7 Health Benefits Of Pumpkin Treats For Dogs

Choosing the best treats for your dog may not be as easy as it seems, even with many available options to choose from. For instance, there may be a wide variety of dog treats and snacks that you can find in pet shops and read about on dog blogs. However, you’re not sure if all of them will be beneficial to your furry buddy. When picking the best treats for your pet, always select those that contain fruits and vegetables in them, like treats made from pumpkins.    

While pumpkins have been widely known as decorations or fillings, these wonderful vegetables also make for healthy treats and an excellent supplement for dogs. Studies claim that pumpkins offer various benefits not just to humans, but also to dogs. Fortunately, you can find lots of resources online that’d help you whip up pumpkin recipes that dogs would love, like this latte for dogs recipe.  

The Wonders Of Pumpkins  

Here are some of the health benefits of pumpkins to dogs:  

1. Promote Eye Health

One of the major characteristics of pumpkins is being a primary source of vitamin A (beta-carotene). This particular vitamin is crucial for dogs’ eye health, lowering the risk of night blindness and eye degeneration. They’re also crucial for your dog’s eye and brain development. Aside from that, pumpkins are also high in zinc, which makes them essential to keep your dog’s retina healthy. These are also rich in components that your dog’s eyes need to protect the surface of their eyes, especially the cornea.   

Furthermore, pumpkins contain lutein and zeaxanthin that act like sunscreen for your pet’s eyes. These antioxidants have been closely linked to preventing risks of cataracts and age-related macular diseases (AMD). Additionally, these powerful antioxidants help filter out harmful wavelengths of light that may pose detrimental effects to your fur baby’s eyes.   

2. Improve Skin And Coat

Aside from promoting dogs’ eye health, pumpkin treats may also help them have supple skin and lustrous coat, thanks to their vitamin A and zinc content. Apart from that, pumpkins also promote moisture, which helps prevent skin flaking and hair fall. In addition to making your dog’s coat look shinier and healthier, the high-water content of pumpkin flesh can be a great help to maintain their coat’s luster.    

3. Enhance Digestive Health

The frequency of their pooping and the appearance of their feces may reflect dogs’ current health condition. Hard stools, or those that are hard to pass, put a strain on your dog’s intestines. To effectively prevent this condition from worsening, you may add a little amount of pumpkin to your dog’s food. You can add some pumpkin treats into their diet to ensure a constant supply of fiber in their gastrointestinal (GI) tract and prevent constipation.  

Most people may not know it, but pumpkins are known to effectively treat both diarrhea and constipation in dogs. To help add bulk to your dog’s stool, you can add some pumpkin treats to their diet.  

4. Boost Immune Health

One of the major advantages of pumpkin treats for dogs is that these boost their immune system. Pumpkins aren’t only known to be nutrient-rich, but are also loaded with essential vitamins and minerals, such as vitamins A and C, as well as zinc, iron, phosphorus, folate, and magnesium that help dogs become fit and healthy.  

Vitamin C, in particular, can prevent cancer cells from developing once combined with other integral vitamins and minerals, like vitamins A and E. Vitamin C also increases the production of white blood cells in your dog’s body and helps wounds to heal faster.

Pumpkins also contain antioxidants that help eradicate free radicals in your pet’s body. Some of these antioxidants include alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and alpha cryptoxanthin, which are crucial to stop free radicals from damaging their body. While some of these oxidants may be a natural part of your dog’s immune system, having an excessive number of them can damage their body. They can also lead to oxidative stress, which is largely associated with chronic diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular diseases. To help prevent this scenario, you can feed your dog with pumpkin treats.     

5. Control Parasites

Weight loss, dry skin, nutrient deficiency, and a shabby coat are sometimes a result of parasitic activities inside your dog’s gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Tapeworms, in particular, can cause unpleasant symptoms, wreaking havoc on your canine buddy’s digestive system.  

Fortunately, pumpkins have high amounts of cucurbitacin, which is usually used to expel worms from animals’ intestines. Including proper servings of pumpkin in your dog’s diet may help them fight off disease-causing bacteria and maintain a healthy digestive system.   

6. Prevent Urinary Incontinence

Be it the seeds or the flesh, every part of pumpkins is beneficial for your dog. The seeds may help dislodge kidney stones, as well as prevent inflammation and urinary tract incontinence, or the inability to hold in urine. Apart from that, pumpkin seeds and flesh contain antioxidants, while the seeds alone contain omega-3.  

7. Aid In Weight Loss

While most pet owners think that their pets being fat may equate to being healthy, this has long been debunked by experts.

As a fur parent, you may think that it’s cute to have an overweight pet. However, being in this condition may pose potential harm to your dog’s health. Aside from preventing them to move freely, stoutness may also lead to chronic diseases, such as systemic hypertension and diabetes. Aside from that, dogs may also suffer from cardiac arrest or cardiopulmonary arrest. 

In this aspect, pumpkins can be a great help for your dog when it comes to losing weight. These incredible are known to have a high moisture and fiber content that promotes weight loss. Due to this, adding pumpkin snacks to their diet can help keep your dog fit and healthy, while ensuring that they get the sufficient amount of calories that they need. 

Key Takeaway  

Serving your dogs with pumpkin treats may help them in a variety of ways. In particular, the common health benefits of taking these treats include promoting eye health, making the coat look healthier and shinier, enhancing digestive function, bolstering the immune system, controlling parasitic activities in the gastrointestinal tract, preventing urinary incontinence, and assisting in weight loss.