Recommend fiber for my dogs

In My Humble Opinion
1

My dogs benefit from a little fiber in their diet. I will spare you the details. Just trust me, a little fiber goes a long way in a pug’s diet, and my carpet is less stinky, too.

For a long time, I gave the little buggers a dollop of canned pumpkin every morning. They loved it, and it did the job. Now, though, one of them eschews it altogether, the other one is only so-so on it. She’ll eat it some mornings, others she won’t.

So I switched to All-Bran. They both love it with a little milk. Unfortunately milk makes one of them puke. I’d prefer both ends of my dogs working correctly. They won’t eat it without milk. I’ve tried water, soy milk, etc. Nothing works. The allure of All-Bran is the milk.

I’m out of ideas now. What kinds of fibery things might a couple pugs like to eat? They’ve suggested steak, hamburgers, cheese, and yogurt, but none of those have fiber in them, no matter how much they try to convince me they do.

2

You can give Metamucil to dogs. Just mix it in their usual food and make sure they have plenty of fresh water. For a pug-size dog, a teaspoon-full once or twice a day should do.

You can also try dried apricots. Start with one once or twice a day.

I have done both and gotten the desired results with each method.

3

Metamucil wafers, my dog likes the apple flavored ones. No, loves them. You’d think they were the food of the…err, dogs. He’s 20lb and gets one a day. He got to scooting on the carpet and the vet squeezed his anal glands and got some…funk. This had never been a problem, but he’s 12 now and I guess needed more fiber, the vet recommended them. The next trip to the vet and his glands were clear, but he loves the wafers so I just kept giving them to him.

4

Given the effect that dried apricots have on me, I shudder to think of what would happen if I gave them to the dogs :eek:

Metamucil, eh? That’s a good one. I’ll look for those wafers. It’ll be good for my lapsed Catholicism to give communion to my dogs once a day.

5

Reduced salt Wheat Thins and sometimes Cheerios.

6

I buy cans of no-salt-added green beans for my pup (she’s 80-90lbs). She gets them every night at 8, as a part of a life-long dieting plan (vet said reduce her food by 1 cup and give her green beans instead).

She’s not eating them for the fiber, but it doesn’t hurt. According to NutritionData.com, “This food is very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Riboflavin, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Folate, Iron and Manganese.”

She absolutely loves her “GBs” but I can’t speak for your dogs :slight_smile:

7

That is my typical recommendation as well. Metamucil can be added to moist food, stirred into yogurt, etc.

8

This may be a little out there but I make beef stew for my dog. I use a mix of cheap hamburger, brown rice and a bag of some sort of frozen vegetables or another. This makes about seven day’s worth of food for her, though I alternate this with regular dog food.

9

Could you mix the All-bran with beef broth? I know we human-types would not much like it, but a dog’s taste is vastly different.

10

Probably. But the Metamucil wafers sound a little easier - nothing to be stored in the fridge. I’ll keep the broth idea in mind in case it doesn’t work out, though!

11

They couldn’t be easier, really. My dog lives to beg for treats, but he is absolutely crazy about these things. I just break it into bite-sized pieces, maybe eighths, and you’d think I was doling out filet mignon dipped in duck fat. So instead of looking at it like I’m having to administer medicine, he thinks he’s getting the best dog treat ever made.