Table Food for our Furry Children

[Snowy's Mommy]

Hi Everyone,

I have a question and it seems to be the root of all arguments between me and my boyfriend---I give Snowy, my little son (he is a Cairn Terrier--my baby boy!) human food once a day (he loves lettuce, his daily carrot and an occasional grilled burger with the fat drained out)....my boyfriend sees him eating table food and tells me that I am ruining his digestive system by doing that........
Can I PLEASE get everyone's opinion on this?????? It would greatly help me!!!


Thank You, Snowy's Mommy

[BayleeBoo]

Snowy's Mommy,
I have a chocolate lab named BayLee and he technically eats dinner with my family
He is the worlds best beggar and I just sort of give in, I guess you could say! I haven't consulted it with my vet though. He appears to be healthy and we excercise at least twice a day between throwing a frisbee or just simply walking him. I find it perfectly ok as long as he is still eating doggy food. Just don't go way overboard and make sure you don't give him lots of junk food! I think you you and Snowy should be fine! Best of Luck and tell your boyfriend you are experiencing a variety of foods with your little boy! Hehehehe
Sincerely:
BayLee's Mommy Sarah

[3-greys-and-a-mutt]

My thoughts on this is that it's not what you give them that causes behavioral problems, but how you give it. We have three tall dogs, and we said right from the start that they wouldn't get table scraps, because we didn't want table- and counter-height dogs interested in our food! Well, we have changed our minds a little bit, because we have discovered that veggies are good for dogs and they love them. So, the way we handle it is to treat the human food either like part of their dinner or like a treat. They get canned veggies and yogurt every day with dinner. When we give them carrots, celery, lettuce, etc., we give make them do a trick for it, so they think of if it just like they would a dog biscuit. I think the trick is just don't feed them when you are eating. My mom used to give little bits of her dinner to my former cocker spaniel, and that dog was such a begger! I would never give another dog scraps when I am eating!

[Snowy's Mommy]

Thank you both for your replies! I knew that there had to be some other parents out there that give their babies table food! Snowy says "Thank You" as well because he can continue to eat his veggies (he always has a bowl of IAMS for his doggy food - he loves his lamb & rice crunchies - he seems to munch here and there all day, but he runs around like a crazy boy in the yard!)

Thanks again!

Snowy's Mommy

[Daisy's Mom]

Okay, I admit it... I feed Daisy table scraps! I just can't say no to the hound eyes. I know it's bad but she really loves them. If you don't feed them too much and make sure they exercise enough, I think it's okay

[RachelJ]

One way to tell about Snowy's digestive system is the poop. If his stools are firm (not runny) then he is handling the amount and kind of people food okay. If you are getting loose stools occasionally, then you might want to rethink what he is eating. My two are on Lamb and Rice Iams as well and love it. They get small pieces of fruit an and vegetables as treats. Just remember no onions on that hamburger and as we learned from another post on this board, grapes are now suspect.

[3-greys-and-a-mutt]

Oh no - what is wrong with onions? I know potatoes (the plants and uncooked tubers) are bad, but I hadn't heard anything bad about onions! We occasionally give our dogs pieces of raw onion when we are cutting them up!

[Snowy's Mommy]

Dear 3,

Onions are very toxic for a dog's system, like chocolate, but if you had given them a few in the past and they have not gotten sick, just be thankful!! Just don't give them any in the future---

For piece of mind, maybe you could call the Animal Poison Control hotline at 888-426-4435, just to get some background, or maybe check out some veterinary websites too.

[3-greys-and-a-mutt]

Thanks so much for the heads up! Like I said, we know about green potatoes, chocolate, and we have a plant toxicity list, but I did not know about onions! It certainly was not a regualr part of our dogs' diet, just an occasional bit. Now though, there will be NO ONION in their diets! Here is a site I found with more info:
http://www.jlhweb.net/BOSS/onions.html