Feeding people food to dogs

I always used to say to never give people food to dogs and poo-poo people who said "well my dog would starve before he'd eat dog food", but now I have found that it's necessary to get Tony to eat more because he's so underweight.

Lately I've been putting the juice or sauce from our leftovers on his dog food to make it more flavorful. Yesterday I fed him some very lean venison stew with potatoes in it, and today I gave him scrambled eggs.

What sorts of people food do you give your dogs? I know gravy is a big no-no, if it's high-fat. And I've heard about onions and chocolate being toxic.

Are potatoes OK?

I give my pups leftovers all the time. I give them potatoes a lot, I don't think they are bad for them. Mine have never gotten sick from them.
Mine are underweight, so table food mixed in with their dog food just makes them eat more and makes myself and our vet happy!:D

My dogs really only get carrots. They get a couple everyday, and they love them.

I usually save at least a few bites of whatever meat I'm eating for Samantha - chicken, steak, pork, you name it. If the side I make with dinner is okay to give her (meaning it wouldn't be messy like mashed potatoes), I'll give her a bite or two of that as well. If I make spaghetti, I make a tad extra and give her her own in her bowl. She loves spaghetti. She also gets veggies or pieces of fruit if I'm eating that. I guess I'll usually let her taste about anything I have.

The way I see it is, they're only here for a short time as it is. Let them enjoy it. So long as I'm not overfeeding her, which I'm not, and she knows that her dinner is her puppy food, which she does, no harm no foul.

I have a sister that gives all the family left overs to
her dogs. (they have cast iron stomachs now)
If I did that for my dogs, I'd have a couple of sick pooches. :)


When I cook for myself, I consider my dogs.
(I cook meat, fish and skinless poultry, plain
yoguart, cottage cheese etc. etc.
(I try to never add anything that could upset the dogs tummy's)

I add to their food in moderation for taste.

Rocky and SHeba ane not big on veggies.
Pepper will eat anything.

We always save a few bites of meat from our meals for our dogs. Nothing in a large enough quantity that would put them off their regular food, though. I don't feed them anything with sugar/high fructose corn syrup, I don't believe sugar is good for people or dogs.

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Originally posted by Samantha Puppy
The way I see it is, they're only here for a short time as it is. Let them enjoy it. So long as I'm not overfeeding her, which I'm not, and she knows that her dinner is her puppy food, which she does, no harm no foul.

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That's a great way to look at it.

Actually, I never understood people who would never give people food to their pups! lol. :p I mean, it's not hurting them, and as long as you give it to them in moderation they don't get fat or sick.

Our dogs get a little bit of left overs from dinner most every day. And if I can't finish something, like a bagel for example, I give it to the pups. We make sure there's nothing too fatty or something we wouldn't eat so they don't get sick. And yes, chocolate and onions are a no no. And sugar isn't too good for them either... though Daphne has been known to have a twizzler from time to time.

Chester has pancreatitis so ours usually don't get any people food.

Feeding people food is not harmful in small amounts of very low fat, low sodium foods for most dogs. But be very careful with high fat foods, as they can be very dangerous. You don't want your dog to get pancreatitis, trust me. :(

Just a quick post, Tawny's dogfood is Potatoe and Duck, allergy formula, and does she every love it so I guess cooked potoates are ok, I know raw are not good even for people, they are of the nightshade family, highly toxic raw (ie green).

By "high fat" - I assume that regular hamburger would be too fatty but ground chuck would probably be OK.

What about hot dogs? Probably too fatty, I would think. And high in sodium. But they sure love them!

I'm thinking high-protein foods and vegetables would be OK, but for some reason I wouldn't feel comfortable giving them pancakes or anything like that. I don't know why - but it seems like all that white flour wouldn't be good for them. Agree? Disagree?

In just the past few days since I've been supplementing with people food, Tony looks less thin. My son noticed too, so it must not be my imagination.

I have a question on top of that one... If you feed your dogs people food do they drool or satre at you when your eating cause they're expecting to get some mine do until I tell them to go away but, do yours??

The most my dogs get anymore are maybe tiny crumbs and Fruits/Veggies.

After meeting Duke and Val (dukedogsmom) and hearing how she almost lost Duke to pancreatitis, I do not see how it's worth it.
It may make them "happy"... but mine are also happy with having a nice yummy milkbone with a dab of peanut butter or something on it. :)


Just be careful with Tony.. after a while he may become "fat"
It only needs a bit to make it a "different flavor" ;)

Have you ever tried to mix a bit of slightly warm water in with it?
Simba and Nala LOVE that. It makes a bit of "gravy" out of their dog food.

Another thing they like is if I put a bit a peanut butter and mix it with warm water and pour it over their food.

Mine get little bits, occasionally, meat scraps, potatoes, sometimes rice or vegetables. We don't cook with a lot of salt or seasonings, so I feel it's pretty safe, and I only give them a spoonful each to flavor up their food and help Murphy to take her medication. It is always stirred in with their dog food.

Logan

Since Duke got so sick, I haven't been giving him people food at all. I know chicken and rice is really good to feed them. Also, carrots. How about broth? Would that be bad like gravy? Is Tony one of the chis? They make those really good dog dinners for small dogs that have the gravy in them. Also, they make gravy for dogs. I saw some at my pet store.

Miss Tawny lays at my feet, and if she hears the knife and fork go down she gets up. All I have to say is "not for puppies" and she lays down again. If you feed alot of people food , I'm sure there would be problems seeing half our food has chemical additives in it anyway. My vet said 1 tlbs isn't going to hurt anyone, but don't get carried away, as much veggies as they want but not the gassy ones like cabbage, because you will find out really quick. Phew!

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Originally posted by Jods
I have a question on top of that one... If you feed your dogs people food do they drool or satre at you when your eating cause they're expecting to get some mine do until I tell them to go away but, do yours??

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I've been feeding mine people food for ages. If you do it the right way, there shouldn't be any begging.

Mine get a wide variety of (healthy) food. They don't get full blown meals or anything but they often get a little bit of whatever I'm eating. I stick by the rule that too much of anything is bad so they only get little tid bits.

I give my GS leftovers all the time. Mostly meat. I do not allow her in the kitchen while I'm eating though. That's a HUGE pet peeve of mine. Don't get me wrong she gets spoiled plenty. This is one thing I do not allow.

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Originally posted by Jods
I have a question on top of that one... If you feed your dogs people food do they drool or satre at you when your eating cause they're expecting to get some mine do until I tell them to go away but, do yours??

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I've always given Max scraps here and there (just lean stuff - and I cook mostly "organic" so there aren't a lot of chemicals in my food). He doesn't beg or drool or stare, because I don't feed him from the table. After we're done eating I put his food in his bowl and put the scraps in with it.

Pancreatitis was my main concern. That's why I was asking, actually. Isn't it the fat and spices which cause pancreatitis?

I cook everything pretty much from scratch, so I know there aren't additives or preservatives or anything like that in the food. Just about everything is low fat, usually. Not always. But until now I didn't think about the spices - I do use a lot of pepper and herbs.

Any thoughts/opinions on herbs and spices?

We feed lucy table scraps every so often,,, but we try to keep the sweets away from her,,,, BUT,, she does get a little birthday cake to herself for her special day!!!

I don't feed them people food. I used too back when they were younger, but Daisy started getting a little tubby, so we stopped. Of course, they still get plenty of treats/rawhide/etc, but no people food. They don't even beg for any when we eat now. For special occasions like Molly's DOTD, birthdays, etc. I might sneak a little bit in their food. ;)

I do, however, give them a few fruits and veggies like apples and carrots. They LOVE those!

I feed my puppy (and my ex still feeds our cat) nothing but "people food". I don't give him much cooked food, though. His main food is raw meat (beef or pork) or poultry. And, I eat tons of fruits and veggies and I give him some of mine every day. He still begs somewhat (but no more than my dog before that I only fed dog food til he was 13, at which point i switched him to the raw diet). I just tell him to back off, though, and, he usually does his staring from about five feet away. (:

RB Max was only able to eat people food in his first eary or so. But that caused major problems. He would beg & if u didn't give him some, he would just take it. He jumped up on my 6'6 friend & stole the slice of pizza as she was eating it. Boy did RB Max get scolded for that & for all the other times too. His agression towards food got worse & worse & worse. Then we banned him from getting people food. Then he couldn't keep any people food down if any fell onto the floor.

After we delt with his stealing food agression problem with fly swatters. We all started to hate him sitting there & begging for food. It reminded us of him bitting us (RB Max was a horrible puppy, he bit alot!!) so everytime he would beg we told him to go to his chair & if he refused (he did alot), we would grab him by the collar & drag him to his chair. We kept doing that until he got the message.

& then we started kicking him out of the kitchen, while cooking & eating.

His dessire for people food from us had pretty much vanished, except for cheese & ice cream. He was always good for these foods & was rewarded if he sat outside with us & didn't beg.

But he was still a food theif. He would take things off the counter & trash can. But when he started to get horrible off of most people food & almost died from a deadly alergic reaction to nuts, we said he needs to fear people food at all costs unless its in his dog bowl or given to him.

We would leave food out in the open & keep a fly swatter near by & swat his butt good & hard (we had to or he could have died, god knows what else he was alergic to, & the vet said to do it this way too, fast & quick way of learning).

I would put used bowls on the floor & just wait for him to try & touch it. if he got close, he was swatted. If he was offered a plate or bowl, he was swatted. if he was offered cheese that was ok. If he was offered anything else but dog treats or cheese he was swatted. I would hide & leave food out & if he went near it I would jump out & swat him.

After a month, he never stole food again & the begging had stopped. It was sooo hard to swat him all the time, I felt soooo bad, but I really didn't want him to die.

As he got older he still wasn't a food theif, but he would ask for food & we would tell him no & he would walk off or lay down. But the kitchen was off limits while cooking & eating. He would lay at the door waiting for us. If we dropped something he would look at it, but not come in. If it was a carrot, we would say Max have & point at it & he would come in grab it chomp on it (making a mess) & then leave the kitchen & lay back down.

So becareful the dog doesn't become allergic to anything, cause the first time might not be too bad, but the 2ed time could be deadly!!

Also aggression could be a problem. Feedim the dog peole food only in its bowl might reduce this factor & might also reduce him becoming a theif. But allowing a dog to beg is 1. annoying as hell. 2. teasing the dog, which could lead to aggression. 3. ANNOYING!!! :)

My dogs get their own food mixed with yogurt, green veggies and a sprinkle of garlic powder every night. And a baby carrot for evening treat. I never feed them anything from my plate; I always put scraps in their dish or at least take it to the kitchen. They like to beg when I'm cooking because that's when they might get a bite of lettuce or other vegetable.

I eat in the livingroom, they eat in the kitchen. They don't beg when I'm eating. But they follow me when I get up to put my try in the kitchen!

Mary

Thought of something else my Lucy loves,,, she loves getting the spine of lettuce leaves when I am making salads,,,,,

I think shes part bunny rabbit,,,,:D

Oops ... I see I'm still logged in as my house guest, Shelteez2. :D This is Twisterdog incognito, though.

I feed my dogs whatever is left from dinner. I don't necessarily cook a big meal every night, though, so they only get to "wash the dishes" maybe three times per week. Plus, I have eleven dogs, so each one of them probably get less than a tablespoon anyway.

Everything in moderation, I think. A few bites of "people food" per week is NOT going to hurt an otherwise healthy dog. By too much of a good thing is a bad thing, of course.

I only give my dogs cucumbers, or grapes, i have heard from several of their doctors that anything like bread or something that can expand in their bellys is dangerous, but only for certain breeds, the larger ones, it can cause bloat and kill them, so i am super careful.
They love their dog food and dont beg for people food, so thats good :)

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Originally posted by Shelteez2
[ Plus, I have eleven dogs, so each one of them probably get less than a tablespoon anyway.

[/B]

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Wow,,, 11 dogs???????
:eek: :eek: :eek: