I swore this time around I would not give my dog table food..... and I've actually stuck to that rule (and Tatum is 5 years old). I previously had a toy poodle and for a couple years we lived next to my grandparents. My grandpa watched him during the day while I was at work and he always fed him off the table. He actually would sometimes put his own toy poodle on his lap to eat the leftovers straight from his plate!
When we moved away, Dax (my poodle) was at least 7 lbs. overweight (he should have only weighed about 7 lbs. and ended up at 14 lbs.!) and had knee problems. Once he got on a good dog food, he did lose the weight and then only very rarely did he have a problem with his knee.
And of course, even though I tell people not to feed Tatum, my dad one time gave her a lick of cherry pie filling off his finger. You know that dog would beg from him every time he came over. She never before or after that would beg from anyone else but we finally broke her again from begging from him. She's so good about it that her favorite spot to chill is on her back on my lap at the dinner table when we are just sitting around the table after we finish eating. She doesn't even attempt to get at my plate on the table.
I will admit it is hard though to not offer her table food!
