Every so often, I hear people say, “Don’t give table scraps to your dog.” The idea behind this is human foods could be harmful to pets. While it is true that some human foods could be harmful to your pets not all of them are. You simply must know what you can and cannot feed your dogs.
Wheat
Do not give your dogs anything containing wheat or wheat glutens. Some food items to avoid would be bread and pasta. As you’ll recall, wheat is the number one allergen for dogs. Giving them food containing wheat could result in skin allergies. It could also result in wheat gut, a condition similar to beer belly.
Corn
Do not give your dogs anything containing corn or corn glutens. God did not design dogs to digest corn. In fact, if you’ve ever fed your dog corn, you may have noticed whole kernels of corn in the waste.
Onions
Humans like to cook their foods with onions. If you make any dish, main course or side, containing onions, do not feed that to your dogs. Onions may cause cardiac problems in dogs.
Garlic
Garlic is related to onions and it often winds up on the foods to avoid list. The truth is, garlic in small daily amounts can work to repel fleas, ticks, and mosquitos. See Dr. Lew Olson’s book for exact dosing requirements.
Beans
Beans are okay to give your dogs as long as they are not prepared with onions.
Meat
You can give your dogs any kind of meat because they are carnivores. In fact, if your dog is a hunter, it may consume raw delicacies such as opossums, rats, mice, birds, turtles, snakes, etc.
Bones
You may give your dog raw meaty bones. You must not give your dog any cooked bones. Cooked bones are brittle and they are unsafe for dogs as they could splinter. Raw meaty bones are pliable and offer your dog an opportunity to chew. They are a great way to keep your dog’s teeth clean.
The ASPCA has an exhaustive list of foods to avoid; however, do more research to verify that what they say is accurate. There are many organizations that want you only to feed your dogs dry kibble, touting their kibble as being the most complete and appropriate nutrition for dogs.
For further reading, I recommend Raw & Natural Nutrition for Dogs by Dr. Lew Olson and Real Food for Healthy Dogs & Cats: Simple Homemade Food by Dr. Karen Becker and Beth Taylor.
Great information! It’s amazing how big the list is. I run through common people food that are dog toxins in my puppy class – I always get some surprised people!
You’re absolutely right. The list of foods that could be toxic is very exhaustive. I wish I could have covered it all but the ASPCA has done a decent job.
Yea I made a list much like yours, and had to put links on otherwise it would be pages and pages long! 🙂 Very vital info tho.
Great list! Chocolate is also a big no no. I find a second reason to not give your dog scraps it avoids the problem of dogs begging or staring whilst you eat. I’ve done that with Dexter and he never hangs around me when I eat.
You bring up a very good point: preventing begging. I hadn’t thought about that so kudos for bringing that up. You must be a trainer or you know dogs really well!
Thanks. I’m Not a trainer. I just noticed that my mums dogs would always beg so I made a point when I got my dog to not feed scraps to distinguish my food and his. This also included a routine on feeding time and not eating near him 😃
I like that. You are very in tune with your dog’s needs. More people need to be as observant.