around Thanksgiving for bargains that you can use in dog food.
boy did I ever cook for my dogs...every weekend almost....it was my aunt's recipe....
we had a store that sold nothing but chickens and parts, so, I boiled at her instruction, chicken back and necks all day, until they fell apart, then threw in some rice, and cooked that, then added veggies...right into the broth, then when it cooled, cut up green tripe (what a job that was)...then into serving plastic bags it went then into the freezer, and I'd take it out 3 days before serving....so it thawed, and I'd sometimes alternate, using beef parts....but the chicken necks and backs gave them bones and marrow they needed, but they were cooked down. I'd also add other stuff, like pumpkin, spinach, chopped parsley and mint, chopped kale, and chopped carrots....what ever I had, they ate....in a stew with rice. We had 3 sometimes 4 dobermans, and they got 2 meals a day....I didn't believe in making them wait for one meal a day, thought that was mean. anyway, they had wonderful coats....
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