Halloween is fast approaching, and yes, that usually means pumpkins lit up with funny faces! Bet you didn't know that the boring old pumpkin is one of the world’s healthiest foods – not only for humans but for our dogs as well?
Pumpkin is rich in the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E. It is also packed full of vitamin K as well as a host of minerals, such as potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and copper. pumpkin is rich in polyphenolic flavonoid compounds, such as beta-carotenes, zea-xanthin, and more. Its the undiscovered super veg. Remember! You read it here first.
Pumpkin is low in calorie but high in dietary fibre. (100 grams of pumpkin provides only 26 calories!). If you want to lose weight then eat a handful of pumpkin seeds as a snack every day as part of your daily diet.
Health Benefits of pumpkin for dogs
Pumpkin and its seeds provide quite a few health benefits for our dogs. Pumpkin is good for the runs and constipation! If your dog suddenly develops mild diarrohea, or if they have mild constipation, a tablespoon of plain cooked pumpkin will definitely will do the trick. Keeping a can of plain pumpkin in the cupboard is the best thing you could have in the house!
Endocrine and Pancreatitis
Dogs diagnosed with endocrine or pancreatitis disease benefit from the addition of pumpkin in their daily food because they should not be fed processed dog food but a bland diet of chicken, turkey or rabbit. The pumpkin helps with dietary fibre and their digestion.
Weight Control: Since pumpkin is low in calorie but is filling, it is beneficial for dogs who need slimming down. If your dog is a bit pudgy, pumpkin can be used as part of the dog's regular food.
Eye Health: The beta-carotenes and zea-zanthin contained in pumpkin are antioxidants that are beneficial to the eyes. They can help protect older dogs from developing age-related macular degeneration or needing spectacles.
Urinary Tract Health: Oils in pumpkin seeds contain nutrients that can prevent or lower the possibility of kidney stone formation. Pumpkins also promote and support general urinary health. Dogs with urinary problems, such as incontinence or kidney stones, may benefit from having pumpkin or pumpkin seeds in their diet.
Worms: To treat dogs with tapeworms, add 1/4 to one teaspoon of pumpkin seed oil (available from Holland and Barratt) to the dog food. It certainly worked for a dog that stayed with me when it kept vomiting up the pill given by the vet.
Feeding Pumpkin to Dogs
Candygirl, my cocker spaniel aged 15 years, gets a teaspoonful of pumpkin/cinnamon mixture in her meals every day and if she could talk, she would tell you that it works like HRT. She is full of energy, a picture of health and happily walks 3 miles every morning. Stairs are a bit of a problem but since she is treated like a hairy princess and is carried up anything steep, she is a good advertisement for giving pumpkin and cinnamon to dogs.
Pumpkin and cinnamon are good companions. Cinnamon is a powerful antioxidant (one teaspoon of cinnamon contains as many antioxidants as half a cup of blueberries), and it also has antibacterial and antifungal properties. Cinnamon can be used for a variety of gastrointestinal problems. Its great for nausea, the runs, and flatulence.
To help your dog reap the benefits of this wonderful vegetable, mix a can of plain pumpkin with a teaspoon of ground cinnamon and store in the fridge. Each day add a tablespoon or so (depending on your dog's size) to your dog's meal as a topper and this can protect and support your dog's GI system. You can also sprinkle a few pumpkin seeds on your dog's food.
Bring on Pumpkin Power for Your Dog, I say!
This and that ................
WE. ARE. RUGBY. In this husehold We live rugby. We breathe rugby. We've always been rugby since a little lad. Ah, rugby. Screams, anger, frustration, contemplating suicide when England lost and those balls that look like eggs. Men that look like Scrums. Scrum downs. Mauling rolls. Classic rugby. See! Ive been brain washed into the terminology.
Mixing it up
Just today I was contemplating my naval and the thought came into my head about Lady and the Tramp. The classic tale of two dogs who meet, discover a deep and meaningful connection that transcends social class barriers, and ultimately fall in love. After a hedonistic, spaghetti and meatball-fuelled romance, the two finally settle down and have puppies. And then it starts to get a little far-fetched. Some of the puppies come out looking like Lady and some look like Tramp, when in fact, we all know they would have been crossbreeds. Adorable, fluffy-eared, big-eyed mixed breeds like these. You can't fool us Hollywood, we know our cockapoos from our schnoodles.
That's about it for this month's blog. See you in November!
Dawn ("")
