Table Scraps

[Junior]

What do you think about giving your dog table scraps? Do you think its healthy? If you do it, why do you do it? Or why not?

[Abby]

I LOVE to get table scraps. I don't always get table scraps, but when I do, my family gives it to me in my bowl after dinner is over. It seems like they're trying to keep me from begging while they are eating. It works.

[Ozie]

I disagree with it because it can lead to dogs think begging is acceptable. I feed my dogs before we have our meal and any scraps are then given later on as a late snack.

I do this for two reasons:

1. Friend of mine spent a couple of weeks with me and her dog used to being fed scraps made a proper nuisance of himself when he wouldn't have had he been taught that scraps = begging are unacceptable behaviour

2. Same friend fed craps to one of my dogs (While i was out) And turned out my dog had a reaction to it!

So!!! I say no to feeding scraps but then hey! My dogs look forward to their late night snack (Scraps)

[Kim]

LOL, I "try" not to give them people food as much as possible and mainly because then they want it more. Well, that's how it goes at my house and of course some people isn't really good for dogs at all.

[BabyBruno]

According to most vets table scraps are very unhealthy. I admit I have given table scraps to our pets in the past, but in some cases if it is over done, your pet may not want to eat their own food and will wait for more people food. It's not good for their digestion track and could lead to health problems later in life. So if you do, please do it in moderation.

[Kelly]

I don't agree with feeding table scraps. It is unhealthy and teaches them begging is an ok behavior. If you have vegetables left over, by all means feed them to the dog. But wait until its time for them to eat and put iit in their food bowl so they don't think they are getting table scraps.

[Jenn & Nick]

Many foods that people eat can cause major problems in your dog. Some of the worse foods include grapes which can cause renal (kidney) failure, onion which causes damage to their hemoglobin, garlic which breaks down their blood cells and eventually could cause them to be anemic, yeast in bread which causes the abdomen to expand, macadamia nuts which cause tremors or even temporay paralysis in the back legs and countless other foods. Many of these only take a small amount over time. So, if you do feed your dog table scraps, be very wary of what is included in them.

[Holly]

I just don't do it. It might hurt the anaimal that you do it to. So,I disagree. Who agrees? Also,if you do do it,same on you! Lol,I just said dodo!

[Yoshi]

Yoshi's Mom here...

I would say that it depends on the scraps that you are feeding him. If it is a cooked bone of any kind, absolutely not, it could splinter and cause tearing in his digestive tract. I would also caution against feeding him the fat you cut off your steak or the skin from your chicken, like in humans, fat should be a very small portion of their diet. I regularly cook for my dogs, so I am not against them eating human food. There are a lot less chemicals and preservatives in the food. If you had some extra boiled rice, low sodium veggies, and a few bites of your chicken breast, I would say go for it, but make sure you reduce the other dog food you leave down for him, so that he doesn't eat too many calories.

As far as when to feed him, in a dog's mind, the most dominant member(s) of the pack eat first. So you eat and firmly make your dog wait until you finish, then feed them, maybe while you are clearing the table.

I regularly give my dogs things like carrots and broccoli and cucumbers as snacks, and they love them. The only one who is even slightly overweight is my 13 1/2 yr old flat coat retriever, and that is because he is slowing way down due to his age and arthritis.

[Amy]

Giving your pets table scraps is a slippery slope - I know. I sometimes gave my Labrador a bite of something now and then. But so did my husband, friends, and other family. Before I knew it, she was overweight and we were dealing with the problems that come from that.

When she was diagnosed with diabetes, it was the first thing I thought of. While being heavy is not necessarily the cause of diabetes, it is a risk factor. So now I'm a proponent of being very conscious about what you're feeding your pets. (See Canine Diabetes for more information.)

There is also the problem of many foods causing health problems in pets. See Dangerous Foods - Surprising foods that can harm your pet for a full list of problem foods.

Amy
Pet Health Focus

[All things Parrot]

I say no. Mainly because of begging and wanting more of it.

as for health reasons I think it depends on the food.