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Human food for dog

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I guess I'm talking about scraps and leftovers.

My friend told me that dogs should never get human food. Is this true? And am I damage my 10 year old dog?

She gets leftovers as well, why not? Better than them going in the bin.

I know she shouldn't have chocolate and my Mum said she shouldn't have bread as they cause fits (but I think this is an old Irish myth or something).

I have started giving my dog egg on toast in the morning as she likes it and it works out cheaper than one of the tray things I give her which I now just give her in the evening.
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Comments

  • We had a dog who had exactly what we had every day plus a few bones. We eat very healthily.
    She lived to be 15 and never once went to the vet.
  • Never give a dog grapes/raisins - they can be very toxic in very low amounts. Far worse than chocolate I believe.
  • pollyanna24
    pollyanna24 Posts: 4,390 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Never give a dog grapes/raisins - they can be very toxic in very low amounts. Far worse than chocolate I believe.

    Actually I knew this about the raisins as my girls made bird feeders in Brownies and were told if they had a dog, not to put raisins in it.

    Can't see my dog wanting to be that healthy and eat fruit.
    Pink Sproglettes born 2008 and 2010
    Mortgages (End 2017) - £180,235.03
    (End 2021) - £131,215.25 DID IT!!!
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  • bertiewhite
    bertiewhite Posts: 1,904 Forumite
    1,000 Posts
    Onions are bad as well.

    There's very little our dogs don't get as scraps and it's mainly the advertised no no's and hot foods such as chilli & curry that they don't get.

    I have heard it said that dedicated dog food is a modern thing - in days of old they would only get fed scraps anyway.
  • Helen2k8
    Helen2k8 Posts: 361 Forumite
    If it's fairly simple "meat and potatoes" then yes I would. I wouldn't give curries, spiced or flavoured dishes (beware nutmeg especially), very rich or fatty dishes, or something the dog's not eaten on a regular basis (so no leftover crocodile steak...). Be cautious about salt levels, and I wouldn't give anything sweet, cake-like, or sticky (thinking about their teeth).

    Just be sure to account for this when working out dog food rations :)
  • Katiehound
    Katiehound Posts: 8,125 Forumite
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    My dogs always always get fruit and veg with their dried dog food. (They even go into kennels with their supply of apples, carrots etc!)
    Should there be any scraps (highly unlikely!) they get those too.

    Complete dog food is a fairly modern invention- I remember when Vitalin complete came in- it looked like muesli. Up until then I fed cooked: lites, lungs, fish cheeks,rabbit, meat off the boiled up roast chicken carcass mixed with hound mixer, and bonios! Things seem to have taken off big time........
    Being polite and pleasant doesn't cost anything!
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  • elsien
    elsien Posts: 36,140 Forumite
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    edited 2 March 2017 at 10:18PM
    What do you think dogs are before dog food was invented?
    As yet, I haven't found anything that Gitdog won't eat but there are things such as mango and aubergine that give him a mild dose of colitis.
    I put a lemon in the fruit bowl to stop him nicking the fruit and he ate that as well. We now practicing recycling. I have the banana and he has the skin.
    Just be aware of the obvious no nos like chocolate and grapes, and too much salt. He's had a bit of onion and garlic in spag bol etc and was fine.

    I did find out with my last dog that parent was feeding her her medication inside a grape. She lived to 15.
    All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

    Pedant alert - it's could have, not could of.
  • bertiewhite
    bertiewhite Posts: 1,904 Forumite
    1,000 Posts
    elsien wrote: »
    He's had a bit of onion and garlic in spag bol etc and was fine.

    https://phz8.petinsurance.com/pet-health/pet-toxins/pets-and-onions
  • Dogs would have to eat HUGE amounts of onions, chocolate, grapes etc before they do harm.
    So many Scare Tactic words around these days.

    Onions: The amount would have to be around 600 to 800 grams for it to be lethal so some leftovers containing onions will not hurt.
    Plus, animals are very good at not eating what's bad for them.

    I've given MILK chocolate as a treat to mine forever and a day. Dark chocolate is more toxic.
    You would need to give a small dogs over 3 ounces of milk chocolate before she might be anywhere near ill but who would give 3/4 ounces of chocolate to a small dog anyway.

    A small chuck now and then does no harm at all.
  • Grape toxicity can be in very small doses for some dogs - http://www.petmd.com/dog/emergency/digestive/e_dg_grape_raisin_toxicity

    Macadamia nuts can also be bad for them

    Here's an academic research paper on human foods that are bad for dogs - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4801869/
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