Can dogs live eating pasta and leftovers? read below?

Question

In Italy my relatives have been feeding their dogs for many years only pasta and leftovers, their dogs were always healthy and died at 14. Many friends in Italy as well treat their dogs of pasta and left overs, in fact in ancient times there was no packaged dog food and dogs were healthier than ever. Now dogs are delicate and often sick, can it be that dog food companies want to make us feel that dog food is essential?

Answer 1

Dogs do fine on people food. Dogfood companies are into making money by marketing. And much of that marketing plays on people's guilt and emotions.

Answer 2

In ancient times I am quite sure dogs did not live to be 17 or even older - they died young.

Pasta and sauce is hardly decent nutrition and certainly wasn't available in "ancient times". Dogs ate whole carcasses then, what they could hunt or find - including the internal organs, bones, skin, etc. of the animal - raw. Dogs are omnivores, they can pretty much eat anything, but that doesn't mean it will help them live to their optimum age - any more than eating twinkies and burgers every day will kill a human - at least not fast, but I wouldn't bet you would live to a healthy old age on that diet.

By the way folks, Science Diet is garbage, may as well feed the pasta (without the tomato, that is really harmful and give most dogs colitis or pancreatitis - have no idea what your Italian relatives have in their sauce, but if it's tomato base, their dogs are in sad shape). Science Diet is mostly cheap corn meal filler - get your dog a good dry kibble like Canidae, with meat as the first ingredient and no corn meal or artificial preservatives.

No harm in supplementing your dogs kibble with a little lean meat (no skin or bones) and peas, string beans, carrots, pumpkin, or rice - but our dogs do not get enough nutrition from leftovers we have - and they don't roam for miles and forage natural food the way dogs did "in ancient times".

Our diet has changed as we live in cities and communities, our dogs' has to too.

Twinkies and pasta - can you imagine???
That's probably why dogs are delicate and sick - same as people.
We need veggies, fruit, protein - so do dogs, but we sure don't need sweets or refined flour any more than they do.

Answer 3

This is a delicate question.
Yes... dog food companies have led the public and by way of forced teaching... the majority of the vet community to believe that there is a magic kibble out there that can sustain the life of a dog, cat, etc. better than any natural food out there.
BUT on the other hand. Here in America our left overs are, as a rule, much worse than even cheap kibble. So you can see the problem.
I can easily see where a dog would be better off with pasta and leftovers in a true italian kitchen than on kibble. But if you are a typical American... buy the best processed magic food that you can afford. The other route is to get a good book on the subject and make your own canine menu. the best one on te market as far as I am concerned is: "Dr. Pitcarn's Guide to Natural Healthcare for Your Dog and Cat."
Good luck!
~Tyed~
Why does everyone keep talking about gravy? I have read the question again and again and I can't find the gravy reference!

Answer 4

Let's turn it around... could you live on just pasta (and gravy)? Sure you could... but, would you have a balanced diet and your body develop in a balanced manner? Also remember, the cooking in other developed countries is a lot more wholesome (less junk, preservatives, etc.) so those leftovers are probably more balanced than we think. There are quite a few good quality dog foods out there that are reasonably priced. Just avoid the cheap off-brands. BTW, the ingredient labels are just like those for human consumption... the higher percentage ingredients are listed first. Also, check moisture contents... a lot of cheap foods have a higher water content (water is cheap).

As far as the dogs living to 14, I can think of two contributing factors:
1- The dogs' bloodlines have not been compromised like here in the USA (thanks to puppy mills and indiscriminate breeding).
2- The breed may not be purebred or normal aging is 14yrs or so.

Answer 5

You have a point. When my family was in Germany, the dog basically lived off all the goodies people would give it. It probably ate more brauts than any human I know.

However, I don't think that people food scraps are the ideal meal. The closest would be to mimic what they would eat in the wild. That's why I understand why some peope do that raw diet, and I'm assuming that is one of the healthiest routes. I do believe there are some dog food companies that do a fantastic job of coming as close as possible to a diet from the wild. These are not the companies that have their ads plastered all over tv and YA, though. Instead it is the companies that use that would-be advertising money to make a high quality food.

So yes, in a way, I think you are right in that some companies want us to think their particular food is essential...but I don't think living off human food scraps is the best idea either.

Answer 6

Millions of dogs live long and healthy lives never having eaten commercial food. I'll bet that those dogs you are talking about also got the scraps from meat, chicken and fish too as well as the organs that the household didn't want!! That is what my dog and cats eat - raw meat, edible bones and offal. The dogs gets some table scraps too although not too much pasta as it makes her fart!

Commercial dog food is loaded with poor quality and inappropriate ingredients and more people are looking for a more natural and species directed diet for their pets. This idea of every meal having to be 'complete and scientifically balanced' is utter garbage - work out nutritional needs over the week. The same way you would do it for yourself!

Answer 7

I think that they shouldn't just be fed scraps and leftovers. I think that if you are going to feed a dog a "people food" diet, that it needs to be well balanced and nutritional, much like we are all supposed to do for ourselves but don't always do.
I think the dog food companies do want to make us feel that dog food is essential, they make money that way. I think kibble was just made as a convenience... think of it as a slightly healthier version of our fast food restaurants. Most kibble isn't all that healthy, yes it has BASIC nutritional needs, but many of them are mostly filler or animal byproducts. Science Diet is one of the worst for the amount of corn in their food, something that is not digestible by dogs. How healthy can that be? If they can't digest it then they get no nutrients from it.

Answer 8

My daughter's in-laws in Italy feed their 13 yr. old Retriever nothing but table scraps which is mostly pasta. She lives there too and I've never heard her say the dog is sick. I've also seen the dog and she looks healthy and happy. While this flies in the face of everything we think we shouldn't be doing with our dogs, it seems to work. It's sort of like a story I read about a person who is 105 yrs. old and drinks a pint of vodka a day!

Answer 9

I personally think its not the pasta as much as the gravy that is on the pasta, tomatoes are very high in acids which cause heart burn and indigestion in us I cant imagine what it will do to a dog! so yes I would feed my dog pasta but with out the gravy!

Answer 10

AMEN!!!

My grandparents fed their dogs cast off farm leavings (chicken heads and feet, entrails) as well as the table scraps that weren't good enough for the hogs. Their dogs lived until 15+ ... the same breed routinely dies at 11-12 now... and I firmly believe its a case of overvaccination combined with poor nutrition from kibble.