People food?

[Smaug]

Chase is four months old now and I was wondering if it was acceptable to give him some people food snacks such as a grilled hot dog, cooked bacon, pizza crust, etc.  I do not want to make him grow too fast or spoil him too much, but he sure does love the treats and I sure do enjoy making him happy.  I limit the treats and span them out over time but I am still not sure if a Saint's system can handle people food.  I would love some advice.  Thank you.

[Smaug]

Chase has been raised on Purina Dog Chow since the day he could eat kibbles.  He has free reign of his food bowl controlled by mommy and daddy and always has plenty of water next to his food bowl.  We even went out and got one of those adjustable food and water bowls.  Both bowls are stainless steel and hold like 2 quarts each.  I love that thing.  Anyway, thank you for any advise or thoughts.

[chaos270]

Kali gets table scraps as do the two nards that our vet owns.  The only thing to watch for is to be careful not to give them the things that are toxic to them.  If he starts putting on too much weight I'd stop giving scraps to him or regulate what he gets.  Just make sure you don't feed him at the table(that can cause serious begging issues).  Put it in his food bowl or you can always make him work for it.  Our guys have to sit before they get anything.

[Newf Lover]

We are trying to get Drake's weight down, ( his new nickname is Chubby Bones) so we have really limited the People Food treats he gets.  Usually, we will give him the last little bite of meat we have, or we let him lick our plates clean after we have eaten all of our food.  Not very much, but just enough for him to get a little taste of what we were eating, because you know, it's always better than what he gets to eat. 

[Smaug]

Thank you all,

I feed him Purina Dog Chow, not puppy chow, due to how fast Saints grow, think the Dog chow has less protein.  He seems to be doing great and does not look at all fat to me and I can feel his ribs o.k.  This is still my first Saint puppy so if you guys notice him getting too pudgy in the pictures I post, please let me know.  Thank you again.

[shangrila]

Many people will tell you that you shouldn't give your dog table scraps, but I don't see a problem with it as long as you are careful about what you give him. Zoey gets people food ALL the time - bits of plain meat, rice, veggies, cheese, egg.... And when I'm not looking Dan will give her pizza crust 

Honestly, as long as it's not too much food and its dog-friendly food, I like giving zoey bits of leftovers because it makes her SO happy and I love to see her happy 

[Kermit]

A lot of the time, "people food" is a lot healthier than what is in dog food!!! I think it's the pet food industries who originally spread that rumor that table scraps are terrible for dogs. Commercial dog food has only been around since the early 1900's I think... and people have had dogs for much longer than that... I wonder what they fed them...? Hmm... probably "people food"!!!
 
All of our dogs get what I like to call "real food" in addition to their tasty kibble.

[Smaug]

Thank you all,
I haven't even found a vegetable he doesn't like, not sure about the wife but we eat the same things for dinner, etc. but I haven't tried spinach yet.  Personally, I love the canned mushy stuff but I could care less about fresh leaves.  I was wondering about tomatoes though, haven't given him any of those, I was worried about the acidic content.  Anyway, thank you for all the information and I would like to say again I enjoy this group of people on the forum.  Let B.P.O. live forever...
Joe

[Saintly Girl]

I feed Maxwell raw broccolli, carrots, cooked meats and sometimes a bowl of stew here and there.  At christmas he gets turkey and gravy.  Don't feed the dog potatoes or onions or any cooked bones of any kind.

[Smaug]

Dahlie and all,
Thank you so much.  It looks to me like everything about foods for dogs is much the same as for humans, must just be proportionate and biological, etc.  Thank you.
P.S. wish I could cut down on some of those things on the list; salt, hops, etc....   hehehe

[Smaug]

Dahlie,
I am glad Jackie and Charge made it through the avocado experience and I loved the link.  Thank you very much.

[Svnt4God]

In addition to the potential of Chase putting on too much unneeded weight, giving your dog people food throws off the balance of the nutrition in the dog food and can actually cause your dog to become malnurished, even if he is overeating.

[cuttles/sadieMay]

I personally dont feed people food to Kayzer simply because I dont want him to become a begger.  I  dont really believe that it hurts them but I dont think it is the best for them either. But thats just my oppinion!
When we got Queenie she was four years old and she honestly didnt know she was a dog, she would not even eat one bite of dog food,and she also shed 365 days a year.
Her previous owners would cook her a plate of whatever they were having and thats what she grew up on, from a puppy. It took her about three days of not eating anything before she decided to change her ways or starve. I know that sounds cruel but it did her a big favor. She now eats dog food and her coat is much healthier and she only sheds twice a year. Although she has alot of ear infections now and apparently always has? Im not sure if people food has anything to do with that or not but thats why I feed strictly dog food only. Sorry for babbling and making this so long. Kayzer is a really well behaved boy when it comes to people food so far, I think its just because he really doesnt have a clue about what he is missing out on. But dig out a milk bone and its a totally different story! He He. I think if Chase is well behaved and he seems to be doing fine then its totally your decision. Good luck
Ok Im done. LOL
cuttles