Don’t Feed Your Dog (from the table)

There are very good reasons why you shouldn’t feed your dog from the table or even let them eat the leftover scraps after a meal.

The first is that most dogs are unable to self-regulate what they eat. It’s hard-wired for them to eat as much as they can, whenever there’s food available, because as hunters they could never be sure when their next meal was going to come from.

This means that your dog can quickly become overweight, particularly because we also have built in behavioural traits that view an animal that’s always ready to eat as always being hungry.

Overeating places strain on your pet’s digestive system, which will be evident by the quantity (and consistency) of output that comes from the end opposite the feeding part when they overeat.

Human Food is not always great for dogs

Additionally, many of the foods we eat are completely unsuitable for dogs. Chocolate, onions, grapes, raisins and whole apples all contain different poisons (apple seeds, for example, contain cyanide which isn’t easily expelled from the body and can build up over time).

We also like to cook with something else that dogs should avoid eating too much of.  Salt brings out the flavour of many foods, but too much can be harmful to dogs. Feeding a dog salty foods like crisps (chips) or pizza (not only is there salt in the base and the sauce, but all of that yummy cheese and any meat toppings) can cause them to develop a powerful thirst.

Although dogs do need a small amount of sodium in their diets, there will be plenty in the dog food without adding a supplementary supply.

Habits are formed, bad ones and good

If your dog has become accustomed to being fed from the table while you eat and you want to break them from the habit, you could simply try ignoring the begging behaviour.  If doing that escalates the amount of attention-seeking displayed we recommend cutting up some crunchy carrot sticks or pieces of apple to keep in a bowl of cold water on the table.  Use them to treat your dog instead of giving them human food.

If you have the time and patience to train your dog to take these snacks to their bed before eating them you may find that you’ll eventually be able to teach your dog to stay there when you’re eating (as long as the carrot/apple is available, at least).

However it goes, you can rest assured that your dog is now eating a healthier diet and will be less prone to illness as a result.