Part 1: Introduction : Basic Principles : What They Eat

Part 2 (this page): Sources of Nutrients

Sources of Nutrients

Protein

• Best sources: Cheese, eggs, soya beans, soya flour, tofu, soya protein.
• Other useful sources: Pulses (lentils, beans, split peas), whole cereals and wheatgerm, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, nuts except chestnuts and coconuts.

Fats and Oils

• Mainly saturated: butter, hard margarines, cheese, eggs, olives and olive oil.
• Intermediate: nuts, coconuts, wheat germ and their oils.
• Mainly unsaturated: sunflower seed oil, safflower seed oil, corn oil, linseed oil, soya oil, soft margarines which state high polyunsaturate content.

Carbohydrates

Cereals and their products (flour, bread, cakes etc), bananas, chestnuts, cashews, pulses, pears, dried fruit (not raisins), potatoes, sugar etc.

Carbohydrates are unlikely to be in short supply in the average varied diet. The starch in potatoes can cause diarrhoea in some dogs.

Roughage (Crude Fibre)

Vegetables, bran and whole cereals, pulses.

Vitamins

Vitamin A:

1. as vitamin A - margarine, butter, milk, cheese, eggs.
2. as the precursor carotene - carrots and green vegetables.

Vitamin D:

1. As vitamin D - Margarine, butter, eggs, milk.
2. As its precursor, which is converted by sunlight on the animal's skin to vitamin D - green leafy vegetables, cereal germ, yeast.

Vitamin E:

Cereal germs (especially wheat germ oil), green leafy vegetables eg cabbage, spinach, curly kale, lettuce.

Vitamin K:

Green leafy vegetables.

B-complex vitamins (except b12):

Yeast, whole cereals, cereal germs, bran, eggs, various vegetables, nuts.

Easily destroyed by cooking.

Vitamin B12:

Fortified yeast extract (low salt), fortified soya milk, cheese, some Textured Vegetable Proteins (read the label!), milk.

Vitamin C:

Fresh sprouts, curly kale, blackcurrants, rose hip pulp and syrup, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, citrus fruits, strawberries, tomatoes, green peppers.

Vitamin C is not normally essential for dogs as they synthesise their own. However, some researchers suggest that vitamin C synthesis in dogs may be inadequate on a low protein diet and a few individuals may not be able to synthesise the vitamin and so require it in the diet.

Minerals

Calcium:

• Good sources: cheese, yoghurt, sesame seeds.
• Fair: almonds, black radish, kolrabi leaves, dried figs, cucumbers, ripe beans, lemons, milk, tangerines, leeks, curly kale, lettuce, cauliflower, endive, celery, peanuts.

• Foods with a good calcium/phosphate balance: cheese, yoghurt, ripe beans, ripe peas, lentils, hens eggs, currants, curly kale, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, white cabbage, salsify, dried figs, milk, cauliflower, celeriac, lettuce, dates, bananas, oranges, peanuts, almonds, hazels.
• Low calcium relative to phosphorus: cereals and their products eg bread, flour.

Iron:

Celeriac, cream cheese, tangerines, spinach, various fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole cereals.

Iodine:

Seaweed, eg kelp powder, eggs, whole grain rye and wheat, lettuce.

Other minerals are generally well provided in a diet containing a variety of vegetables, fruit, nuts, milk, cheese, eggs.

Milk alone is not an adequate source of calcium for puppies and a mineral supplement of calcium phosphate is recommended. Rapidly growing dogs of heavy breeds particularly need a high calcium intake.

Foods to avoid
Macademia nuts, raisins, chocolate and raw onions should be all be avoided as they are poisonous when ingested in large enough quantities.

Based on a leaflet originally compiled for the Vegetarian Society by C.M.Morey

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