Can cucumbers cause bloat?

Question
QUESTION: My dog is 2 years old, and she keeps gaining weight even though she is only fed half a cup of EVO a day and goes to the dog park for serious playtime... she wasn't maintaining, just gaining.

So I went to the vet and he found out she has hypothyroidism... so he suggested taking out her normal treats and replacing them with healthy veggies. He suggested cucumbers.

My dog loves them, in fact, if I mix it in with the kibble, my dog will pick the cucumbers out and eat those. only... it's the wrong dog. The dog my doctor suggested to use cucumbers as a treat for seems to hate them.

but my question is... are cucumbers good treats for dogs and safe?

My mom said they cucumbers may make them gassy, and I know gassy vegetables like corn, can cause bloat.

is this a safe vegetable? or is there a bloat risk using cucumber slices as treats?

ANSWER: Hi Mayu,

While I can't say definitively that any one food "causes bloat" I will say that there are many I would not risk feeding. My own dog is a bloat-prone individual - large breed, deep chested, thin, hyperactive. I wouldn't feed him a cucumber, nor would I feed melon, brewer's yeast, or a food with citric acid in the first five ingredients. Better safe than sorry....

Veggies are not totally healthy for dogs. Used in moderation, they can be ok - a raw carrot to chew on or some cooked green beans - but there are problems with many vegetables, and the cucumber diet wouldn't be my first choice for your hypothyroid dog. How much does she weigh? How much are you feeding now?  Longterm, your dog needs to ingest enough food to cover her nutrient needs. I would recommend a home made diet, geared to her individual requirements and issues.

I do suggest NOT using veggies such as broccoli from the brassica family, as they may worsen the hypothyroidism. Here's the full story:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=47

Longterm weight loss can best be achieved slowly with a controlled home made diet  that covers your dog's nutrient needs, while restricting energy.

Hope this helps a bit, let me know if I can explore this further with you.
Catherine



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Right now she goes to the puppy park for a half an hour to an hour a day, then we usually go on a walk around the park afterwards, she's been put on a half a cup of EVO kibble a day (She has skin allergies and EVO helps since I think her allergies may be food/grain related and EVO is grainless.) She gets the white meat chicken/turkey EVO kibble.

I've removed the wetfood I use to mix with it, and my brother use to sneak her pieces of American singles cheese, so we don't give her any cheese anymore.

Instead of milkbones I've been trying to give her small peices of cucumber (though she only just started nibbling on it. She's not a big fan. my other dog loves them though.) but I don't want to do anything that would make her health worse.

She's a Bichon Frise, but this is where it gets hard. She was born bigger than a normal bichon (longer and taller.) She's a puppymill puppy, the product of inbreeding.)

We adopted her from a rescue at 21#, and she got to 30# in a matter of months even though we weren't really over feeding her (maybe one too many treats) and she went to the puppy park every day, plus playtime with our other dog. She should have maintained at the very least.

is there anything else I can give her as a treat? She's always ravonous before dinner time (even after), and a small treat usually takes her mind off of it for an hour or so.

Answer
Hi again,

Fisrt of all most allergies are to beef and chicken, so I'm glad the EVO is helping, but I am also concerned about your dog obtaining adequate nutrition from such a small amount of food. How much medication is she on and for how long? Is 21 pounds her ideal weight? At 21 pounds and moderately active she requires in the ballpark of 650 calories per day, and 1/2 cup of EVO has  270. I can understand why she is ravenous!

How many feeding a day does she get? Dividing the food into 3 meals will help raise metabolism a little, you might think about trying that as well. Add 1/4 cup chopped green beans (cooked) and a half an eggwhite to each meal to fill it out a little, maybe a tsp or two of cooked acorn or butternut squash.

For treats, I would use a sardine, an egg white, some cooked green beans or baby carrots, a few bites of cooked beef heart or liver, or turkey, or a higher quality cookie, such as Northern Biscuit or Wellness.
You can buy dried tripe which smells absolutely horrible but is low in calories and can give her a little chew treat. Dried sweet potato is a good thought too.

Without a professional consultation it's impossible to go much more into this, but I would discuss the thyroid dose with your vet, I would use some green beans, cooked sweet potato, egg white etc to help her discomfort, and do what you can to allow her to eat a little more. Her basic vitamin and mineral needs aren't going to be met on such a tiny amount of food. A home made diet offers more volume for a similar amount of calories and can help her feel more full even with caloric restrictions. I hope you are able to find some answers on this one!
All the best, Catherine