why do ppl feed their pets human food?

Question

seriously? why do ppl feed their pets human food and then get all worried cause they are overweight or have an allergy or get sick smarten up ppl!

so ur telling me its better for the dog if u feel good? please, u ppl should be arrested! sure ur dog lived to be 14 but im sure it was huge.

is that why my dog almost fing died last year cause some yuppie idiot like u folks fed him some pork when i awasn't looking. it's lovey to see ur dog throw up his own ****, u ppl are retarted.

Answer 1

People feed their pets people food because they think their pets want the food. Although it is not detrimental for a pet to eat the occasional scrap or 'treat', a diet based solely on people food can lead to serious health issues. Vets see an increase in pancreatic issues in dogs around the holidays because there is such a huge influx of table scraps made available to the dogs. The problem is is that most animals that are getting people food are not only getting the skinless chicken raw, or a chunk of beef that's raw, they are getting things that have been processed, fried, loaded with sugar and preservatives etc. Going to the butcher and getting cow stomachs for your dogs is one thing, but feeding them from the table is completely different.

Answer 2

I get my food delivered from the Pet Pantry. You can find them online. The quality of food is great. No imported products and no additives. I was feeding Nutro and this food is comparable in price but much higher quality. I am really mad at Eukanuba right now because California tried to pass a law saying that all dogs over 4.5 months must be spayed or neutered unless you are a AKC breeder or get a special license from the state. Eukanuba stepped in and said that if the law passed they would never hold another dog show there. Needless to say the law failed.

Answer 3

I'm a veterinarian and I make my dogs meals- my rottweiler gets 1 lb of ground chuck with 3 eggs, 1/2 a cup of rice, and 1/2 a cup of Purina puppy chow. She's not overweight and is in fact very fit. As a vet I don't recommend my regime to everyone or recommend the feeding your dogs food products that aren't found in nature- such as Twinkies or Hohos.

But beef, chicken, and pork meat will fill that carnivorous void your pet may be feeling and actually reduce the risk of your pet going out and hunting his own meat- such as dragging road kill into your yard to eat the meat. More animals die a year to poisonous or bacterial infected road kill than they do to human food.

It doesn't matter if you feed your pet human food- it's what you feed your pet and by how much. If people don't get overzealous and think that Sparky needs to eat all his meals with the family and gorge him on carb rich meals such as spaghetti or pasta dishes their pets will be just fine.

Answer 4

It seems like you are a tad flipped...lol :)

I can't say I agree with the questioner or the answerer's...here are the facts:

Not so many years ago, lets say about the 1930's it was normal for dogs to be fed nothing but table scraps. Its just the way it was. Actual processed, man made dog food, is a newer thing.

In the end there is a difference between throwing your dog a slice of roast beef or a Twinkie. Its all about using common sense.

Answer 5

Im not saying table food is healthy for a dog nor am I saying it is unhealthy for a dog but I would like to know if table food is so terrible for a dog then why does a vet tell you to give your dog hambuger cooked or uncooked,rice,scramble eggs,chicken or any food that will be easy on the dog when the dog is sick since kibbles will upset their stomach more.I know people that has raised their dog on table food.I know a man with a 16 year old german shepard that has been raised on table food and this dog is very much alive,he even plays sometimes like a puppy.Myself I give my dogs dog food because I can not afford to feed 4 dogs table food.If these dogs did not have homes and lived in the wild then they would not have dog fod but would have meat from other animals.

Answer 6

I agree,
My friend is a vet tech and was disgusted when I showed this to him. He had dealt with too many cases of diseased teeth and even diabetic dogs who could have had better lives had those owners that "knew more than the vet" listened.

Dogs are Carnivores, domesticated but meat-eaters all the same.
Potatoes, chocolate, avocados, onions, macadamia nuts, and grapes and raisins are toxic to dogs.
If the food is something like cooked chicken without seasonings etc. with a basic additive, then I don't fault them. It's those others that give fried foods and tons of vegetables and starches that are dead wrong! Why not give them anti-freeze and get it over with? I'm sure that they'd like that too!

Answer 7

Do they pay you to do that? We are animals, you see, and whatever we eat (though cooked) might be good for other animals, like dogs and cats. I had three dogs, and I fed them human food only. One of them died when he was 18 years old. The other two are still alive and kicking, though they have been eating human food for all their lives (they are 15 years old, now).

Why do you call us retarded? Ah, I see, you actually ARE a dog. A female dog... if you know what I mean.

Answer 8

Wow. People baffle me... With all the information we have available to us via new technology, it's incredible that myths like those from previous commenters here can still exist and be allowed to be perpetuated.

"In 1974, Earl Butz was secretary of agriculture under President Nixon. It was well known at the time that Salmonella posed a problem in poultry. Frustrated by reoccurring outbreaks, the American Public Health Association sued Butz, arguing that the USDA mark of inspection constituted misbranding because it did not warn consumers about Salmonella. USDA lawyers responded that the bacteria were so widespread in the environment that they could not be considered an adulterant. The agency said the public realized that raw meat and poultry were not sterile. “American housewives and cooks normally are not ignorant or stupid and their methods of preparing and cooking of food do not ordinarily result in salmonellosis," the USDA said.

The court agreed, setting a precedent that’s held ever since. To this day, the USDA considers Salmonella a natural organism on raw poultry. Cooks just need to avoid cross-contamination and ensure thorough cooking and everything will be fine, officials say."
Source: http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2013/10/post_76.html

Most chicken produced in the United States today contains Salmonella. As the above article suggests, the USDA has not required labeling for Salmonella in factory-produced chicken since the 70s. It's the reason we cook it prior to consumption. If the chicken you're about to feed your pet was farm-raised, and you raised it and slaughtered it yourself, you have a lower chance of Salmonella being present, but even that isn't 100% assured, and only a test would prove otherwise.
If, on the other hand, the chicken you're about to feed your pet was purchased in a grocery store, it is highly likely that it is infected with the bacteria, and that you are about to infect your pet if you feed it to them raw; and subsequently begin harming them if not killing them, slowly, because...
YES, of COURSE pets can get Salmonellosis, too.

Other Myths:
"Dogs and cats have different digestive systems that are stronger than humans, and protect them against Salmonella and salmonellosis".
NO! ...They REALLY DON'T!
Any semblance of their original "wild" digestive system has not only been bred out of them in the last centuries of domestication, but as well they have become used to and vulnerable to very similar diets to humans.
and
"It's the reason they've survived this long."
NO!... It's REALLY NOT!
Salmonella does NOT occur in nature frequently. Salmonella occurs most often in FACTORY SETTINGS, from pathogens which trace their origins back to poor sanitation practices and techniques.
And regardless of where Salmonella comes from, again, your domesticated dog is not a coyote, and your domesticated cat is not a mountain lion. And, again, if you are purposely providing Salmonella to your pet via raw, factory-produced meat, you ARE harming and/or killing them, slowly:

Salmonella infection in dogs:
http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/digestive/c_dg_salmonellosis#.UmHa40qUb40

Salmonella infection in cats:
http://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/digestive/c_ct_salmonellosis#.UmHa6UqUb40

Salmonella in dog food sickens 14 people in U.S.:
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-05-04/dog-food-salmonella-outbreak/54748730/1

This is an old question answered by a series of uninformed opinions. However, being left unanswered by any authoritative source, these dangerous comments serve only to continue the potential for harm.
I truly hope no one has become sick, or that no pets have been lost to this gross misinformation.

Answer 9

I feed one of my dogs strictly human food because he his allergic to barley, wheat, other grains, pork and other things. There is NO dog food out there that doesn't have at least one ingredient that my dog is allergic too. That is why I feed my dog human food. Since doing so his hair has grown back, he has stopped scratching and licking himself constantly and his chronic ear infections have went away.

Answer 10

I don't have a pet but here's my 2 cents....


It's all the same, beef, chicken fish. I eat those things. I say why not.

Plus you wouldn't have to worry if your pet food is contaminated with rat poison.