Re: Dog Food or People Food?

In Reply to: Dog Food or People Food?
Category:   Other
Posted by:  Lisa
Posted on:  August 27, 2002 at 11:11:25

: Hi,

: I'm really confused about 2 things. A friend of mine doesn't feed her dogs dog food because she read something, somewhere, about all the so called questionable ingredients that go into the processing of dog food. Therefore, she feeds her dogs(they're a couple of years old)a diet of brown rice, grilled chicken, fish etc. They look great and from what the vet says, are in perfect health. But I thought that one of the reasons we feed our dogs their own food(i.e. dog food) was so that they get all the nutrients they need, and to discourage begging for our food. Which leads me to my second question. I read the post here this morning about sharing McDonald's. I always heard that it was never a good idea to feed a dog any people food(even a taste)because it encourages begging, not to mention wreaks havoc and a dog's stomach. I know this from experience, because my Petey gets a little taste of vanilla ice cream every now and then, and now he's obsessed with anything I eat. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, you name it. He sits and watches me like a hawk, like he's waiting for me to drop a crumb so that he can snarf. You'd think I starve him!! I can kind of control it when it's just us, but it's embarrassing when he does it around others. My mom(who is my dog walker)had to take her lunch home to eat the other day, because Petey was "circling" and trying to get up on the table. She was afraid to turn her head for a second, because he is pretty quick when he wants something!

: I'd appreciate your thoughts as I only want to do what's best for my little guy!

: Thanks!

Response:

Hi Lisa,

Some people believe in feeding a BARF diet and they swear it works wonders on their dogs. However, one really has to study how to do this as your dog can miss out on key nutrients to keep them healthy.

I personally feed a high quality kibble, not only because I know it's loaded with the nutrients and vitamins they need, quite frankly it's easier to feed and is better for their teeth (soft food tends to leave more plaque and tartar).

It can be a hot debate between the two feeding types and ends up being a personal choice. :)

Well you are right, if you don't want a beggar you shouldn't feed from the table. However, just like feeding BARF (or its derivatives) or a high quality kibble, this too is a personal choice.

I choose on occasion to share some of my food with my terriers. When I don't want them begging around me I usually crate them or with the one that's had obedience training put him in a down/stay.

I never give them enough to upset their digestive tracts. Moderation is something we always discuss here and it also goes for this. One way to share some food is to put the food in their bowls and not from your hand, this should lessen any begging...but that's not a guarantee lol!

You might want to crate Petey or confine him somewhere when you have guests for dinner. While we all tolerate our dogs, other people may not enjoy being stared down, circled or whatever these guys can come up with to get something.

If you can get a good down/stay on your dog then all anyone has to worry about is being stared at as they eat ;)