Dos and Don’ts of Feeding Leftovers

It can be tough to keep an eye on everything that you’re dog is eating. When you have kids or guests in your home, it can be especially hard to monitor what is going into their mouth. It is fun and important to give your dog treats, but it is also key to know the limit and keep them healthy. Many people love to give their dog a taste of their leftovers, especially when they beg or sit near the table. It is easy to just give our pets leftovers, but it isn’t always the best for their weight. Here are some tips to hep you know what is good and bad to give your pup.

Obesity

Of course we love to give our dogs special treats and feed them well. But when we’re constantly giving them a bite or two off of our plates, it can add up. All of those “little” bites can have a lot of calories, which can add up to your pup gaining some pounds. Instead of always giving them treats or snacks, try rewarding them with toys or playtime. It also can cause stomach problems to constantly be giving them human food.

Balancing What You Give

As always, it’s important to have a balanced diet, especially for your dog. While it is okay to give your dog a taste of your table food, it isn’t always very balanced and healthy to give them a lot. As a rule of thumb, the treats you give your dog, regular treats or human food, should only make up 10% of their calories every day. Some items that are okay are:

• Vegetables, such as peas, celery, and carrots
  • These vegetables can be raw or cooked, but be sure they don’t have butter or additional seasoning.
• Fruit that isn’t dangerous to dogs, so anything other than raisins or grapes.
• Lean and cooked meat, such as turkey. Other meats are okay, as long as your feeding your dog the lean parts.
• Peanut butter is healthy, but should only be given in small amount, as it is high in calories.

Always check to make sure the food you give your dog is not dangerous or poisonous to them in any way.

Safety First

Lastly, you also need to remember safety when feeding your dog scraps from the table. Bones from meats may seem okay to give to dogs, but they actually can be too small and sharp for our dogs. They can break and can cause intestinal perforations and blockages.

Here is a list of food that are dangerous or unhealthy for our dogs:

• Anything with raisins
• Anything with grapes
• Anything with onions
• Anything starchy (bread, potatoes, pasta)
• Desserts
• Anything with chocolate
• Anything with sugar
• Anything with alcohol
• Macadamia nuts
• Raw meat
• Bones
• Turkey skin/chicken skin

It can overwhelming to try to always monitor what our dogs are eating. Be sure to tell all members of your family what is and isn’t ok to give our dogs from our plates. This should help your furry friend stay happy and healthy!