Pumpkins aren't just for Halloween kids... you can actually eat them and you should as they pack a punch!! Better yet these power balls are really healthy addition to your dogs diet. (Now I say this as a general sweeping statement as there are always exceptions and they are generally Skye – yep the one with special (aka awkward one!) restricted diet actually gets super itchy if she has Pumpkin – I’ll talk about the reason for this another time!!)
The Benefits of Pumpkin - Fibre
Pumpkin is full of fibre and can help treat mild diarrhoea and constipation!! I know right – how does it know which ??! So the fibre helps lower the acidity in the gut and get the right balance. It can help ease mild constipation whilst also adding bulk to a sloppy poo. (I do tend to talk a lot about poo and I make apology about that. I truly believe you can tell a lot about a dogs health from there poo. Obviously this will be the subject of its very own post one day soon too!)
The Benefits of Pumpkin - Prebiotic
Pumpkin is a great prebiotics which means is can help support the good bacteria in a dogs gut and aid the digestive system which are the building block for a healthy and happy dog. Pumpkin contains Vitamin E which is great for skin, coat and heart but it is also full of Iron, Vitamin C, Vitamin A and Potassium so is super useful in getting loads of fab nutrients into your dogs.
How should Pumpkin be fed to Dogs ?
Dogs can eat Pumpkin cooked or roasted. They can eat small amounts raw but I would cook it and mash it. I then freeze into ice cube trays as individual portions. In the UK Pumpkin Pie is not such a big thing as in the USA but you can get tinned pumpkin in supermarkets so it can be available all year round . Be sure to get 100% natural pumpkin – nothing with added sugar or spice and definitely no xylitol. Add it slowly to your dogs diet so you can monitor the impact – 1 teaspoon full at a time and build it up gradually as too much fibre can also be detrimental.
And the best thing... They can even eat the SEEDS!
BUT we aren’t finished there with pumpkins because the seeds are a thing of wonder too! Pumpkin seeds are full of antioxidants, protein, iron and calcium. Dry them out and grind them up. I put a teaspoon of ground up organic Pumpkin Seeds on Skye and Kenzo’s meals as the seeds contain an amino acid something called Cucurbitin. This is a natural wormer which works to paralyze and eliminate Parasites from a dogs digestive system. The guide is 1/4 teaspoon per 10lbs in weight.
All the good bits for your dog can be removed before you carve it or if you are going to use the flesh for soup or similar - don't discard the seeds. If you get a fresh Pumpkin - wildlife can also get the benefit once you have finished with it so please leave it out for wildlife for feed off it BUT make sure its raised out of reach of hedgehogs as it can make them really poorly.
Check out the website and Facebook page for freshly ground Pumpkin seeds and treats made using this Orange powerball!
