Is people food harmful to our dogs?

[Jamilupine]

I've heard stories about people who feed table scraps to thier dogs having majory complications with the dogs liver (or maybe it was thier Kidney?) . The dogs have complications - not the people, just to clear that up! But, I've been giving lucy things like yogurt, cheese, some lunch meat. Are these things good or bad for her? Is there a risk of her having serious medical conditions later?

[kazkirkpatrick]

Plain yogurt and cheese is ok, I wouldnt give her lunchmeat. Heck, I wouldnt recommend you eat lunchmeat either, unless its the stuff thats just 100% pure meat from the deli, not the stuff thats prepackaged and loaded with preservatives and sodium and prone to giving you all kinds of nasties.

[Kade]

Just because humans eat it doesn't make it harmful to dogs -- but a lot of what we eat is bad even for us, LOL.

Always try to make a distinction, though, between what you eat and what the dog eats -- keep her turkey slices in a special container or something -- so she doesn't just assume she's eating the same food as the pack leader.

[fireworksinjuly]

Originally Posted by Jamilupine

I've heard stories about people who feed table scraps to thier dogs having majory complications with the dogs liver (or maybe it was thier Kidney?) . The dogs have complications - not the people, just to clear that up! But, I've been giving lucy things like yogurt, cheese, some lunch meat. Are these things good or bad for her? Is there a risk of her having serious medical conditions later?

certain people foods, yes, others certainly not- they are good for them.
this "Woof Review" the staff and I wrote has a section on bad human foods for dogs-http://www.globalpaw.com/showthread.php?p=82240#post82240

there is also another list someplace on the site that has a LOt on it...including plants, etc thats harmful to your dog...

[kazkirkpatrick]

Originally Posted by Kade

Always try to make a distinction, though, between what you eat and what the dog eats -

hehe, in my house, that distinction comes from me TELLING them its ok to eat! about once or twice a month we brush up on this by leaving food on plates all over the floor and they arent allowed to touch any of it. The drool factor goes through the roof! After 15 or so minutes, I pick up all the plates and give them a nice treat, usually a frozen kong.

This works wonders for rexie, cooper is still a counter surfing extraordinaire Then again, rexie generally likes dog food (her dog food, not other dogs dogfood), apples and cheese. Thats it! Everything else she spits out. Stuck up little girl.

[Kade]

Originally Posted by kazkirkpatrick

hehe, in my house, that distinction comes from me TELLING them its ok to eat! about once or twice a month we brush up on this by leaving food on plates all over the floor and they arent allowed to touch any of it. The drool factor goes through the roof! After 15 or so minutes, I pick up all the plates and give them a nice treat, usually a frozen kong.

That's very impressive! I don't even think I could hold out with plates full of food all around me.

This works wonders for rexie, cooper is still a counter surfing extraordinaire

Thank goodness Winston will never be tall enough to counter surf! Have you thought about putting motion sensors with alarms on the counters? Once the head comes up above counter level, WOO WOO WOO.

[PhantomsPrinceWillia]

i understand the counter surfing my doberkids do that all the time

[Sheltiemama]

Human grade food is perfectly fine for dogs as long as you follow precautions and make sure they don't eat things that aren't good for them; onions, large amounts of garlic, grapes, macadamia nuts, apple seeds, peach and plumb stones are not good for dogs. I home cook for my dog all of the time. She is given chicken, green beans, carrots, parsley, squash in season, potatos (white or sweet), brown rice, cottage cheese or non fat yogurt and apple or pear in her diet most every day.

[calgal]

Other real foods that are good for them is oatmeal, boiled eggs, steamed broccoli, millet, ground lean beef, turkey, bulgur, whole-wheat couscous, tuna, salmon, dried fruits such as figs, dates, prunes, raisins , apricots, and fresh fruits like apples and berries. For best digestion, feed fruits apart from the regular mealtime. Dried fruits are especially good natural sources of potassium, an important mineral that can sometimes be in short supply; other good sources are peanuts, potatoes and tomato sauce. Dates are extremely rich in folic acid, an important B vitamin.
Another food dogs love is the gardenburger and the crumble, which is also a non-meat goodie. The crumble can be mixed right in with their kibble, or with a boiled egg or yogurt or cottage cheese. The tastiest ones seem to be those that incorporate some dairy products and that aren't too heavy on the soybeans or tempeh (a soybean product).

[TribalRats]

WOW! Who knew? Great info to have thanks!