Giving your dog cucumber may look a little crazy. Your dog eats kibble, right? Or meat? And there are so many different dog treats and snacks on the market. Why would you give vegetables to a dog We humans eat vegetables every day. But is this also the intention for your dog? And can your four-legged friend also eat too much cucumber? In this article we will tell you more about feeding cucumber to your dog.
You giving cucumber to your dog
Giving your cucumber to your dog may sound like an illogical choice in his diet. A dog usually gets chunks on his plate, or fresh meat? What should he do with cucumber?
Nowadays there are a lot of food on the market for our animals. Chunks, wet food, meat, but also sweets, chews and other treats. There is a good chance that it will come to you sooner to give a tasty dried duck neck than a piece of vegetable.
There is usually nothing wrong with this idea. We humans are omnivores (omnivores), which also include vegetables and carbohydrates (such as pasta, bread and potatoes).
A dog, on the other hand, is not built on this. How about this?
What does a dog eat?
By nature our dog is a “real meat eater”, a carnivore. This means that from his natural diet he obtains the vast majority of his nutrients from meat and meat-related products.
Just like the wolf!
Now it is true that the dog has gradually taken over the human diet slightly more than his wild ancestor. That is why they can handle carbohydrates a little better in the digestion than the wolf.
Vegetables are also products that are not a large part of the natural menu. These can hardly be broken down by the body, because the dog has a very different digestive system than herbivores (herbivores) and omnivores (omnivores).
The dog’s stomach is relatively large, the intestinal tract short and firm. This does not contain enzymes or an extensive intestinal flora of bacteria to help with the breakdown of vegetable material.
The teeth are also more built to tear off pieces of meat than to pre-chew the food neatly in the mouth. There are relatively many incisors, where plant and omnivores mainly have large, firm molars.
When eating raw vegetables, the dog will not be able to easily access the nutrients. These are nice and safe tucked away in the plant cells, the walls of which can hardly or not be broken down by the dog’s body.
The vegetables are therefore largely excreted, including the valuable content.
Do you want to give vegetables to your dog now and then? as a small (!) addition to his diet? Then it is recommended to give it steamed or pureed. The cell walls have already been destroyed or weakened, so that the dog can access the nutrients more easily.
But should you also steam a cucumber?
Is cucumber dangerous for my dog?
Giving your dog cucumber, fresh snack. So it is not dangerous. You also do not have to steam or mash this vegetable before giving it to your dog, because cucumber consists of 94% water. So you can assume that your dog is just getting a fresh, thirst-quenching snack instead of a vitamin bomb.
For this reason, cucumber is also popular with dogs that are quick to gain weight (such as neutered males) whether dogs are already overweight. Can they nibble away a bit, which has no further nutritional value?
And a little extra moisture is never gone!
But is your dog allowed to eat all parts of the cucumber? And can he get too much from this responsible snack?
Can my dog eat the skin of cucumber?
Can dogs eat cucumber skin?. Giving your dog cucumber is generally completely safe. The pulp, as well as the stem and skin can be safely eaten.
To keep our vegetables free from pests during cultivation, toxic pesticides are often used. This ends up on the skin of the cucumber, where it can soak in.
Therefore it is better not only for ourselves, but also for our animals to eat peeled fruit and vegetables. The concentration of poison from the pesticides is said to be higher in the skin than in the rest of the product.
In addition, a piece of cucumber is also an excellent snack. But be aware that this is not going to be a large and persistent part of the diet. Your dog needs nutrients, even if he is too fat or has a tendency to do so.
Weigh the amount of food well and give few snacks. If you still want to give something, it is better to give the dog a small piece often. Keep in mind that it is often the thought that counts: your dog is happy that he gets something.
Psychologically, your dog therefore likes a small snack more often than a single large one.
