Is feeding a Dog "Human food" bad for it?

Question

I heard that a dog eating Human food can make them more irritable and make their temperment worse is this true?

Answer 1

actually you can feed human food to dogs noting that chocolate and grapes are not necessarily food ie: candy and fruits. Vets and Vet Nutritionists will tell you that feeding human food in balance the same as humans are required from the 3 main food groups will not harm or change their personality. Meats, vegetables etc in proportion to the dog is ok though vets prefer that dog food be their mainstay. I have taken in under nourished large dog breeds in the past that were grossly underweight and have given them table scraps in addition to their regular food to bolster their size and health. These dogs have lived to ripe old ages and throughout the entire time continued to receive "human" food. So long as it is a balanced meal and keep in mind the size of the dog you are feeding you will find that it is in fact ok. Just note that when it comes to chicken or anything with bones, give them only the meat off the bone to avoid any issues. My Min Pins for years have been given baked chicken, Steak etc in small quantities along with small bit of potato and salad and have no health issues. They receive clean bill of health yearly.

Answer 2

A complex question with a simple answer. Prepared dog food has only been in the last century.

Dogs have food requirements as do people. If you use common sense many of the foods people eat are OK for animals.

Some people used to cook (and still do) food at home for their pets. There are also pet vitamins.

Dogs and cats as well can become diabetic with the wrong diet, ashmatic and many other illnesses.

A dog in the wild would eat the WHOLE animal which would include most of the parts. My cats catch birds and do that now. (I can't control that).

So if you intend to feed human food investigate what foods work and what don't on the net you will also find recipes.

Hope that helps.

Bad food in people and pets can make them grouchy.
Slop, too much sugar, not enough protein, too much soft starch, not enough bulk etc.

Answer 3

I once had an elderly lady for a friend. She had a wonderful little dog. A mix of some sort. She had the dog trained well and it behaved very well. Learn here https://tr.im/uwPmA

She kept an uncovered candy dish on her coffee table with candy in it. The dog was forbidden to eat the candy. When she was in the room observing the dog he did not even appear to notice the candy. One day while she was in her dinning room she happened to look in a mirror and could see her dog in the living room. He did not know he was being watched. For several minutes he was sitting in front of the candy bowl staring at the candy. Finally he reached in and took one. He placed it on the table and stared at it, he woofed at it. He stared some more, licked his chops and PUT IT BACK in the bowl and walked away. Did he want the candy, oh yeah. Did he eat it? Nope. They can be trained that well but most, I'll admit, are not trained that well. When I was a young boy, maybe 5 years old. We had a german shepherd. He was very well trained also. My mom could leave food unattended on the table, no problem. She would open the oven door and set a pan roast beef or roast chicken on the door to cool. No problem. He would not touch it, watched or not. But butter? Whole other story. You leave a stick of butter anywhere he could reach and it was gone. He was a large shepherd so there were not many places he could not reach. Really, I think the number of dogs trained to the point they will leave food alone when not being supervised is very small indeed.
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Now if we are talking obedience training, not food grubbing, that is a different story. Way back when I was first learning obedience training one of the final exercises was to put our dogs in a down/stay and not only leave the room but leave the building for 15 minutes. The only person that stayed was our trainer, not the owners. Most of the dogs in my class did not break their stay, which would be an automatic fail. I'm happy to report my dog was one of the ones that passed.

Answer 4

No, there are certian foods to stay away from, chocolate, grapes etc.

Feeding your dog the way a dog is meant to eat isn't going to make them irritable or give them a bad temperment. In fact people who were having some behavior issues with their dog and then switched to a raw/barf type diet, have actually reported IMPROVEMENT in both areas.

There is another diet option other than dog food. Some people choose to feed a raw diet. This involves feeding the dog raw meaty bones and organ meat. However it is not as simple as throwing a couple chicken bones in a bowl everyday. If you wish to feed this type of diet, do lots and lots of research first. Switching to this diet without knowing what your doing can lead to nutritional problems for your dog. I'll give you some links as a starting point in research if you are interested in this type of diet.

http://www.willowglen.com/barf.htm.........

http://www.bestfrisbeedogs.com/diets.htm...

http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html.....

http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html.....

http://www.rawdogranch.com

What's Really In Pet Food
http://www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359&m...

Answer 5

It sounds like an old wives tale. Many human foods can be, like chocolate, toxic to a dog. But there are a number of people that actually cook for their dogs and serve them a plate at dinner. Eating people food is bad, when you are feeding them from your plate at the table. It creates an uncomfortable atmoshere for those at the table and bad behavior on the part of the dog. It is definitely bad training to feed your dog from your plate.
My dogs don't receive treats but they do get 1/4 of an apple every other day as a substitute. Many veggies are also good for dogs.
If you take a look at the pet food label, you'll find that there is nothing in dog food that you probably wouldn't eat yourself, provided it was served and cooked in an appetizing manner.

Answer 6

Its probably true since most humans eat so poorly! If people all ate well then people food would be fine for dogs. ( altouhg some things we eat are poisenous) So were not EXACTLY the same. But I actually found natual desserts for my dogs today at the dog heath food store near me and for "dessert" they got to split doggie carrot cake and a blueberry cobbler.... its smelled so good I wanted to eat it! I could have too there was nothing in it a human couldnt eat. Proably another "negative" aspect of dogs eating "people" food is the thought of them being fed from the table and starting to beg. No one wants to compete with animals (literally) for their food. I think people are starting to become more aware of whole food for dogs especially after the canned food scare when animals were getting sick and people were afraid to feed their animals. Also Oprah did a segment on what she fed her dogs. They had a chef cook them rice and lamb and more... fancy... lol mine are happy to eat chicken and carrots off paper plates... but they love their new doggies desserts!

Answer 7

it all depends on the food, how much is fed to them and how often it is fed to them. sometimes a little bite or scrap here n there isnt gonna b the end of the world, but u wouldnt want to be feeding them on people food all the time. there can be too much salt, too much fat, caffiene, and other things that r bad for their health. ive heard a dog eating cat food a lot can b bad bcuz there is too much protein in it. stick to dog food as the main food, and maybe give em a little bite off of ur plate if they r being good. they love people food and know its a treat for them, just dont get carried away or u will end up with a fat pet or worse.

Answer 8

i know someone that fed there dog choppedn chicken breast no seasoning, green beans and cooked white rice everyday the dog lived to be 16. This was actually a very good diet for that dog just a lot of work for the owners to always be cooking chicken on the foreman.

Answer 9

If you mean is it ok to feed certain foods like boiled rice,/pasta, cooked chicken, carrots, peas, de-boned fish and pre-soaked bread etc then yes.
If you mean things like chips, crisps, chocolate, biscuits, milk-based products or any rich, highly flavoured foods we humans enjoy (including left over take-aways!) then not a good idea. Dogs will eat anything given the chance, doesn't mean we should allow them to become slobs like us!!!! :D

Answer 10

no it is far from true but you need to make sure they are not getting a lot of it. it is important they eat there dog food. so if they are not eating there food do not give them people food. And when they do get it they should be able to eat the vegitables too.