Improve your pet’s digestion, health, coat, vision, and (reduce) flatulence by adding a bit of pumpkin puree to their diet.
Mr. Bentley had to go to the vet a few weeks ago for a problem with his tummy.
He was throwing up randomly every afternoon and his stools were liquid.
Outside of running a million tests, my veterinarian suggested that we add some pumpkin puree to his diet to see if that made a difference.
Amazingly it did!
2 tbsp of pumpkin puree every morning (he’s 70lbs, so don’t give that much to smaller dogs) and his vomiting stopped, his stools firmed up and everything seems hunky dory!
Why is pumpkin puree recommended for dogs?
Well, for several reasons really;
- Pumpkin contains a lot of fibre and moisture – so vets recommend a small amount each day to help with intestinal flow. Not only will it help with constipation, but conversely, by increasing regularity, it also helps stop diarrhea.
- With regularity comes less flatulence. Some breeds are prone to gas more than others – so if you don’t need your dog as an excuse to cover your own wind, then help them out by adding a bit of pumpkin puree to their diet
- Pumpkin is full of vitamins, minerals and, fatty acids – including Vitamins A, C, beta carotene, iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium and zinc which will help boost your dog’s immune system
- These same vitamins also work to improve your pet’s eye health.
- Pumpkin contains Omega 3 fatty acids – which have been associated with improved urinary health. It can actually help prevent urinary infections and urinary incontinence
So why do I bring this up?
Because, if you’ve left your Hallowe’en pumpkin on your porch to freeze (like I did 🤦🏻♀️) then now is a great time to make your own PURE pumpkin puree for your pet. We’re talking no added sugars, salts, spices, or preservatives. Just pure pumpkin that you can use as a food topper, to bake treats, or even in your own recipes.
Funnily enough Maddie decided that this year’s Hallowe’en carving should be of a dog pooping – it’s serendipity!
There’s not much to making pumpkin puree for dogs, particularly since there are no additional ingredients added beyond the pumpkin itself.
Wash and cut into slices,
Cook in your instant pot for 12 – 15 minutes,
According to the articles I researched, you can leave the pumpkin rind on and puree the meat and stem together. I wasn’t sure how fibrous that was all going to be, so I decide to just scoop the meat out after it was cooked and plop the pieces in the blender.
I jarred up some of the pumpkin puree to be used now, then froze the rest in zip lock bags (freeze them flat on a cookie sheet and you’ll get flat packs to stack in your freezer)
This used up all four of our Hallowe’en pumpkins and the stems and blossoms I put in my LOMI – so no parts went to waste in landfill.
Does Bentley like it?
Yupsirree!!
He gets 2 tbsp every morning and he LOVES it!
Now, because I’m posting this as we are coming into the Holiday Season, I decided I might as well make a gift post out of it and include an idea for using some of your pumpkin puree for dogs.
How about all natural dog treats?
Peanut butter, pumpkin dog treats
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup natural peanut butter (sugar-free and definitely NO xylitol)
- 3 ½ cups whole wheat flour (although all I had on-hand was regular)
- 2 eggs
Mix all of the ingredients together and then roll out on a lightly floured surface.
You can purchase cute dog bone cookie cutters, but I decided to just use what I had (Bentley doesn’t care what shape his treats are in) and use a pizza cutter to make 1″ squares.
Bake at 350° F. (~175ºC) for 20 to 30 minutes – depending on the size of the pumpkin dog treats, the moisture content of your dough, and how dry you like your dog treats to be.
I tried these – to make sure I wasn’t poisoning my dog or yours – and they are good! I fully admit to eating a second as well. lol. If they had a bit of sugar and spice I think these would make pretty awesome cookies for humans as well!
I packaged up the peanut butter, pumpkin dog treats into little baggies for Bentley’s friends that walk by our yard.
We hung a few bags on our fence for his friends (owners) to pick up next time they walk by.
You might want to include a note with the ingredients as well.
*Note: while pumpkin is good for pets, it is very high in fibre and should only be given in small amounts. Too much can cause diarrhea and stomach upset. I’ve seen articles that suggest no more than 1 tsp per 10lbs of weight, but your best option would be to confirm with your veterinarian. DON’T FEED TOO MUCH PUMPKIN PUREE.
You could even gift the pumpkin puree itself to other pet owners – pumpkin is good for cats as well!
I apologize for being late on getting this article and recipe out to you – but hopefully with this little “finagling” of content into both an aid to your pet’s health and a gift idea, you’ll forgive me.