Dogs and People Food
 

So, occassionally I fry up an egg in olive oil for my dog and she loves it! Like 1-4 times a week. Lately I wonder if the cholestrol is too much? She seems very healthy and active so there's no visible sign of bad effect. She loves her dog food still. I also give her unseasoned scraps of whatever I'm cooking as a treat: EX: small piece of boiled/baked/sauteed chicken before I season it. I don't give her any processed food except for peanut butter and cheese.

How about you? Anyone give their doggie people food?

I refrain from giving the moose/dog people food... I just dont like being stared at while I stuff my face.

Eggs are an eggcelt :lol: source of protien and in the wild dogs would be eating just that. Eggs, poultry and beef. I dont see a problem with it in moderation and as long as your dog doesnt become overweight or diabetic. :)

Ha! Thanks for the reply! My dog looks and acts healthy so I guess I will just monitor and pay attention. Eggcelent? *groan*

My dog and I eat at different times and she never bothers me when I'm eating. I used to make her watch me eat first before I fed her.

You are quite welcome. Dogs think they are people if they live with people. They view the Human as the Alpha of the pack and try to mimic our behavior. In the wild Alphas eat first followed by the subordinates.

My moose thinks shes a cat as she lives with 4 of them. It is rather funny to see a german shepard mix trying to wind around legs and sleep with a cat 1/4 her size.

Dang, we had a really good pet food thread from just a month or so ago and now it is gone. At least I can't find it.

There was some great info on homemade pet food that is better than anything we can buy. Grumble....I wish we had a pet forum.

Yep. Most commercial dog foods are filled with either corn or brewers rice, neither of which a dog digests.

Fresh foods are the way to go, but that can get expensive. My wife and I do feed our Rottweiler fresh (raw) food as much as we can though. Her favorite is a nice bone out a porterhouse steak. :love:

If you do feed your dog bones be sure they're raw. Cooked bones not only lose the nutrients, but they get brittle and splinter when chewed on possibly causing injury.

Here's a link to home made food for dogs and cats. I swear by it.

http://www.pet-grub.com/preface.pets

Thanks 'again' for your good information. :thumbsup:

Yanno... its kinda always been funny to me how people will spend far more money ensuring their pets eat better than they do :lol:

Too true for most of us, Sweet Lady.

My greys have learned that whenever I make eggs, they are going to get one after I have eaten. I don't cook breakfast at home very often so I don't think there is much of a chance of them getting too much. Besides, they are carnivores and have a relatively short lifespan compared to us. Cholesterol is not the risk to them that it is to us. Besides, we are learning that cholesterol intake may have less influence on our blood cholesterol than total calories and saturated fats.

When our family had dogs (a long time ago), we fed them dry kibble food with a special human-food gravy on top. We'd put bones, leftovers, etc into a pot the day before, and when it came time for feeding, we'd heat it up and add water until it became soupy. The dogs refused to touch their kibble unless it had their special sauce on top.

Now, I don't know how healthy this was, but my parents had no idea anyway. I don't think it affected them terribly, but I could be totally wrong. I probably wouldn't do the same now that I am older and know more about pets' digestive systems, though.

So basically, as long as the people food isn't processed or seasoned then it should be ok (in moderation of course).

Thanks for all the suggestions, I may try that recipe yet!

Again, I want to point out that all dogs are different, just like all people are. At the same time, dogs are not people and vice versa...

That being said, it's true that cholesterol is not the threat to dogs that it is to people. In fact, many things that we need to watch for, they do not. And there are things in our diets that are "okay" for humans that are bad for dogs... like sugar. Proteins and fats are the primary staple of what a dog needs. They are carnivores. They are not meant to be vegetarians, vegans or even omnivores. Meat, bones, eggs, things that use to be alive (and not plants) are going to be good for them. They are also not cats. You can feed a dog fish all the time and it will not hurt them. Cats, despite the fact that they love it, should keep a minimum amount of fresh fish due to mercury and the like which dogs are less susceptible to.

If you can afford to feed them scraps of UNPREPARED human food, awesome. I try to cut off pieces of fat and meat from raw chicken and beef when I'm cooking it for us. I wish I could ALWAYS do this for my dogs, but we just don't have the $$$ to feed them fresh meat every day. Some people will say table scraps are bad, some say they are good. Farm dogs often outlive city dogs, and are more likely to get table scraps. Does it make it good? bad? Neither, it's just how that dog worked. Plenty of humans chain smoke and drink a lot and live to be 90+. *shrug* Just use common sense, and your dog will generally be healthy.

:-)

Thanks for the link. It may acutally work out being cheaper to go this route.


I found that when I feed my dogs people food they start turn their noses at their food. It makes sense that since smell has such a strong element in taste, their taste must be sensitive.

Out of curiosity Ive tasted their food and it tastes like cardboard.

I have heard that dogs should only be given dry food, and be feed every other day. Different foods seem to have different directions on their packages.

Every other day??? We fed our dog once in the morning and she had a good supply of milkbone biscuits...I also used to make her biscuits.
Eggs are good for dogs, but not a lot of oil-some breeds digestive systems are more delicate than others, like Dobermans and Great Danes. On the other hand, I had a dog that even ate chocolate (she got into the kids' Easter baskets while we were out, ate the foil wrapped eggs, spit out the foil. I was so angry I hoped she got sick. She didn't)
As for not eating plant food, some dogs love fruit and/or veggies and those aren't bad for them. Angie loved apples, a friend's german shepard loved carrots.