Do you feed your dog(s) people food?

So, I have a golden retriever that is about a year and a half years old and lately I've been feeling really guilty about not giving her any of my food. I mean, she's only had hot food ONCE in her entire life and that was when she stole it when she was a few months old (McDonalds Filet-o-fish).

That's pretty shitty. And I'm pretty certain her dog food tastes like sand (although I haven't tasted it... yet). She's a well behaved dog and she doesn't have much else in her life to look forward to so I feel guilty when I just got my hands on the most delicious thing she could ever dream of eating and she sniffs the air longingly while I feast. I feel like I'm holding out on her.

On the flip side, I hate dogs that beg, and she doesn't really beg because I've never fed her from the table/people food. Always her normal food or dog treats/peanut butter/bones. So, I've been thinking of maybe just leaving food around on the floor randomly or something. That way she doesn't bug me/other people when I'm eating, but maybe she gets to not eat sand every once in awhile. Obviously, I wouldn't be feeding her terrible things like chocolate unless I get bored of her, then tough luck bitch, you had a good run.

What's your policy?

I treat them occasionally but if you feel that bad for your dog just feed her some quality canned dog food they love that shit.

I have two Pembroke Welsh Corgis who absolutely love people food, especially pizza. These dogs won't take no for an answer. They will literally stand up on their hind legs and eat off your plate. So I share with them. But I try to limit the amount of junky stuff I give them and feed them more lean protein if possible, like pieces of chicken, steak, and fish, and I usually put it in their bowls. Also if we're having eggs and bacon in the morning, I'll usually make extra for them. I'd actually go as far as to say that the corgis are smarter dogs who don't particularly care for dog food. They've flat out refused to eat most of the regular brands of kibble we've tried to give them and they hate canned dog food. So we feed them expensive high-end stuff made of human grade ingredients that costs like $50 a bag. Also, if we stop feeding them people food, they go on hunger strikes for days where they'll refuse to eat kibble. It's easiest to just do what they want. Corgis are very smart and good at getting their way. I can't say I blame them. I wouldn't eat most dog food either.

If they are acting like that over food you shouldn't ever give them human food. I can guarantee you that if you stop feeding them human food they will eat their dog food which is better for them anyways. I can always tell when we've been giving our dogs a bit too many treats when they don't want to eat their own food and the begging gets worse...

i feed my shih tzu scraps all the time.

usually just like the last bite of a burger. or some fries. some chicken. w/e im eating pretty much.

we kinda have this mutual agreement. she doesnt really beg, just kinda sits there, often staring at the wall. just patiently waiting. and when im about finished eating, i give her the rest of my food or some of my remaining food depending on what it is.

This doesn't work with corgis. The corgis will hunger strike for a week if they have to. Corgis are much smarter, more stubborn, and more independent minded than other dog breeds. It's actually what I love about them. And lean protein like chicken and fish is good for them. They're both really healthy.

Like I said, I wouldn't touch most dog food, so why should they be stuck eating only that crap? And most dog food isn't even healthy. If you're buying store bought garbage, it's probably full of fillers, like corn. Purina in particular is horrendous.

No dog here imos

I really do, he's very happy of that :D but don't gave them chicken bones plzzz

I don't feed my dogs people.

dogs can poison from too many things. simple stuff; salt is supposed to be very bad for dogs, onions, raisins & grapes can be fatal. i never give dogs anything that doesn't have 'dog' on it. you never know what weird flavorings can be put in people chow far a skew from where you think they might be found. people try all manner of strange things to align with fads. ive seen carbonated and caffeinated milk. i wouldnt put it past people to put essence of raisin and theobromide in some chip, that i think is innocent to give my little homie just because he's giving me them water works.

dogs are also very strange in that, they can eat something and be fine one day, then just a lick of it kills them another.

they have gravy and all kinds of nifty treats for pups if you have a look. even then use your guts to guide you for which to get, some of that stuff can do them bad too. i'll often smell to suss out a food stuffs' worthiness; i consider if i can imagine it not tasting like hell or that they might find it interesting. those beggin' strips smell of petrol; not something anyone need give anybody.

DONT FEED DOGGIES JUST ANYTHING

all of what we eat is terrible for us, we shouldnt eat it. why would want that to be compounded by the tininess of our friends?

cats? cats will eat anything. they take care of themselves mostly. i imagine if there were ever anything bad for a cat, a cat knows not to eat it.

dont feed dogs cat food, its bad for them. srsly. its like donuts for doggies. except instead of going to their thighs, it goes to their heart, and they keel over.

dogs smell poop all.. the.. time, everywhere. you need not worry about them thinking of their food's taste, they constantly have the taste of people / random creature poop on their palette. look at your little pal, see his eyes, he is smelling your poop... right now. people food spoils them on their noms and that stuff has what they need for carrying on.

the way i see it: when they do that endearing thing with their faces, they are just strengthening my resolve to keep them from the evils of people substances, and i'll be able to look at their manipulative little faces longer.

No, I don't because there's designated dog food for that. It's better for them.

You feed your dog people food it starts stealing your people food and begging you for people food.

I speak from experience.

Yes, my dog would go days without eating dog food, like she was trying to force my hand. She would make me place the food in her mouth before she would eat it, and that gets old so i'd give her my food.

All of these answers are conflicting.

I think every once in awhile I'm just going to leave some tasty shit lying around on the floor and not let her see me do it. Then she'll find it and eat it, but won't expect anything different from me because I didn't directly give it to her. Plus she gets to wonder why/who/what the **** is leaving all of this delicious food around? That's pretty interesting for a dog.

I had to read the rest of your comment. I really thought you meant you were going to crap on the floor and let your dog eat it...

Well, she likes poop (she has eaten it before), so...

I would regularly (once a week or so) supplement so-called 'dog-food' with [cooked] grains, rice and green vegetables - nothing 'dry' with a likelihood of swelling internally though - and one needs to be careful with any and all bone material.

I let my Dog share meat as long as it's not got some special coating or gales over it, and occasionally give him the bones (not chicken bones) from a joint of meat or ribs. The only other human food he likes is Toast and Cheese, though I don't really like him having them I'll occasionally give in to him.

The other thing my Dog likes to do is drink Coffee and Cola. I have no idea why, but he'll climb up onto the table and drink it straight out of the mug/glass if i'm not watching him.

Yes. My dog was too good for most dog food. We spoiled her too much. :P

I didn't know that about Corgis. If you head to the pet store most of the big ones have at least one whole section dedicated to organic dog food. Some of it is pretty good stuff.

Fun fact about corgis: the royal corgis have a personal gourmet chef who cooks them whatever they want.

I don't think you want to encourage her to sniff around for food, or she's going to start getting into things looking for more treats.

The best way would probably just to take your leftovers and put them in her dish with her food when you feed her breakfast/dinner. And do it irregularly so she doesn't get expect it every meal.

Question,

What if you were to buy chicken, rice and multivitamins for your dog? Would that be considered "people" food you are giving to your dog?

Never, it is bad for them, shorten their life years too. Stick with their doggy foods and treats.

OmitName is correcto ! This is the main reason for not giving dogs anything else besides their own. I have had mines eat fallen foods from a BBQ, automatic seizure happened. Need to be very careful, depens on breeds most times, but even though stick to doggy foods. THank You Omitname !

I don't get all the fastidiousness about feeding your pets food that is specially designated for them. I'm talking about cats and dogs here for the most part. There are so many stray cats and dogs out there and they eat all kinds of shit from garbage cans and dumpsters. That is not to say that its ok to feed your pet garbage or pure junk all the time. It simply means that it won't hurt to give your pet some human food once in a while. If you're allowed to put it in your body I fail to see how it could be detrimental for your pet's well being.

I think its nice to "break bread" with your pet, it'll make you bond more.

never.

I have a Boston terrier and the only thing I feed her is this. Its the best dog food on the market~ It's not cheap though~

yes and my dog loves me

Kudos to you. I hate when people see having a pet like its some kind of a strict regime or something. Where's the fun in that.

@GazaAli: True. Why have a dog if you're not going to spoil it? And what do people think dogs ate before dog food? Meat. Dogs are just domesticated gray wolves. If anything, lean protein is going to be much healthier for them than crap from a bag.

Just be wary of a few things dogs can't have: chocolate, caffeine, raisins or grapes, alcohol, and avocado. Some people also say onions and garlic, but I question that. I've never seen onions or garlic cause a problem, and some people even intentionally feed their dogs garlic to ward off mosquitoes.

I feed our dogs all kinds of meat and vegetables, and the vet says they're two of the healthiest dogs she's ever seen. I think the variety in their diet is a big part of that. I really don't trust dog food to deliver all of the nutrition a dog needs.

I wholly approve of this post. Strict pet owners are like uptight parents, they make your life hell while being under the illusion that they're doing you a favor. I doubt such owners are as strict with their own diets as they are with their pets'. They just can control the pets without any loss to their own gratification.

have a 4 y/o golden myself. he generally does not get any large amounts of human food. on occasion we'll give him some peanut butter as a treat of if we're cooking dinner and shredding some cheese for it he'll get a little bit of the leftover cheese shreddings. also, if i'm making a sandwich sometimes ( 100% of the time ) i accidentally ( 100% on purpose ) drop scraps of turkey onto the floor which he sometimes ( always ) finds. ice seems to be his most favorite thing on earth so he gets plenty of that.

Crap from a bag? You do realize, i hope, that not all dog foods are created equal. This stuff I posted earlier is from a bag and is by no means 'crap'. Nothing wrong with giving your dogs meat and vegetables, in fact thats great, but to claim thats better than any bagged dog food out there is utter nonsense. The stuff you find at petco and wal-mart and places like that is indeed crap but there are wayyyy better alternatives.

i do spoil my dog by giving her food that is of the highest quality and she goes absolutely flippo when its feeding time.

you should do a lil reading about dog nutrition and some of the higher end dog foods that are out there before claiming that everything out there is crap.

you could be giving your dog a more well balanced diet that provides more of what the dog wants and needs without paying as much as you are and without the hassle you are going through.

We feed our dogs Flint River Ranch, which is made in the US and uses all human grade ingredients, typically either the duck and oatmeal or trout and potato. The stuff doesn't even look or smell that bad. We tried Orijen but they turned their noses up at and refused to eat it. Yes, I've done a lot of research on dog food. Most of it is garbage that's loaded with fillers, typically corn, which is absolutely useless to a dog. If your dog is pooping in the house a lot, it's probably because you're feeding him/her garbage food that's loaded with fillers. We were actually sitting for a friend's dog who feeds Purina for a couple of weeks. That dog had horrible issues with going in the house that suddenly vanished when we switched him over to our food. But I don't even trust the higher-end dog foods to totally fulfill a dog's nutritional requirements, which is why we also give them meat and vegetables.

Best not to feed a dog human food, as its bad for them, especially an excessive amount! You'd be better off giving your dog a few dog treats to enjoy or a bone while you eat!

Thats weird. Im really surprised by that~

What can I say. Corgis are weird and quirky like that.

these all smell pretty good. the red stuff on the little chew bone doesnt taste too bad either. thats the only of the bunch that ive had the guts to try.

When I had my two dogs years ago,I used to order food from the local restaurant once in a while and I sometimes ordered for the dogs too.My little Terrier(Angus),used to like hamburgers,my Labrador(Odie),used to like poutine.I did'nt order for the pets all the time,but it was sure nice to see my doggies extra happy once in a while.I miss my fluffy animals.;(

On occasion, yes. She is a mutt, though (a giant one, larger than a German Shepherd and smaller than a Fila), and doesn't have the restrictions breed-dogs have related to diet. Dogs being carnivores, I'd feel way too guilty to not part with some meat whenever I have a BBQ or whenever there are leftover steak(s)/rib(s) from dinner.