Everyone knows that eating fruit and vegetables is good for you. But of course this part of the meal is usually not our favorite part. This is true even for pets who like us have learned to develop a preference for fatty, salty, and unhealthy food. And sadly like us are paying a heavy price for their unhealthy taste.  But there is hope for our food challenged pets, because it is possible to teach our pets to eat healthy foods like fruits and vegetables.

When my family first got Happy, he had no idea what fruits and vegetables were. After studying up on what fruits and vegetable were not safe for dogs to eat such as onions, grapes, and avocadoes, we decided  to teach Happy to eat these healthy foods. The first few times he tasted them, he immediately spit them out in favor of something tastier.  The case seemed hopeless, because smart dog that he is, Happy knew how to eat the foods he liked and ignore the parts that he hated.

But with a little persistence, Happy took his first tentative step towards eating fruits and vegetables. It wasn’t long before Happy actually began to enjoy eating certain fruits like watermelon, strawberries, pineapple, and mango. But of all the foods that Happy has learned to eat, cabbage seems to be his favorite of all.  The moment that Happy sees cabbage, he turns into a starving shark circling for the kill.

Here is a sample of Happy doing all he can to get his favorite treat.