Feeding table food?

[caseymarie09]

I know feeding dogs table food isn't good. But my parents think otherwise and I hate it! Lola doesn't eat very much of her dry dog food, maybe 1/4 cup a day, if that. My parents hate to see her stare at them while they're eating and when she begs they will sometimes give her a couple bites of bread, couple spoonfuls of gravy, and I just caught my mother giving her a McDonald's french fry! Every time I seen them doing this I try to tell them to stop but they always say "We've had dogs before and table food never hurt them and they need different stuff besides the same old dry dog food sometimes." Well, I feel like that's why she doesn't eat her food very often because she might be developing a habit of them feeding her other things. I feed her Beneful for puppies right now, but I have gotten 2 samples in the mail recently of Solid Gold and Wellness. I haven't seen a difference since I've fed her those. We used to have 3 pomeranians and they wouldn't dare touch dog food; they had to have treats and that's all they lived on. I DO NOT want Lola to be that way. So, tell me, is it seriously a really bad thing to every now and then feed her something like gravy or bread, etc? I've always heard wet canned food gives them the runs and I'm afraid to try that.

[tokipoki]

I would definitely not feed my dogs people gravy...it's not good for us to eat (don't get me wrong, I LOVE biscuits and gravy lol) so definitely not good for them. I will say that sometimes I do give the pups a teeny, TINY piece of something like pizza crust or sandwich crust but usually I don't like to give food straight off my plate because they will develop the habit of just ogling you at meal time on top of those foods not being healthy. I do think "table scraps" like plain veggies or unseasoned meats like chicken can be good supplements to a balanced diet but it sounds like you have a different issue with your family.

My mom is SO bad about table scraps and I hate it when she feeds Toki and Teddy human food when we go to visit. They are completely different animals at her house...Toki is especially bad and will hound the table and paw at people (this is just at my mom's house...at my apartment, Toki just lays on her bed and sleeps while we eat because she knows it ain't happenin') because she is able to get things from my parents. Their beagle is very overweight...I even helped them pick out a kibble that she will eat and does well on but my parents refuse to stop feeding her table scraps (BAD! like pieces of eggrolls, pork ribs, fried rice, parts of breakfast sandwiches, etc) and it's nothing that I can change. Do you live at home with your parents and is Lola just your dog? That'll make a difference in how you can approach the issue. Because let me tell you from my experience, "Every now and then" really means every time someone is eating and the dogs give them that sad, pathetic look and it's not always going to be a food that is considered healthy/acceptable for the pups to eat. Sorry you're having a challenging time getting people on board with you...I feel your pain!

As for the canned/wet food. I have been feeding Toki wet food a majority of the time since maybe the end of last May(?...a good while anyway) and her stools are perfectly fine...well-formed, normal amount...not anything different from when I was feeding her just kibble. Your dog can either tolerate a food or they can't, it doesn't matter if it's kibble, raw, dehydrated, canned, etc.

[Deb1]

Have you tried providing the food? I mean, like take healthy foods for her to eat that can be given from the table. Like.....bits of apple, green beans, bananas, carrots, sweet potato, etc. That way, she is getting something that is ok to eat! Or even her regular kibble would be fine.....they think it is a treat when hand fed!

[caseymarie09]

Originally Posted by tokipoki

I would definitely not feed my dogs people gravy...it's not good for us to eat (don't get me wrong, I LOVE biscuits and gravy lol) so definitely not good for them. I will say that sometimes I do give the pups a teeny, TINY piece of something like pizza crust or sandwich crust but usually I don't like to give food straight off my plate because they will develop the habit of just ogling you at meal time on top of those foods not being healthy. I do think "table scraps" like plain veggies or unseasoned meats like chicken can be good supplements to a balanced diet but it sounds like you have a different issue with your family.

My mom is SO bad about table scraps and I hate it when she feeds Toki and Teddy human food when we go to visit. They are completely different animals at her house...Toki is especially bad and will hound the table and paw at people (this is just at my mom's house...at my apartment, Toki just lays on her bed and sleeps while we eat because she knows it ain't happenin') because she is able to get things from my parents. Their beagle is very overweight...I even helped them pick out a kibble that she will eat and does well on but my parents refuse to stop feeding her table scraps (BAD! like pieces of eggrolls, pork ribs, fried rice, parts of breakfast sandwiches, etc) and it's nothing that I can change. Do you live at home with your parents and is Lola just your dog? That'll make a difference in how you can approach the issue. Because let me tell you from my experience, "Every now and then" really means every time someone is eating and the dogs give them that sad, pathetic look and it's not always going to be a food that is considered healthy/acceptable for the pups to eat. Sorry you're having a challenging time getting people on board with you...I feel your pain!

As for the canned/wet food. I have been feeding Toki wet food a majority of the time since maybe the end of last May(?...a good while anyway) and her stools are perfectly fine...well-formed, normal amount...not anything different from when I was feeding her just kibble. Your dog can either tolerate a food or they can't, it doesn't matter if it's kibble, raw, dehydrated, canned, etc.

Ahh, thank you so much for telling me all this and let me know I'm not the only one going through it haha. Yes I live with my parents and She's technically my dog but they love her just as much but they see no wrong in feeding her that stuff sometimes. I actually might try some canned food to see how she does with it. When I do, I'll update on how She's doing!

[caseymarie09]

Originally Posted by Deb1

Have you tried providing the food? I mean, like take healthy foods for her to eat that can be given from the table. Like.....bits of apple, green beans, bananas, carrots, sweet potato, etc. That way, she is getting something that is ok to eat! Or even her regular kibble would be fine.....they think it is a treat when hand fed!

I haven't tried that but I definitely will!

[Lovetodream88]

Ok first off most gravy has onion and garlic powder in them which are on the toxic list of things not to feed your dog or it can make them anemic. Getting table food is why shes not eating her food. If she is your dog that you pay for you get to make the rules and in a nice way need to tell your parents that. Fatty foods like ham can cause pancreatitis which is extremely painful for them and can cost thousands of dollars because most of the time they have to stay over night at the hospital. There are many things that are toxic and bad for dogs that you need to make sure your dog is not getting fed. I would also suggest putting her in a play pen away from everyone when they are eating. Beneful has been linked to dog deaths so I would try a different not Purina food because they are also the makers of the waggin train chicken jerky that killed hundreds of dogs and made many more sick so I would not trust them because it took them years to finally pull them off the market.

[Britster]

I feed my dog table food. BUT, he doesn't get anything fatty, or terribly bad for him, and he gets very small amounts. For example, if I'm eating pizza, he gets a little piece of the crust. He doesn't know any different, he just basically gulps it down anyway. He gets little bits of string cheese every now and then. Chicken. etc. He's just excited to be sharing my food with me.

I learned the hard way by letting him come to a family get together with me, and he was being fed sausage from the pizza, chocolate cupcake droppings on the floor, and more. $1500 hospital visit later.... you get the picture.

So I am much more strict now. My family knows I will kill them if they give him anything. No ham, no sausage, no bacon, etc. I don't mind things like crackers, little pieces of bread, certain kinds of meats, little bits of cheese, etc. I even share little bits of vanilla ice cream when I have it (which is kind of rare). Besides that one incident, he's never had a sensitive stomach. I wouldn't mind ever fret over one Mcdonald's french fry if he would eat them, but he's a weirdo who won't touch ANY kind of potato. lol. I'm always shocked to read that a dog will have an upset stomach after eating one chip or one fry, but it DOES happen and I guess I forget how little most yorkies are (my big guy is 17lbs).

My dad is horrible. He loves his dogs but constantly gives them sooo much people food. And then wonders why they won't eat dog food. He feels bad if they don't eat, so then he feeds them ham and cheese and turkey, etc, as their meal, so "their bellies are full and they don't whine at me later cuz they're hungry" It is sooo hard to get through to people like this. It took a LOT of training with Jackson, but after I spent so much money, etc, he knows now. I guess he just thinks it can't happen to his dogs, I don't know. But the one is very overweight.

[caseymarie09]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

Ok first off most gravy has onion and garlic powder in them which are on the toxic list of things not to feed your dog or it can make them anemic. Getting table food is why shes not eating her food. If she is your dog that you pay for you get to make the rules and in a nice way need to tell your parents that. Fatty foods like ham can cause pancreatitis which is extremely painful for them and can cost thousands of dollars because most of the time they have to stay over night at the hospital. There are many things that are toxic and bad for dogs that you need to make sure your dog is not getting fed. I would also suggest putting her in a play pen away from everyone when they are eating. Beneful has been linked to dog deaths so I would try a different not Purina food because they are also the makers of the waggin train chicken jerky that killed hundreds of dogs and made many more sick so I would not trust them because it took them years to finally pull them off the market.

Originally Posted by Britster

I feed my dog table food. BUT, he doesn't get anything fatty, or terribly bad for him, and he gets very small amounts. For example, if I'm eating pizza, he gets a little piece of the crust. He doesn't know any different, he just basically gulps it down anyway. He gets little bits of string cheese every now and then. Chicken. etc. He's just excited to be sharing my food with me.

I learned the hard way by letting him come to a family get together with me, and he was being fed sausage from the pizza, chocolate cupcake droppings on the floor, and more. $1500 hospital visit later.... you get the picture.

So I am much more strict now. My family knows I will kill them if they give him anything. No ham, no sausage, no bacon, etc. I don't mind things like crackers, little pieces of bread, certain kinds of meats, little bits of cheese, etc. I even share little bits of vanilla ice cream when I have it (which is kind of rare). Besides that one incident, he's never had a sensitive stomach. I wouldn't mind ever fret over one Mcdonald's french fry if he would eat them, but he's a weirdo who won't touch ANY kind of potato. lol. I'm always shocked to read that a dog will have an upset stomach after eating one chip or one fry, but it DOES happen and I guess I forget how little most yorkies are (my big guy is 17lbs).

My dad is horrible. He loves his dogs but constantly gives them sooo much people food. And then wonders why they won't eat dog food. He feels bad if they don't eat, so then he feeds them ham and cheese and turkey, etc, as their meal, so "their bellies are full and they don't whine at me later cuz they're hungry" It is sooo hard to get through to people like this. It took a LOT of training with Jackson, but after I spent so much money, etc, he knows now. I guess he just thinks it can't happen to his dogs, I don't know. But the one is very overweight.

Thank you all so much! I got another big box of Artemis samples today. I wanted to try the samples to see if she likes any of those so I can get her away from the Beneful but I haven't seen any difference yet.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by caseymarie09

Thank you all so much! I got another big box of Artemis samples today. I wanted to try the samples to see if she likes any of those so I can get her away from the Beneful but I haven't seen any difference yet.

What I did with Callie (my yorkie) is I took the samples wrote which was which on the back of a small paper plate and would put the food on them and set them down and see which one she like best and then look at the bottom of the paper plate to see which one it was.

[caseymarie09]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

What I did with Callie (my yorkie) is I took the samples wrote which was which on the back of a small paper plate and would put the food on them and set them down and see which one she like best and then look at the bottom of the paper plate to see which one it was.

That's a good idea! I will try that.

[xFoxyx]

Feeding my Presley table food cost me 20k over his lifetime due to that causing chronic pancreatitis. Their little bodies cannot handle high fat foods. It was a very expensive lesson to learn. You can feed them healthy foods like plain chicken and veggies or rice. Pancreatitis is a very painful illness and I wish I had known better. I do now.