Does your furry friend watch you while you eat your delicious dinner? Perhaps he sits patiently, hoping if he’s quiet he might be rewarded with a treat from the table. Or, he might lie by your feet hoping that a few scraps fall on the floor. If you’re unlucky, he will moan, cry and sigh until you take pity on him and fill his bowl with some of the mysterious wonders that you might be eating. But there are a few reasons why you should never do this, and it’s just not a smart move to feed your dog human food.
Dog Food Looks Boring But…
It has everything a dog could possibly need, particularly if you buy a high quality brands. Dog food is actually designed and produced to include all the nutrients, vitamins, minerals and protein a dog needs to grow healthy and strong. Dog food will help keep your dog fit, the bones healthy and ensure that they can run circles around you. As soon as you start feeding them human food, it’s a slippery slope. Before long you’re substituting his food for yours when you run out. Then, you might start just feeding the dog the scraps from the table, just to save money. While the dog might be seemingly happy with this new arrangement, his diet will change. He could quickly grow unhealthy and later on develop medical issues.
Some Foods Are Toxic
You probably don’t know which ones fit into this category. Onion, for instance, raw could be very dangerous for your dog. Can dogs eat grapes? The answer is a resounding no because they have the potential to cause damage to the kidneys and most dogs will get sick. You may think if your dog eats one they will be okay, but even this isn’t true. Grapes have been known to kill a dog after it’s consumed just four grapes. You could research for hours all the foods that can be dangerous for a dog and you probably still wouldn’t have the full list.
Choking Hazards
Even if you know the human food isn’t toxic, there’s always the possibility that it will cause a choking hazard. Nuts, for instance, are a snack that we humans love but that’s because our throats are wide enough for them. You wouldn’t feed large nuts to a baby and neither should you feed them to your pet pooch. Chicken is another human food that can cause a choking hazard. Just one stray bone and you might need to rush your dog to the vet for an emergency appointment.
Gives Them The Taste
We’re not talking about begging at the table either. Once you give your pet a taste for human food, they’ll think it’s okay to eat everywhere. So, while you might succeed in carefully preparing a meal for your dog with human food that has no choking hazard and no toxic ingredients, they could find food on the floor outside that smells good but isn’t safe at all. If they’ve never eaten it before there’s a fair chance a dog will avoid it and see the potential danger. However, if they are used to human food, they will almost certainly chow down. Brands like Nextrition offer a much better option.
We hope you see now why feeding your dog human food is never a smart move
Very informational post! Thanks.