Six Benefits of Oatmeal for Dogs

Adding oatmeal to your dog's diet has a number of benefits, it's convenient, and easy to do.

Weight loss and shiny coats are some of the benefits of oatmeal for dogs.

• Have you ever wondered about the benefits of eating natural foods as compared to traditional thought?
• Is adding it to your dog’s diet good for their coat?
• What do you do if your dog doesn’t eat what you would like them to?

There are a number of benefits that oatmeal provides for dogs. It’s high in nutritional value and can easily be found in any supermarket. Oatmeal can also be applied topically, even though it’s less effective than ingesting it.

Dogs, like humans, can eat oatmeal. However, there are some considerations that you should be aware of feeding your dog oatmeal.  

Oatmeal is a food with a large quantity of fiber and many nutrients, minerals, and antioxidants. In addition, it contains vitamin B, which helps keep a dog’s fur shiny and healthy. It also contains linoleic acid and omega-6 fatty acids that keep the dog’s coat healthy.

In moderate quantities, oatmeal is an excellent replacement for carbohydrates in a dog’s diet. It contains digestible fiber that helps regulate glucose levels in the blood, which reduces the risk of diabetes and cardiac disease.

Nevertheless, too much oatmeal can cause some digestive issues.  A continual excess of soluble fiber can cause diarrhea and episodes of vomiting. Even though these symptoms can easily be alleviated, you won’t want your dog to experience them. That’s why experts recommend small quantities of oatmeal for dogs.

Six Benefits of Oatmeal for Dogs: Adding It to Their Diet

You can give cooked oatmeal or uncooked rolled oats to your dog. If you want to feed them cooked oatmeal, you shouldn’t use milk because dogs are sensitive to lactose. Therefore, they should never have milk and you should only use water when preparing it.

Make sure that the oatmeal you prepare for your dog has cooled enough so that it’s safe for them to eat it and prevent them from getting burned.

Serving raw oatmeal raw to your dog is more difficult for them to digest. Even though it’s healthier, it should be served in smaller quantities.

The oatmeal that you give to your dog should be free of additives. You can find many flavored types of oatmeal. These include fruits like apples, which many people prefer to buy.

You should never give your dog oatmeal that’s not natural or has any added ingredients. Most of those products contain harmful chemicals for your dog’s health. Also, they can contain harmful sugars.

Even though oatmeal is healthy for your dog, you should not give them too much. Oatmeal is a food that contains carbohydrates, which shouldn’t be consumed in excessive amounts. Therefore, your dog can eat it once or twice a week but not three times a week.

The correct amount of oatmeal for dogs depend on their size and weight. Ideally, you can give them a teaspoonful for every 9 kilograms (20 lbs.) your dog weighs.

What are the benefits of feeding your dog oatmeal?

1. It’s an excellent substitute for wheat for animals that are allergic to gluten. According to recent studies about gluten and related allergies, it’s been found that many animals can’t tolerate them.
2. Oatmeal is high in vitamin B5 and vitamin B9. Also, oatmeal contains zinc, iron, magnesium, copper and folic acid. It also contains biotin that good for keeping your dog’s coat in perfect condition.
3. Oatmeal is an excellent source of soluble fiber. The high levels of fiber that oatmeal contains are ideal to regulate cholesterol in dogs. The fiber helps intestinal and digestive problems such as constipation. Also, oatmeal fiber helps regulate digestion and helps get rid of gassiness.  
4. Oatmeal is an ideal food for the fur and skin of dogs. If your dog eats oatmeal, they’ll undoubtedly have a shiny coat that’s strong and healthy. In fact, there are shampoos and lotions which include oatmeal to improve dogs’ coat. This is because it contains a high level of nutrients.
5.  It increases the production of red blood cells and your dog’s circulatory system.  
6. In spite of being a food that is high in carbohydrates, oatmeal is highly recommended for dogs that are overweight. Due to its fiber content, oatmeal helps process fats in your dog’s body. Remember that you should not give them too much oatmeal or there could be a negative result.

Try feeding your dog oatmeal, and you’ll soon observe how their health improves. The first results you’ll note will be the texture and shinniness of your dog’s his.