Carnivores or Omnivores

• Dogs are classified as carnivores and they are designed by nature to eat meat. However, there remains some debate over whether, for practical purposes, they should be classified as omnivores instead of carnivores. Clearly, many dogs have done quite well for a long time on grain-based kibble diets, and some even thrive on vegetarian diets.
  
  The experts may not agree on whether dogs are carnivores or omnivores, but at worst, fruits and vegetables in small amounts won't harm a dog and at best they may be powerful disease-fighters.
  
  

Fruits and Vegetables as Snacks

• Dogs lack the digestive enzymes to properly break down plant cellulose and absorb the nutrients from raw fruits and vegetables. These should be cooked or run through a blender first if you want your dog to derive full nutritional value from them. However, if you simply want to give your dog low-calorie, fun treats, raw fruits and vegetables are fine too. Dogs often enjoy broccoli stalks, carrot, celery and summer squash chunks. Virtually any pitted fruit or berry makes a nutritious snack. Yams and sweet potatoes, though sugary and starchy, are good for dogs. Some of the new grain-free kibbles include sweet potatoes as a major ingredient.
  
  

Hazardous foods

• Some fruits and vegetables can make your dog sick and in rare cases may be lethal. Never give a dog grapes or raisins: they can cause liver damage. Onions and foods (such as baby food) containing onion powder can cause hemolytic anemia. Although garlic is in the same family, it is generally considered OK for dogs unless eaten in extremely large quantities.
  
  While dogs enjoy fresh corn, the corn cobs can be choking hazards and may cause bowel obstructions. The same caution applies to any large pits including those from peaches, avocados, nectarines or plums.
  
  

Cooked Vegetables

• Those who feed their dogs a home-cooked diet typically cook vegetables and some fruits to make up about one-third of the diet, and raw-feeding advocates often add cooked or pulverized vegetables to their dogs' diet. Vegetables and fruits are also added to many dry dog foods.
  
  

Health Benefits

• A 2007 Purdue Veterinary School study found that adding antioxidant-rich green and yellow cooked vegetables to Scottish terriers' diet at least three times a week cut the risk of bladder cancer by 70 percent. When only cooked green leafy vegetables were used, the risk was cut by almost 90 percent. Scottish terriers are highly susceptible to bladder cancer--studies are under way to test the effects of vegetables in the diet on other cancer-prone breeds.
  
  Fruit- and vegetable-based supplements (or the fruits and vegetables themselves) are used in other ways. Cranberries or cranberry capsules ward off bladder infections. Papayas or papaya enzymes aid digestion. In fact, many fruits and vegetables may have the same health benefits for our dogs as they do for us.