This is something I’ve been thinking about lately, and I wanted to throw it out there and see what you guys think. It’s often-repeated advice, “Don’t feed your dog table food.”
Sure, there’s a list of stuff that dogs should never eat. But what’s really wrong with feeding your dog table food?
I think there are two different issues:
First, there’s a legitimate concern that dogs might not get all their needs met from a diet of scraps. And I agree. If you’re feeding your dog “table food,” it’s needs to be healthy, nutritious food. Little bites here and there are fine as treats, in my opinion. Discounting Cooper whose food is 100% home cooked “table food,” the big boys are eating Petcurean, a commercial dog food, but also get lots of bits of veggies, some meat, scrambled eggs, the last bite of pretty much any sandwich I eat, and fruit – oh, how they love blueberries.
Second, there’s a big difference between feeding your dog table food and feeding your dog from the table. The latter results in unwanted begging behavior. The first, though, I’d argue isn’t that big of a deal. Table food is just… food. Right? And commercial dog food should just be food, too. All the ingredients in a bag of dog food should be whole foods (aka table foods). Commercial dog food is just processed “table food” ingredients made bite-size for convenience.
I suppose if someone’s table food consists of, I don’t know, Hot Pockets and Pop Tarts, then feeding that to your dogs probably isn’t a good idea. (Of course, as much as I love brown sugar Pop Tarts, it’s not a good idea for me to eat them, either…) But if your diet consists of whole foods and you skip the stuff that’s on the toxic list, I guess I don’t get the hubbub about not feeding table food.
What do you guys think?? This isn’t a right or wrong, in my opinion, but I’d love to know your experience, ideas, and opinions on this!
I am always sharing my food with my dogs, and often when I cook, if I’m using something they can have, like some cooked veggies, rice, pasta (in small amounts of course) I will set some aside to mix with their Honest Kitchen breakfast. They usually get the last bite of my dinner and share fruit – last night we had raspberries! I see no issue with it as long as you know the “off limits list,” and any particular allergies or sensitivities your own dogs have.
i know people that use their dogs to clean out the leftovers in the fridge and i think the problem is that most people that feed their dogs people food don’t realize how many ingredients are truly harmful to dogs. I absolutely feed my dogs ‘scraps’ (fruits, vegs, bread) from the table, as well as while i’m cooking or prepping… but only when they’re polite. they start begging, they get cut off – and they both know it 😉
Yup us too, our dogs have a kibble diet, we don’t feed our pups off of our plates or give them dishes to “clean”. But while i’m cooking i’ll give them bits and pieces here and there of things that I know are safe for them too eat. I also make them work for the treats, we practice sits, stays, backup, shake, rollover…and I give them things like carrot pieces, cheese, cooked bits of meat from the pan before it is seasoned, maybe a bit of rice…definitely the empty yogurt container, peanut butter…
Sushi nights at our house the dogs love!! No raw fish of course but they get to have some nori which it turns out is extremely good for dogs!
Hubby and I both love cooking so we use all fresh ingredients, make our own sauces etc..almost never do we have precooked or processed foods. And we stick to their diets Dante is allergic to chicken Ziva allergic to beef so we treat accordingly. As well as no corn, wheat, or soy products.
🙂
I don’t see it as an issue. Table food is exciting, which is great for training, not to mention what else am I going to do with the food I dropped on the floor during dinner? She can have it when we’re done eating, rather than it just going to waste. And I’ve said it before, we ALWAYS share fruit! 🙂 Blueberries are a hit here, too, but do your dogs look funny eating them, Maggie? Daisy eats them one by one and looks surprised every time they “pop” on her teeth!
Typically we don’t feed them from our plates, but on Sunday if we have eggs and toast, we may save them little bits. I feed them some of the same things I eat, chick peas, cheese, veggies, bananas. I think it’s perfectly fine to give them ‘table’ food.
Our 10-year-old border collie Habi is very clear about her likes and dislikes of ‘people food’. But our new guy, 4 year old border collie Obi, is game to try anything, and after the first bite he says “Wow, great!”. Habi is noticing. I offered them a bite of fresh pineapple last week, and was amazed and amused that they both liked it enough to happily accept second bites. They both love banana and frozen tomatoes from last year’s garden. Habi still draws the line at kale stems, though, so Obi gets them all. It’s fun to share small amounts of most anything with them.
We don’t give our dogs a lot of table food, but they get occasional bites. I don’t like to encourage begging behavior, and I also don’t want them to start getting the idea to start going through the trash or that they can start helping themselves to our plates. There’s also the fact that they eat better than we do already anyway…
Absolutely! I’ve always wondered at that distinction between “dog food” and “table food”. Drives me nuts. Dog food trees don’t exist. While some dog food may contain questionable products – it should all still basically come from food, even if it isn’t the best part of the food.
I definitely share my food with Blueberry. Because of that, I tend to eat even healthier because I know she likes sharing and I don’t want to make her sick with junk. Although I do occasionally indulge in junky foods, it’s not a good choice 99% of the time.
We rarely get table food ‘cept chicken. We do get that.
Your Pals,
Murphy & Stanley
Ummm, I am a huge fan of feeding dogs “table food” cause (hopefully) it is real food.
Hi, I always eat healthy food that I know is fine to share with my dogs, I don’ t feed them at the table because this encourages begging, but while I cook my meals I offer my dogs a taste of something in exchange for any number of behaviors..and we both get what we want. They get a tasty treat and I get well trained dogs that pay attention to me. Thanks for sharing.
I absolutely feed my dogs “table” food, just not while we’re still eating to discourage begging. I thus have 2 well behaved dogs that don’t harass us for treats while we eat and are in excellent health (one dog is 13, and every time we tell that to a stranger, they look at her, then they look at us again and say “are you sure?” lol.)
As far as I’m concerned, don’t feed them the stuff that’s toxic (obviously) and don’t feel them the junk that’s bad for us too, even tho we eat it anyway. Good healthy food is fine, and as good for a dog as it is for us.
Hi, I am obsessed with my dog, too. I have a blog, the story teller is my dog, Mocha. He is a golden, come to visit us, too. (From Turkey, happy to see your blog)
When I cook our meals, I’m often mindful of if what I’m cooking is safe for the dogs. But they only get a nibble of what we had when we’re done eating. I think it’s OK to share nibbles, as long as their whole meal isn’t table food (unless you’re planning it for them).
I think sometimes people think of “table food” like “table scraps” of the old days, when the dogs got the leftover scraps, like the fatty part of the meat or something.
I give my dogs more human food now, like fruits and veggies, which Luke especially loves.
I always cringe when I hear or read “Don’t feed your dog table food” or “Don’t give your dog people food” because some people have the perception that table food is unhealthy and you should only feed a dog kibble. Haley always gets a good portion of the food we eat if it’s healthy for her. Fresh meats and vegetables are a lot better for her than dried, over-heated kibble.
I guess some people think table food is bad because it’s sometimes associated with fatty scraps and begging problems.
Totally agree. There’s a difference, as you note from feeding your dog pop tarts and feeding your dog vegetables and protein. Marvin’s gets both dry commercial dog food and home cooked protein + veggies for dinner (he’s extremely active so I like to give him more protein than he gets in the commercial food. I also will sometimes keep healthy leftovers for him — the key, though is a feed them to him in his dog bowl.