Anyone feed their dogs/cats 'people food?'

Anyone feed their dogs (or cats) "people food?" Does he/she have a favorite food?

Yes, I spoil my dog. Yes, I know it's questionable behavior, but I do it anyway.

My pooch loves bananas, cheese, and she'll generally lick my dishes once I've finished pasta or a bowl of soup. She also likes grapes and broccoli, but I stopped feeding her those as soon as I discovered they are toxic to dogs!
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yes i feed them "people" food. i try not to give them anything with alot of sugar but sometimes i cant help myself when they are standing there looking at me like "you are gonna give me some of that, right??"

their favorites are as follows: artichokes, green beans, sweet potatos, anything with butter on it, cashews, marshmellows, ice cream, lolipops, and half & half.

brocolli is toxic to dogs? daisy loves brocoli and i always give her some when i have it.........

 

I had read something online a long time ago, but just as there is a source against something, there is usually always a source for something....

http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/dtoxin.html#Broccoli toxicity

I suppose it could be a judgement call by the individual owners. My pooch sometimes gets a few tiny pieces of broccoli from time to time anyway.
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People food in itself isn't always bad for the dog. Sometimes it's actually better than dog food. There ARE some people foods that should never be given to dogs though, like tomatoes, grapes, and anything with caffeine (chocolate).

What's important is that whatever the dog is eating is a well balanced meal. For example, I home-prepare my dogs' food. One dog eats a raw diet, chicken, bones and all. (Never feed a dog cooked bones though!!) The other one eats a diet of equal parts rice and boiled boneless chicken, with some yogurt and supplements thrown in. Technically, that's all "people food". But when I put it all together, it becomes dog food. They are much healthier than they ever were on kibble dog food. I like doing it this way because I know exactly what they are eating, and they aren't getting anything they don't need (and stuff they shouldn't be getting anyway) and I can add stuff to each dog's individual diet as needed, based on their needs.

And since I ALWAYS keep their food fresh, it comes in handy if I run out of my own food. I just eat some of theirs. Well, the rice and yogurt anyway... boiled chicken and rice is actually pretty good when I'm in a meat eating phase.

 

Wow, Bree... what a great post!

I will do the boiled chicken and rice for my dog if she's got a bad case of diarrhea. She hates the bland rice, though, so I usually throw in a couple splashes of organic chicken or vegetable broth. I wish I had the money to do that for my dog everyday... sometimes I feel the dry kibble and canned dog food are just so... ick.
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Well if you do it right, it's actually cheaper than dog food.

What I do is I buy the 10 pound bags of leg quarters, that are like 4 or 5 dollars a bag and boil those.. then I throw away all the skin, fat and bones and shred the meat up into a bowl. Then I make rice separately... I buy the rice in bulk and I buy the kind that takes 20 minutes to cook, no instant, it's like 5 dollars a bag too. The Rice will last for 2 or 3 months (depending on how much of it I eat LOL) and each 10 pound bag of chicken, after being boiled and deboned and all that, will last just a little under 2 weeks. So that is like just a little more more than 10 dollars a month to feed my 20 pound terrier twice a day. (The other dog is a 55 pound lab, she eats raw thighs, so her food is about 5 to 8 dollars a week).

 

Heres a few links I though were interesting:

http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm
http://www.barfworld.com/

I feed my dogs Innova EVO dry dog food, mixed with Merricks canned. I haven't tried the other diets.
http://www.merrickpetcare.com/
http://www.naturapet.com/

 

I am really interested in feeding my dog raw food. What I was wondering, if I do change her diet, is it better to do it gradually? I am sick of reading about all those additives in dog food, I want my baby to be healthy and not feed her all that shite. Any tips for beginners?

 

http://www.barfworld.com/html/barf_diet/switch.shtml

luv, this page explains about switching the diet.

 

Thanks hun! Now, the only problem I have with switching is my tiny freezer.

 

well i do feed my dog organic free range "dog" food....all natural. i order it from the net. i dont think i could handle real chicken myself being vegan....it would make me hurl. plus there are no places around here to get organic chicken....

 

Hey, Elle:
(I don't know if you've read this stuff yet)
http://www.vegetariandogs.com/

http://wysong.net/Merchant2/merchan..._Code=VEGAN&Category_Code=CD&Product_Count=22

http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/allergy/Vegetarian.html

http://www.breeders-choice.com/Dog_Products/avodermdog_veg.html

 

www.naturesvariety.com

They have frozen raw food, great kibble, canned, etc. I use that for my 2 younger dogs. I tried the raw but I'm a vegetarian and it's just too much for me.

For my senior dog who can't eat kibble, I use Merrick's canned. There's one called 'wingaling' that has a whole chicken wing in it, plus carrots, peas, chunks of meat, etc. He likes that and also gets Canidae canned.

 

Well I have guinea pigs... and other than their hay & the occasional piggie pellet all they eat is people-food! Fresh veggies, more veggies, and the occasional piece of fruit for my boys

My sister spoils her dog rotten. And with two kids in the house, once we have a dog I can imagine the same sort of spoiling going on... I'm going to try to keep it to a minimum, but I'm sure that within a month or two we'll know if our dog likes pancakes or waffles better.
love,
mom

 

WARNING .NEVER EVER FEED YOUR DOG OR CAT CHICKEN BONES THAT HAVE BEEN COOKED ..many a dog has died this way .the bones splinter and pierce the stomach .a friend lost a beautiful dog that way ........as far as feeding table scraps ,it's like people eating foods .if you never exercise you have to really watch out what you eat but if you are really active you don't have to watch out as much .i feed my dog dried dog food(ALPO) and all the scraps from the table .he is 6 years old and 100 pounds .....not an ounce of fat on him ......but then again he has the run of the place and every day we go out for a walk in the woods .........another big factor that he stays trim is that i didn't have the heart to get him fixed .......he doesn't wander off the property so it isn't a problem

 

My dog eats carrots rather than doggie cookies. That's actually a very good thing because there are 4 people in my house, and whenever one of us sees her she makes a really cute face so we feel like we have to give her something. So she gets a carrot or a snap pea or something.

We don't really feed her off the table. Occasionally she'll get a piece of apple or potato when we're cooking or a piece of spaghetti before we all sit down to eat. She never gets anything with sugar or anything with milk in it.

 

I could have missed 2 cautions but onions & garlic aren't good for them either.
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