Cereals and porridges in the diet of a German Shepherd

Barley for dogs: benefits and harm

If your dog is on a natural diet, then the menu must include not only meat and offal, but also grains, vegetables, and fats. Most often, for a complete meal, porridge is prepared and mixed with meat products, and broth is added. It is important to consider that not all cereals are suitable.

There is no definite answer whether dogs can have pearl barley, but most experts agree that it has both harm and benefit.

Pearl barley is a “relative” of barley. It is polished in a certain way, acquiring an even shape. Hence the name “pearl” - pearl.

The benefits of cereals

The nutritional value of cereals proves that it is beneficial for people and animals. Pearl barley retains the valuable properties of barley, the grain on which it is produced. Barley is known as a “cleanser” of the body; it helps remove toxins and other debris.

Acting as animal feed, pearl barley is also valuable for various properties:

• high calorie content, which allows the pet to feel full;
• the product contains many useful microelements, vitamins: potassium, phosphorus, iron;
• improves digestion processes due to its fiber content;
• strengthens the immune system.

If you cook pearl barley correctly, it increases in size five times. This advantage is especially valuable for owners of large dogs, whose feeding can be expensive.

Rules for feeding your pet this cereal

We looked at pearl barley for dogs, its pros and cons, what conclusion can be drawn based on them? You can include cereals in your diet, but not everyone. In this case, you need to follow several rules.

1. The product should be given in limited quantities, preferably once a week. Alternate it with other easily digestible grains: oatmeal, buckwheat.
2. Pearl barley should make up no more than a third of the daily diet. Everything else is meat and vegetables.
3. If your dog loves cereal, he will eat it willingly, but adjust the portion size. Calculate it based on the weight of the animal.
4. At the beginning of complementary feeding, pearl barley can be crushed and boiled well. The introduction of the product occurs gradually.

If you cook porridge in bone or beef broth, it will be better absorbed.

Place in the diet

Experienced dog breeders recommend offering your pet pearl barley no more than once or twice a week. It can be given to adult and healthy dogs.

Feeding puppies this porridge is strictly prohibited. A growing body constantly needs nutrients for normal development. Therefore, giving poorly digestible food simply for the sake of “filling the stomach” is simply dangerous. In addition, in puppies it can cause bloating and other serious digestive problems, primarily constipation.

For the last reason, you should not give pearl barley to older dogs, especially if they already have problems with the digestive system. Such animals need specialized feed. The veterinarian will give the necessary recommendations depending on the breed and condition of the dog. It should be easily digestible food rich in minerals.

It is also not advisable to give this porridge to pregnant and lactating bitches. During this period, on the contrary, specialized nutrition with high nutritional value is necessary. You can purchase ready-made complete food for pregnant and lactating dogs.

If you feed “natural”, you should prepare the diet especially carefully, ideally under the supervision of a veterinarian. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the condition, age of the animal, and the course of pregnancy.

If you fed your pet, even a puppy, pearl barley porridge, there is nothing wrong with that. Most likely, the cereal will simply come out unchanged; you should not be afraid of this. One-time feeding will not lead to any negative consequences if the dog is completely healthy. But do not overuse this diet.

In case of an allergic reaction or constipation, monitor the animal’s condition. You may need to see a veterinarian.

Recipes for making pearl barley porridge for dogs

1 – rinse the cereal; 2 – fill with water; 3 – put on fire, wait until it boils; 4 – cover with a lid, cook for 2 hours on low heat

The main question that torments dog breeders is how and how much to cook pearl barley for a dog? The basis of any recipe with cereal is porridge. If you prepare it correctly, your pet’s dinner will be tasty, healthy and satisfying. Here are the main recommendations:

• Boil light beef broth and strain it.
• Rinse the cereal and add it to the boiling base. The liquid level should be 2-3 cm above the pearl barley level.
• Average cooking time is 2 hours. The pan sits on low heat, with a lid on. It is important to stir the porridge periodically and make sure that the water does not boil away. Some housewives, after removing from the heat, put the porridge in a warm place where it “reaches”.

If you want to save yourself time, soak the cereal overnight, then you only have to cook it for 30 minutes.

Further recipes depend on you and your dog's preferences. Meat and vegetables are added to the porridge. You can put them in a pan 10 minutes before they are ready and boil them all together. You can add the raw ingredients after the process is complete.

Since pearl barley is difficult to digest and quite high in calories, use it in combination with lean varieties of meat, poultry (beef, turkey, rabbit) or offal. Save the lamb and pork for another time. Do not mix two allergens at once; it is recommended to serve chicken with rice or buckwheat.

Among the vegetables that are added: carrots, pumpkin, zucchini, celery. If the dog reacts well and eats, you can use broccoli and cauliflower. Once a week you can add a raw egg to the porridge; it is good for your pet. To pamper your dog, add grated cheese to the dish.

Expert opinion

Kuzmenko Olga Olegovna

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Whether you cook food or serve it raw is up to you. But keep in mind the rule: meat and vegetables must be in the same form (fresh or boiled, stewed).

First, let's look at the comparison of cereals that are healthy for dogs.

Healthy cereals

The most recommended by dog ​​handlers and veterinarians are rice and buckwheat; they contain a lot of vitamins and microelements. They have a positive effect on the general condition of the dog’s body.

Next come wheat, barley, oatmeal or rolled oats. You need to be a little more careful with them. The reason is their activation of the body, both its work and the condition of the animal. They can be given, but in doses, to very active dogs.

Not healthy cereals

Not beneficial for the dog's body are: semolina, millet, corn, barley.

In this case, semolina is used only on the recommendation of a veterinarian for newborn puppies or dogs with a painful gastrointestinal tract.

Millet porridge is difficult to digest for animals, birds, and humans. It is better to remove it from the diet of your loved ones.

Corn porridge is absolutely contraindicated for feeding dogs, which is due to its complex effects on the intestines, including humans. Boiled cobs can be used in food in small quantities, but in small doses for dogs and humans as well.

Pearl barley porridge is too allergenic porridge for use in the diet, and therefore is practically not absorbed by the dog’s body. We will pay close attention to the last type of porridge, based on its beneficial properties, and recommended by grandmothers.

Pearl barley for puppies and pregnant dogs

We answered positively the question of whether it is possible to feed a dog pearl barley, but in addition to the general rules, you need to remember a few more restrictions. Cereals are not recommended for puppies and older adults. This is due to the fact that their digestive system is weak and will not digest the product. In the worst case, the pet may develop health problems; in the best, it will be left without nutrients. And they are especially important at an early and advanced age.

On the other hand, there is an opinion that large breed puppies older than six months can cook porridge in milk and give it in small portions. Try this complementary food and watch your pet’s reaction. The first day they feed a few grams of the dish, gradually increasing the serving size. It is better not to give croup to dogs of small breeds, especially for Chihuahuas, Yorkshire terriers and toy terriers, they have sensitive digestion. German Shepherds have a similar feature. Avoid the product if your four-legged friend has gastrointestinal pathologies.

It is also important for pregnant females to eat a balanced diet so that the body receives enough vitamins and minerals. Pearl barley will not provide such a diet, therefore, during the period of bearing and feeding puppies, it is better to replace the barley with rolled oats, rice, and buckwheat.

What is pearl barley and why is it useful?

Pearl barley is a direct relative of barley. The grains are processed by grinding, and if you look closely, you can find a resemblance to pearls in appearance. Hence the name, consonant with the English word “pearl”. Beneficial features:

• High calorie content. Promotes quick saturation. When cooked, cereal increases in size 5 times, so you can save a lot on its purchase.
• It contains a lot of proteins, vitamins, macro- and microelements. The “piggy bank” of benefits also includes magnesium, iron, potassium and phosphorus. This whole explosive mixture works to strengthen the immune system, increase muscle mass and give the dog a lot of energy.
• Rich source of fiber. Improves digestion in the right doses.
• It has a mucous structure, so it is a good remedy for combating diarrhea. It is difficult for the stomach to digest, forcing it to work hard. Because of this feature, some experts recommend including barley in the diet of animals.

What to do if the cereal is not suitable and your pet has a negative reaction?

After introducing pearl barley, the dog may experience unpleasant symptoms. Your actions depend on the specific case:

1. If the dog is allergic, it will itch and the eyes may become watery. The reaction does not always appear immediately; it can have a cumulative effect. The pet is shown to the veterinarian, who prescribes antihistamines and a diet.
2. Stool disorder. You can easily recognize this problem and cure it at home. Provide your dog with access to clean water, make the menu for the next 2-3 days light: rice porridge, cottage cheese, broth.
3. Retention of stool. Add two tablespoons of vegetable oil to your food and offer prunes. If this does not help, purchase laxative drops from a veterinary pharmacy and give them according to the weight of the animal.

If pearl barley doesn’t work for you, don’t be upset. It can be easily replaced with rice, buckwheat, or oatmeal. Occasionally, millet is given as an alternative (a number of veterinarians are also categorical about it). You can try mixing pearl barley with other grains, the main thing is to monitor your pet’s well-being.

Is pearl barley suitable for dogs? Is it possible or not to give it on an ongoing basis? Yes. But with a note that the dog should not have a reaction to cereals, the diet should be balanced. Only if you have all the components (meat, vegetables, grains, dairy products, fats) in the animal's menu, you will achieve good health. Remember that in any business, measure and balance are important.

Why can't dogs have pearl barley? What is the reason and what are the consequences?

Pearl barley, or what it is, in essence, is purified barley groats, has a complex structure, and therefore is poorly digested by the dog’s body. When feeding a dog barley, problems may arise with:

• the work of the dog's intestines. She can simply spoil things, because... an instant need arises and cannot be tolerated;
• lack of appetite after trying to feed pearl barley. Which is due to the presence of unprocessed food in the stomach.

Remember that porridge makes up only a third of a dog’s daily diet and its volume is calculated based on the dog’s body weight. A balanced food set contains vegetables, meat or fish, and grain products. At the same time, it is not recommended to feed a young dog, up to one year old, allergenic foods. By doing this you can disrupt the functioning of her body. For older dogs, additional ingredients and grains can be slowly introduced into the diet.

The diet for your beloved animal must be selected based on the recommendations of a veterinarian. After the examination, you will be provided with a complete list of products that will suit your dog.

It’s rare that an owner offers his dog pure meat: it’s expensive and not very healthy. By-products are usually mixed with porridge and vegetables. But a dog’s stomach can’t digest just any porridge: some cereals cause pain and discomfort.

Among these harmful dishes is also barley, which is useful, according to many. What is the harm, is it worth offering your dog pearl barley and how to prepare it correctly, we will consider in the article.

Is it possible to cook cereals for dogs? Which?

Possibility of preparing peas, millet, pearl barley for dogs.
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Each dog requires special attention in communication, training, and nutrition. The smaller the dog, the smaller its nutritional needs. However, the diet should include everything you need.

Peas

. There is no consensus on adding peas to a dog’s diet. Some believe that in general all groups of legumes are very poorly digested. Others call peas a healthy food for a dog's body.

Peas are primarily a source of complex carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and vitamins of various groups. A dog's digestive system differs from a human's in that it has fewer digestive enzymes, which leads to gas and bloating. After which diarrhea, vomiting, and blood particles in the stool may appear.

Therefore, it is recommended to serve peas in the form of soup and additives to other foods.

Millet

. Millet is also difficult for the dog’s digestive system to digest. Volvulus may occur. Various studies by scientists have shown that millet does not contain any special beneficial properties, therefore this type of cereal should only be added to the diet in portions, and not entirely.

Pearl barley porridge

It is given to dogs in minimal quantities, as it is very difficult and takes a long time to digest. If you decide to feed your dog pearl barley, it must be cooked especially carefully to make it soft. It’s best to give it mixed with rolled oats.

Why does a dog eat porridge?

Before finding out whether dogs need porridge, let’s first agree that you should feed a dog porridge only if the animal is kept on a natural diet

. If your dog eats ready-made dry or wet food, you should not give him porridge, so as not to overload the gastrointestinal tract and prevent vitamin-mineral imbalance. High-quality industrial food already contains all the beneficial substances that your pet needs for health.

But for those dogs for whom the owner prepares the dishes himself, porridge is not only needed, but even necessary. And that's why:

Porridge removes toxins and waste thanks to fiber, improves intestinal and stomach motility;

Boiled cereals maintain the animal’s immunity at a high level;

Porridges promote proper absorption of fats and carbohydrates;

Porridge in a dog’s diet is the key to a strong nervous system;

• Finally, even a small amount of porridge quickly and for a long time gives the animal a feeling of fullness and satiety. This dish gives the dog a boost of energy for the whole day.

In addition, we note that it is also worth cooking porridge for dogs in order to save money, since feeding only dietary meat will seriously “hit” your pocket.

What to do if things get bad?

If a dog has eaten pearl barley and feels sick, this may be due to the following.

Allergy. If, after introducing porridge into the diet, the animal begins to itch frequently, irritation and bald spots appear on the skin - it is most likely an allergy. In this situation, the dog needs to be shown to a veterinarian to accurately determine the allergen. The doctor may prescribe antihistamines. Barley will have to be completely excluded from the dog’s menu.

Diarrhea. It will not be difficult to recognize this problem: the pearl barley will come out of the dog’s stomach almost in its original form. This type of diarrhea can be treated at home. It is enough to give activated carbon (1 tablet per 10 kg of animal), skip several feedings and provide access to water to avoid dehydration.

Tinctures of burnet or serpentine also have a beneficial effect - they have an astringent effect. The optimal diet for the next few days is rice porridge and fermented milk products, fatty and heavy foods are unacceptable.

Constipation. The opposite effect of diarrhea after barley is also possible. In this situation, the dog will become lethargic and refuse food. She will make significant efforts to empty her bowels, “push”, but to no avail.

Helping your pet is easy: just add a couple of tablespoons of vegetable or castor oil to the food (1-3, depending on the size of the animal). It's worth trying to feed prunes. You can also purchase a special laxative for dogs for these purposes - it is available in veterinary pharmacies without a prescription.

Porridges that dogs can eat

So, can a dog eat porridge?
Undoubtedly, yes, but not all, but only some: Buckwheat porridge
is a product that is useful for most dogs due to its hypoallergenicity. Buckwheat is good during the recovery period after illness or surgery. It contains vitamins A, B, E, H, PP and the minerals iron, calcium, zinc, magnesium, boron, iodine, nickel plus essential amino acids. If buckwheat porridge is constantly present in the dog’s menu, the condition of the heart and blood vessels, digestion, brain, bones and teeth will be at its best;

Rice porrige

– a dish that is known for its antitoxic properties. Rice porridge contains vitamins B, E and PP, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, calcium. This product is especially indicated for stomach diseases, although it is also useful for healthy dogs. However, you should not give rice porridge to pets suffering from diabetes and excess weight due to the high starch content (especially a lot of it in polished rice);

Now let’s look at what cereals should not be given to dogs every day:

Pearl barley porridge
is a barley product containing vitamins B, A, K, E, iron, calcium, potassium, zinc, manganese. Pearl barley is useful for bones, liver, skin, and immune system. However, this porridge is high in calories, so it should not be given often to dogs prone to obesity. In addition, frequently consumed pearl barley porridge provokes the development of constipation in many pets;

Millet porridge

– contains vitamins PP, B, E, A, iron, manganese, zinc, copper, aluminum, titanium, fluorine, magnesium, potassium, sulfur, chromium, sodium. This porridge is indicated for dogs with heart disease, but it should not be given often, as it is poorly digested. Millet is also considered one of the allergenic cereals. Is it possible to give a dog millet porridge? Yes, you can, but not more than a couple of times a week, provided there is no intolerance;

Can I give it to a dog?

Barley is certainly very useful for humans. But for a dog, a carnivore, no. The problem is that it is very difficult to digest. Such porridge is practically not digestible in a dog’s stomach. Most of all vitamins “pass by”, and the porridge is excreted from the body almost unchanged.

When introducing pearl barley into the diet, in most cases (we’ll talk about exceptions separately), nothing bad will happen. But there will be no benefit from this. It is more rational to feed your pet food that is more easily digestible, from which he will receive some nutrients.

At the same time, pearl barley supporters note that such heavy food “forces” the dog’s stomach and digestive tract to work. Some owners also claim that pearl barley, due to its mucous properties, helps fight diarrhea in animals.

Most experts agree that barley for dogs is acceptable, but undesirable. In no case can such porridge be the main, main, and certainly the only component of nutrition - this will lead to vitamin deficiency and exhaustion.

Dog handlers recommend planning your pet’s menu so that cereals make up no more than 30% of his diet as a whole.

Of this 30%, pearl barley may make up a small proportion. The “correct” cereals that are well suited for feeding dogs are buckwheat, rice, possibly wheat (not millet). Semolina, corn grits, and oatmeal should not be given to your dog.

The most useless and harmful cereals for dogs

Well, we found out which porridge can be given to a dog often and which one cannot. And now it’s time to discuss what kind of porridge you should not feed your dog at all:

Bean, lentil or pea porridge
- bean porridge should not be given to dogs due to their extremely poor digestibility. A dog that has dined on, for example, pea porridge may experience colic, bloating, and constipation. By the way, people prone to kidney and gastrointestinal diseases should not regularly eat cereals made from legumes;

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Corn porridge

– eating it carries the risk of developing volvulus. The fact is that corn porridge is poorly digested, clumping in the digestive organs. In addition, it is considered one of the most allergenic;

Semolina

– this product made from ground wheat is not so much dangerous as it is useless for the dog’s body. The only compelling argument in favor of eating semolina is the lack of weight in animals. This is not to say that semolina porridge is dangerous, but if the dog eats it often, digestive disorders are possible;