# Tomatoes and Beets? Need advice



## scintillady (Dec 13, 2007)

Hi,
I have been feeding my dog Ruby a can of no sodium added green beans or carrots at each evening meal in order to give her more food without adding a lot of calories. I also feed Innova EVO and some cooked meat of some type during the day, and sometimes some brown rice and pumpkin, plus benefiber in her water. I make all her treats with no wheat, corn, or soy flour (Usually brown rice, amaranth, oats, or quinoa). This is working out really well, she is at a constant weight and enjoys her food. Since she will eat literally anything, I was wondering if it would be OK to add no-sodium (or spices) canned tomatoes, or no-sodium canned beets in moderation. I've never seen on this forum whether they are OK for dogs. I think I am probably just projecting my own feelings onto the dog, but I think plain green beans or carrots for every dinner would be boring. Do the tomatoes have too much acid? The beets are the non pickled kind. The reason I ask is that they are on sale this week and I want to get some if it is OK.
Thanks in advance.


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## Annamarie (Oct 14, 2007)

tomatoes should be ok, i fed them to my dog for a while. i also feed him cooked carrots and potatoes.

here is a good list by a vet of foods to avoid and foods that are good for dogs. tomatoes aren't on the list from what i saw: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1661&articleid=1030


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## ChrissyBz (Aug 10, 2007)

Beets are ok in moderation but be prepared. They will turn your dogs pee and poop. Pink. Don't freak out.


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## spottydog (Mar 14, 2007)

I've never fed beets but I have given my dog both canned and cooked tomatoes and he's fine. I didn't know anything about it being too acidic but I've not read anything on the negative effects of tomatoes either, my guess is its perfectly ok to do so.


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## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

I steam fresh vegetables: asparagus, green beans, kale, spinach, broccoli (small amount), cauliflower, sweet potato, acorn squash, turnips, celery, carrots, brussel sprouts, and more. My dogs love fresh tomatoes, which I serve with green beans sprinkled with a little parmesean cheese. I don't give them beets, and keep carrots to a minimum because of the sugar.


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## Ginny01OT (Dec 3, 2006)

I think beets have a high sugar content but I know i sin humans tomatos are great cancer fighters so I do give Riley tomato at times


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## Shalva (Mar 23, 2007)

beets are fine, beet greens are fine.... 

tomato's and other nightshade veggies are not poisonous but they are nightshade vegetables and like eggplants and other nightshades should be avoided..... 
s


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## the-tenth (Jun 29, 2007)

Avoid nightshades why? Because of the sugar? Admitidly I despise tomatoes, and never had any desire to give one to any of the girls, jus wonderin.


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## Shalva (Mar 23, 2007)

nightshades have been know to increase inflammation in dogs with arthritis as well as some dogs have a reaction that manifests in skin issues and others will have gastro-intestinal issues with them..... 

most people who feed a raw diet avoid them..... 

now does this mean that one tomato is a problem... of course not..... but on a regular basis not a good idea. 
s


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## ChrissyBz (Aug 10, 2007)

Shalva:"beets are fine, beet greens are fine.... "

One addendum to any type of greens. Use in moderation as most greens are high in vitamin K, Usually the darker the green the higher the concentration. Vitamin K has been linked to Heinz body anemia much like garlic and onions. That doesn't mean it's not healthy, just that less is more.

An excerpt from an article on another forum.

It's important to know that the possibility of Heinz-body anemia is dose dependent, meaning the more garlic fed, the greater the chances of a problem developing. While we still don't know exactly how much is too much, most recorded instances of Heinz-body anemia in animals involve the ingestion of large quantities of onions and other garlic relatives, many of which are likely to contain much larger percentages of enzyme-depleting constituents than a typical dose of garlic. Recorded cases of allium poisoning typically involve onion doses exceeing 0.5 percent of the subject animals' body weight--this means that a healthy 60-pound dog would have to eat a whole 5-ounce onion, or several cloves of garlic, just to start the Heinz-body process. And since red blood cells are regenerated quickly from the bone marrow, this grotesque overdose would probably have to be repeated several times on a frequent basis to cause permanent harm. In further defense of garlic, several other foods can cause Heinz-body anemia as well--large amounts of turnips, kale, rape, or anything rich in vitamin K may lead to the disorder, especially in herbivores.

That said, I give my dogs parsley, cabbage, garlic, greeen beens, celery, broccoli. Never had a problem but they only get small amounts and the cruciferous vegetables are always cooked.


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## Shalva (Mar 23, 2007)

ChrissyBz said:


> Shalva:"beets are fine, beet greens are fine.... "
> 
> One addendum to any type of greens. Use in moderation as most greens are high in vitamin K, Usually the darker the green the higher the concentration. Vitamin K has been linked to Heinz body anemia much like garlic and onions. That doesn't mean it's not healthy, just that less is more.
> 
> ...


this is a good point..... of course a whole diet of anything is not good..... its all about moderation.....


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## the-tenth (Jun 29, 2007)

Shalva said:


> nightshades have been know to increase inflammation in dogs with arthritis as well as some dogs have a reaction that manifests in skin issues and others will have gastro-intestinal issues with them.....
> 
> most people who feed a raw diet avoid them.....
> 
> ...


You're like a friggin walking encyclopedia.


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## ChrissyBz (Aug 10, 2007)

the-tenth said:


> You're like a friggin walking encyclopedia.


Comes with being a Pure Bred Educator. You've heard of them before right? They're a rare breed these days.


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