What's wrong with feeding your dog human food?

Answer 1

Some of it is toxic.
http://mooreshaven.com/pets/dogs/safety/badfoodslist.html

Some of it just makes them fat and gives them other problems.
http://www.starbreezes.com/11/foodsafe.html

It's okay to give your dog human food as long as you know it's not toxic and you don't give it to them all the time. Most things are good in moderation, just like any thing else.

Any dog that is fat will have a lot more problems and will have a shortened life span.

Answer 2

I have found that this can be a touchy subject. Some people are totally against it and some don't see the harm. I don't really see the harm in some cases. I think there are limits. You cant just let your dog eat anything it wants.

There are somethings to keep in mind. Every dog is different! When my dads dogs were young, if they got human food, they refused to touch their dog food for days after wards. However, now with the pet food recall they eat nothing but scraps. When the neighbors dog lost all of it's hair and had to be rushed to the hospital and almost died, my dad took them off dog food right away not knowing if there food was bad too. They have adjusted well to the change but are picky about what they like.

Yahoo posted a list a few moths ago on the life page about how in moderation human food is fine. They also made note that some human food in bulk can be dangerous. It was everything from chocolate to grapes. However, I can 't find the link now back to the article.

I think in reality if you go back in time dogs didn't always eat dog food. If you are aware that not all human food is ok for dogs than you're better off when making the decision on weather or not you want to feed your dog human food or not. There are plenty of web sites with advise. Check it out and make you're own decision.

Answer 3

Ridiculous answers. What do you think dog food is made up of? "Human" food--chicken, rice, corn, etc. What do you think dogs and other animals lived off of before Purina decided to bag it? "Human" food. How do you suppose animals survived before artificially manufactured vitamins and "nutrients" were added to the bagged garbage that everybody tells you that you dog can't live without? Where do you suppose scientists first discovered those vitamins and nutrients? In "human" food.

You can feed your dog "human" food and it will do very well, but just as humans need a balanced diet, so do dogs, and most people don't have enough education or information to give their dogs a well-balanced diet. Look around you at all the obese and unhealthy people in this country--then imagine those people giving their dogs what they eat. You can see the problem. If you do some research and make sure your dog is getting a balanced diet, it's OK. Web search BARF or Raw dog diet and you'll get plenty of information and even doggie recipes.

PS--I agree with abbyful below--a good list of dog foods, and I'd add Nature's Variety and Solid Gold, IF you want to go the dog food route. I guess I took for granted that you would not feed your dog fried foods and sugar junk, and that you were looking to mix up your own natural food for your dog. I'm giving you credit here for having some common sense. I'll bet you do.

Answer 4

Dogs and humans have been sharing meals for the past 20,000 yrs or so. But in our modern age we eat a lot of processed foods that are harmful to our canine companions. The foods you mention here are high in fat, sugar, and spices. Spices can irritate the dog's digestive tract and result in diarrhea. The fat and sugar cause obesity in them as they do in us, and they also contribute directly to tooth decay in a species made to eat meat. Dogs can suffer the effects of high cholesterol just as we can. Obesity predisposes the dog to diabetes. Junk food leads to junk health in both dogs and people. In addition, there are some foods common to our diets that are actually toxic to dogs and should be avoided at all costs. Here's a partial list: onions, garlic, macadamia nuts, chocolate, grapes (raisins)... Maybe BF can learn to eat healthier and feed his dog healthier treats as well? I give my guys chicken hearts and chicken gizzards that I've cooked for 30 min in the oven on a roaster pan to kill any parasites and let the fat from the hearts drip away. Very healthy, and they LOVE them!

Answer 5

Nothing, as long as you educate yourself about what dogs need, nutrition-wise.
Dr. Pitcairn has a great book that will help - for dogs and cats. I especially like this book because it's thorough but not impossible to understand. I've been using the recipes so that I feed my dogs less commercial dog food.

http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=CDN142

Answer 6

For one it is very unhealthy. Feeding your dog regular human food is just like you eating cookies and candy all the time. It can cause them to be obese. Plus the seasonings in food can upset a dogs stomach. However you can make your own dog food but before you do this please check with your vet on what to put in it and how much. Not only do dogs need a diet with meat but also veggies and starch.

Answer 7

The two main problems are that human food does not have enough nutrients for a dog on a regualar basis.
if you feed on occassion it's ok but teh basic food should be dog food or you need to talk to your vet about what is needed to be added.
Good Luck

Answer 8

For one they're not human, they have their own biological/digestive needs, so giving them human food would make them incredibly, unhealthily fat over time which would lead to a bad heart and bad joints from the weight. Human foods contain a lot of sugar and dogs get sick from too much sugar..and don't ever give them chocolate cuz it causes them to die. You can, however, give dogs fruits and vegetables, though they probably won't eat most of them. My puppy used to eat grapes occasionally and carrots.
But a piece of chicken here, a piece of your sammich from your plate there, won't do any harm to a dog.

Answer 9

its not natural, i feed my dog an all raw meat diet. all the over processed food IE kibbles arent even good for them the are animals not people used to fried this and that. my dog doesnt have fleas or any health problems. might want to check it out its called farmore.

Answer 10

Depending on what you feed them:
-they can become overweight
-they can develop things like pancreatitis
-they could be poisoned if you feed them things like onions
-they could choke on cooked bones
-they could suffer from malnutriton from a lack of necessary vitamins that aren't present in the human food