Are table scraps really bad?

[Binky]

I have a question about Binky's weight.  Until last month, Binky was in that gawky, scrawny puppy stasge.  Now she has been putting on weight and growing like crazy.  She is 6 months old today!  She is kind of chunky looking now though and her ribs are not easily felt.  I am not sure if this is ok.  She eats large breed puppy food but I also give her table scraps.  I know it's bad, but I have always fed all of the animals from the table.  They are trained to lay down and stay while we eat and they do not beg, but I do feed them while I eat.  Is this really that bad?  I keep reading things about Pyrs and bloat, etc. but Binky has a strong stomach and has never vomited or anything.  Chicklet and McDougal are both very fit and have never been overweight.  Does anyone else give their dogs people food?  Should I stop?  Thanks for your opinions.

[Anky]

My dogs get people food, usually when we're fixing something and we'll toss them scraps.  We dont feed at the table, and at the boonie house Sanity isn't even allowed in the kitchen when food's around. 

I don't know Pyrs that well, but I'll tell you that Nee would get SOOOO fat when he was little, and then in a week he'd have a growthspurt and be anorexic.  I wouldn't be too concerned but I would cut back on the goodies a little.

[GR8DAME]

My dogs have always been fed some tablescraps, but generally at mealtimes in their bowls. I rarely feed from the table as most of my mutts are highly food motivated and I don't want them to beg.
Stella

[jules]

Spotakiss gets people food too!I figure big dogs are only with us for a short time so shouldnt they enjoy those iced cookies?

[tanimara]

I think most of us are aware of what foods are not good for our dogs such as chicken long bones and pork bones.  Keeping those things in mind (foods that are not good for them), I dont feel feeding our dogs from the table is necessarily bad.  Over feeding them is.  Take hip dysplasia for instance.  I've felt for 20 years that overweight is the main instigator of hip dysplasia and not just genetics.  A recent study of hip dysplasia where they deliberately bred two dogs with hip dysplasia shows that the puppies seperated into 2 groups, one group kept thinner, the other big fat puppies.. all of the overweight group, all of them, developed hip displasia.  The thinner group had 80% hip displasia free, with identical genetics.  This research has been done in several studies, with nearly identical results.  I dont like to quote a study like this without a reference link but the sad thing is I dont have one (lost it).  My point here is, keep her on the slim side.  It's vital to her health.  So go ahead and feed her from the table if you like, but cut back somewhere and increase her exercise and you should be ok.

Jackie Wood
Tanimara Great Pyrenees

[Terri]

I use to NEVER feed table scraps, It gave my first dane the run's. But since my kids moved back home and they feed theirs from the table, Well come on, mine can't be out of the loop. So now once in a while mine gets treats too.

[Teamshredit]

Ours get table scraps but they have to work for it 
They are about 7 months now and I have noticed, especially in Luke, that they will get pudgier right before a growth spurt. I figure while they are puppies and growing we can be slightly liberal with "treaters". They also get quite a bit of exercise....th at should be factored in as well.

My grandmother has a black lab who is about 6, and after spoiling him with all sorts of people food his weight went from 85lbs to 105! She was scolded by the vet and is now only allowed to give him boiled chicken to mix with his food(to satisfy her need to feed). He is back down to 90 

[Scootergirl]

We are guilty of this, too - although ours aren't nearly as well-trained. Don't you DARE walk away from your plate if it's on the TV tray 'cause your dinner will be history! Buster Brown, the beagle, is especially adept at stealing food right off your plate - that long nose reaches right up there and POOF! it's down the hatch!

The dogs all know that they are our "official plate pre-washers", too so we have to suffer through them staring at us while we eat if we eat in the living room (which is most of the time).

They have us trained quite well, I'd say.

[nostaw]

I can only reply from a newf point of view. If you look at the breed history, these dogs were worked during the summer and turned out to fend for themselves during winter. It is one of the problems with newfs that they will eat anything and everything. They do seem however to have a reflex action in that  if food is bad they throw it back up. Just as well considering the decomposed salmon I caught Bell eating one day!

As far as table scraps go I have found that Bell and Hovis won't eat cucumber! I always think back to my grandparents, Their dogs were fed exclusively on Table scraps and whatever was spare or going off. Simply because there was no such thing as dog food in those days. I won't feed from my plate, its bad enough when the dog can rest its chin on the table without nudging you out of the way and drooling on your food It is better to put the remains of your food in their bowl or mix it in with their dinner, that way there is a little bit of peace at the table.

In summary, as long as it doesn't poison or cause a danger to the dog, feed it and adjust the dog food accordingly, - it's a cheaper option.

Andy, Bell & Hovis (we enjoyed tonights pork and rice)

 

[Kiahpyr]

Kiah only gets meat table scraps and vegetables. We don't give her pasta or other things with lots of carbs. I don't know if this has anything to do with wieght or not. She's always been on the skinny side. She's 9 months old and weighs 80lbs. It's good for them to be thin when growing. I used to get mad when people told me she was small and skinny. I then realized I know my breed better then anyone else. I do tons of research. Only you know your dog. I'm sorry I got off topic there.

[K9ldy00]

Most table scraps are OK, Just keep in mind don't feed them anything you wouldn't eat  yourself. Like large chunks of fat or cleaning out the fridge after the food has been in there too long. All of mine get some table scraps every night and they do fine with them.

[Gypsy Jazmine]

We give table scraps in moderation...M y pack is really fond of "pizza bones"...That's the crust.

[brandon]

We feed a few things here and there to the pups in their bowl.  We tried to give bava a few scraps of roast off the plate last night and he looked at us like we were crazy and wouldn't get anywhere near the plate.  We had thought about that a bit, and quickly praised him... what a good boy.   Mowgli on the other hand will eat anything he can reach, and he can climb on the back of chairs to get to counter tops.  I just caught him about an hour ago with a large can of marine fish food, empty now, he had chewed the top off... ARGH! He has the most god-awful fishy breath now.

Anyways, we feed more scraps to our birds than our dogs, the dogs get doggie treats, etc, but I don't see any problem with feeding the pups a piece of table scrap "in moderation" here and there.

[brandon]

Another thing.. not sure on pyrs, but most newf people will tell you to stay away from large breed puppy because of the elevated protien which will make them grow faster.  Lots of good info in some past threads about this.
 

[Newf Lover]

My wife's uncle told me straight up with an extremely serious face, "Starve that dog, don't feed him too much, or he will go down so fast."  I think he is right in some ways, but I'm not going to underfeed Drake.  We give him a very conservative amount of kibble, mixed with some warm water and bit of lunchmeat and that's it.  That way, we can give him treats and table scraps every day and not worry about him getting fat.  But we keep it to a minimum, Newfs irritable stomachs tend to give them diarrhea as we all know.  I used to see people feed their dogs everything they didn't eat at dinner, salad, rice, meat, you name it.  They're dogs seemed to be ok and weren't too fat, but I'm not doing that with Drake.  A little here, a little there shouldn't be to big of a deal.  Also, if you feed your dog from the table, you setting yourself up for bad behaviour when you have company over for dinner.