I kind of see where the OP is coming from; I’ve had people tell me not to give their dogs scraps- not because they don’t want their dog to get fat, but because they honestly believe that giving their dog a slightly burnt hotdog is somehow unhealthy for a dog.
As if somehow one hotdog is going to make any difference… and despite the fact that they’re scarfing the things down themselves. Seemed kind of idiotic to me; I’d think that the dog would have a better digestive system for fat and meat than people would.
As stated, dogs are extremely adaptable and can thrive on kibble, scraps and many other varied diets. And "begging"at the table is a training issue. Not a type-of-food issue.
However, if kibble is so great for dental health, why is it that the American Veterinary Dental College keeps telling us that:
That’s a pretty pathetic outcome for an industry that spends millions to study shatter zones and other minutiae to do with animal food pellets. Ask anyone who feeds raw (not cooked) bones and meat as a staple, and almost universally, robust dental health is the number one benefit cited. Kibble doesn’t promote dental health any more than eating crunchy cookies benefits humans.
Either feed a decent diet, or do frequent brushing and dental cleanings.
Well, if most Americans ate a diet of rice and fruit and a little leanish meat, table scraps wouldn’t really be an issue for dogs. I myself give my dog a limited amount of low-fat people food like popcorn, and the vet I work for is fine with that. But the vast majority of clients we have who feed their dog table scraps have a totally different approach, and as a result have a very specific cluster of problems. They eat a steady diet of things that are not at all suited to being dietary staples, like fast food and processed meats, and they want the dog to eat as much of this as possible because eating all that stuff makes the dog happy. The dog being happy makes them happy, makes them feel like good and loving owners. And then they come to us with the exact problems we tried to warn them about.
He won’t eat dog food. Of course he won’t eat dog food; you’ve trained him that if he turns his nose up at it for an hour, you’ll get in the car and get him McDonalds.
He begs/steals food off our plates when we’re trying to eat. Well, yeah. You trained him that if he’s a pain in the ass during meal times, he gets rewarded with his own plate of food.
He has back/joint issues. Well, he’s twice the size he ought to be, that’s going to take a toll on his body just like it does for you.
He’s started vomiting/having bloody diarrhea. He’s not as young as he used to be, and his body just can’t process all that fat any more. Unfortunately, treating him is going to be expensive, and some of these guys don’t pull through.
We don’t want people to have these issues–they reduce quality of life for the pet, for the owner, and quite frankly for us because having to tell someone their pet may die or be paralyzed from something totally preventable is a real fucking bummer. The easiest way to prevent these issues is to just not start down that road, so that’s what we recommend. If someone can be sensible and moderate about giving the dog people food, that’s fine and good, but a whole whopping lot of people just can’t be sensible and moderate about it.
Bump, if a dog is totally unused to that sort of food, you can give them a screaming case of the shits with just one hot dog. It’s like feeding a lifelong vegetarian a cheeseburger, ya know? That’s why our policy is that guests can certainly feed our pets anything they feel inclined, but they have to clean up the diarrhea/vomit and pay for any vet bills if said food disagrees with the animal.
Our dogs eat food we cook for them, and have for years…
Their food varies - sweet potatoes, mixed vegetables and boneless chicken thighs for a few days, then chicken gizzards or livers or hearts mixed with rice and vegetables for a while, and so on… they definitely don’t get “people food” though… the salt and fat is horrible for them…
We throw everything into an electric pressure cooker for 35 minutes, and have days worth of meals ready for MUCH less money than we spent on kibble years ago… but my husband and I are both into cooking healthy food for us too
They aren’t overweight at all - and one is 11, and the other is 3… both are healthy and happy…
It’s a lot easier to advise people to just not feed people food to dogs than get into the minutia of this is OK and that’s not OK. For instance, corn is not a problem, unless it’s still on the cob. Raw bones generally are OK, cooked are not. A grape or two might be OK, raisins definitely are not. A little piece of milk chocolate might be OK, the same size piece of dark chocolate might not. Chewing gum might not cause a problem, sugarless with xylitol will very likely kill your dog. And so on, macadamia nuts, avocado, bread dough, onions and garlic.
And then there’s the dog that is fed commercial dog food regularly, but gets a “treat” at Thanksgiving or whatever special occasion and ends up with pancreatitis or hemorrhagic gastroenteritis and in the hospital for days.
Veterinarians vastly prefer that people just don’t do it, and so simplify a very long conversation and education session down to a simple “don’t, it’s bad for them.” Of course those who educate themselves and are thoughtful and put some care into what they feed their dogs, such as the examples by Ulfreida and Daffyd, that’s fine, but they represent a vast minority.
There’s a difference in preparing their food from scratch (rice, liver, chicken parts), which you mentioned (cooking rice and meat separate to feed them), and actively feeding them the table scraps or leftovers of Sunday’s big fancy family dinner, or pizza, or KFC leftovers.
I actually DO see a lot of strays in Trinidad (it comes with my job), and most of them aren’t fat. The ones I see who are well fed and fat tend to be owned.
Also, considering the presence of pet shops and large amounts of dog food bags that I see around, I think you’re underestimating the amount of people who feed their dogs kibble and canned food.
Yep. Our dog gets some table scraps, mostly meat, but it goes in his bowl at a different location and time from human meals. Humans can get touchy when they are feeding. It’s best if dogs never interact with them during meals, at least in my house. My sister’s dogs will pratically climb up your leg to get at your plate.
If we had enough waste to actually feed our dog at each meal then I would cut back on the amount of food I buy and cook.
My friends’ old dog would eat beef stew, all but the peas and carrots. They would have the gravy sucked off them and then be deposited back in the bowl.
(Same dog who would wolf down a rotting deer and come home and barf it up all over the house.)
When I was living with my parents, I was the main person to raise and train my mom’s puppy. When I took her for a walk in the morning and got oatmeal at the end of it, she got some in a little dish. If I ordered a breakfast sandwich, she got some of the egg. Unfortunately, after I left, my mom took up my habit of feeding her but didn’t stick to the low fat food I did. Ice cream, cheese, and hamburger patties were served up. Puppy dog loved them, but after a bit too much, she got terribly sick. One hella expensive bout of pancreatitis later, puppy no longer gets people food and has been trained to go to her food bowl when the rest of us eat.
The last dog I fed anything from the table was my Golden, who I lost about five years ago. She didn’t pester. She simply sat down. Near me. And drooled. And if I didn’t notice or provide her with a tidbit, she would sit again - lift and drop her hindquarters with noticeable thump. “Look - I’m sitting, gahdammit.”
But I learned with that one and with the current herd of cows that it’s best to be very selective about both kind and quantity of scraps. A few tablespoons of good stuff, no more - light on fat, starches, grains, onion and zero on sugar and chocolate.
So true. I don’t want to put up with it from my hound and it’s even worse when you’re at someone’s house… and their dog’s doing it. It’s annoying even if the dog’s not begging right to me. The kids got away with a lot of dog hijinks, but even they saw the value in never feeding the hound from the table and have (thankfully) always complied.
Snipped and quoted because this has been my experience with cats. I’m just learning about dogs…they are easier than cats, but you still need to be careful. Our dogs don’t get milkbones, I don’t believe they clean the teeth. Of course, I don’t believe that kibble cleans their teeth either. They just crunch it down, they don’t rub the tartar off their teeth with it. How clean do your teeth feel after you’ve eaten a wheat cracker?
My dog gets primarily tinned food with a handful of dry, but gets any dinner scraps except chicken bones and when it’s time to clean uneaten food out of the fridge the dog gets that instead of the tinned food. he’ll eat just about anything, raw veges in salad included.