The kitchen counters here at Chez Champion of My Heart now boast a stainless steel juicer, and I bought it for my hubs for xmas. Actually, I gave it to him before Thanksgiving because I’m a spaz about presents sometimes. This means Lilly and Ginko get the resulting fruit pulp. Suffice to say there is a price to be paid for dogs eating fruit pulp.
Dogs Eating Fruit Pulp? How Much is Okay?
Now that we’ve fully transitioned to the new dog food, Ginko eats about 1 1/2 – 2 cups of food twice a day. Lilly eats just 1/2-3/4 cup twice a day.
That, not to be overly graphic, results the requisite number of predicable and productive trips outside. Two per dog per day.
Fiber HO!
BUT, when the hubs feeds them big bowls of fruit pulp each day, after he makes me fresh juice … suffice it to say the outcomes have doubled … at least.
Who knew there’d be such a price to pay for a new juicing obsession.
I knew the juicer wasn’t cheap. I knew buying THAT much fresh fruit would increase our grocery budget. Silly me … I just didn’t realize there would be other consequences. Like 2 x the scooping.
Seems Harmless Enough
I figure the extra fiber cannot hurt. And, they’ve come to enjoy it … it seems.
Lilly does get a tad picky, if the day’s selection includes too much orange pulp. As we learned from this video we did for my Dog Food Dish Blog called “Four Flavors Dogs Can Taste,” Lilly isn’t a fan of orange (or at least orange peel).
As for Me
I admit it. I’m spoiled now. Store-bought juice tastes syrupy to me. This fresh stuff is light and different. I’m a big fan of adding fresh ginger to nearly any fruit juicing mix. Sometimes we throw in some tumeric because it’s also supposed to be good for you. The latest craze in our kitchen (seen here as green swirls) is some kind of algae that Tom bought.
I believe this concoction is apple, pear, carrot … with algae.
can the pulp replace the fruits/veggies in the dogs daily meals or are they missing out on other nutrients by just feeding them the pulp along w/their protien?
That’s a good question, Julie. I’m not sure. You’d have to ask a veterinary nutritionist about the ways fruit / veggies and protein combine in a homemade diet. BUT, I do know that one dog pal used to get pulp from a local juice bar when she began home cooking for her pets.
comments r wonderful.. my pets r spoiled if i dont give them the pulp in there food they sniff it & look up at me like.. we dont wont this bland stuff which makes me have to juice often so they will b satisfied…
I just finished juicing my vegetable and fruits which consisted of Pineapple, celery, apples, oranges, strawberries, cantalope, spinach, broccoli, carrots, parsnips, lettuce, banana’s and avacados…Afterwards our 5 four legged children had the pulp and not long after went to do their last buisness of the night…They have gotten spoiled rotten as have I with our new juicer and since we’ve started juicing our own juice, have also been feeling a lot better and have more energy..
I had decided to start making my own fresh juice when I found out how they prepare the juice we buy in the supermarkets..Are you aware that after they squeeze the juice, the juice sits in large vats for about a year? Before it goes to market, it has no color and they wind up adding the color and citric acids to it before they ship it to market…Anyone who has ever squeezed fresh oranges knows that the color and taste are nothing like you buy in the market..And all those things they add before sending it to the market can’t be good for the human body…I never could drink orange juice from the market as it would make me cough, fresh orange juice doesn’t do that to me…
Just a tip though in regards to the dogs eating the pulp, don’t give them pulp with too much broccoli in it as it will cause them to expel gas all over the place..Keep the gassy fruits and veggies to a minimum..
What fruits/veggies are youj juicing that you have given your dogs? There are several that are toxic for dogs, but some are only toxic in large amounts. I’m trying to decide if I’m going to give my left over fruit and veggie pulp to my dogs.
Also, I’m a vet tech at a major university that treats hundreds of critical animals a year, and I can’t stress enough how bad it is to give your dog corn cobs. I’ve seen many dogs need surgery to remove the cob. My in-laws dog recently died from intestinal obstruction from a corn cob they didn’t realize he had eaten. PLEASE PLEASE don’t feed your pet corn cob!
Hey, Stephanie … We typically juice things like apples, carrots, pineapples, a little bit of ginger, cucumbers, watermelon, etc. I’ve talked to my veterinarian about it, and she said the only real concern is if you have a dog/breed prone to bladder / kidney stones … in that case, it can be too much acid-y food for them.
And, yes, thanks for the info on corn cobs. WAY back, early in the early days (like 20 years ago), we used to let our late Dalmatian eat corn cobs because she loved them so much. We never had trouble with blockages, but she did develop a grand case of colitis. So, we had to stop. All that fiber really irritated her bowel.
I always share my smoothies with my dogs. It’s one of the few “treats” that K is allowed to have. But, I don’t give them enough to double their “outcomes” (very funny wording).
Just watch that their fur doesn’t start turning orange! 🙂
I always wondered what folks did with all the pulp left from their juicers. I guess I know now.
Here’s a thought–I wonder if you could make fruit leather by dehydrating the pulp? Then the dogs wouldn’t be the only ones getting the extra fiber.
And if you try it, please share the results. I’m too cheap to buy a dehydrator (or to run my oven at a low heat for the entire day). But I made sun dried tomatoes on the dashboard of my car over the summer and they were delicious!
That’s an interesting idea, Pamela. I know that if you have carrot pulp, it works well in carrot cake. I have an email into Frugal Kiwi to ask if your idea is doable. If so, I’ll try it and report back.
I had a feeling that would happen. We have a juicer that ends up being used mostly in summer when fresh fruit is cheaper. Haven’t tried the dog/pulp mix…. for your very reason. Also I was worried about diahhrea. Baby dog has had one extremely memorable extravaganza already and I’m not ready to test the waters again.
Cathy, it hasn’t changed consistency, just elimination numbers and amounts. But, yes, … perhaps for your pup, it might be too much too soon. The silliest thing I ever did was let our late Dal eat corn cobs. She loved them … and ended up with a bad case of irritable bowel. Too much roughage.
Juicers are the best – although they DO wreak havoc on your grocery bill. It drives me crazy that fresh fruit costs twice as much as processed stuff, but that’s for another post. 🙂
I didn’t realize the dogs would love the pulp so much, but at least it’s a present the whole family can enjoy, right?
Exactly, Casey. They really do love it, but we’ll probably cut back to just a few days a week, rather than every day … because who has THAT much time to scoop.