Scraps or no scraps, that is the question!

"scraps" are things like dead French fries, a crust of bread, leftover gravy, cooked bones or the extra dressing at the bottom of the salad bowl.  They are trash.  And the trash can is where they belong.  Dogs never should have cooked bone.  None of us need French fries anyway!  and most of us should eat WAY less bread and carbs than we consume.

But real food?   Absolutely.  

I home cook for 3 dogs.  And yes, it's a balanced diet (I've been cooking for my animals for about 38 years now).  This week's food has ground beef (15% fat max), broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, okra, cabbage (white & red), sweet potato, zuchinni & yellow squashes, tomato, and sardines (for omega 3s).  Last week my veggies were similar with the addition of kale and butternut squash, less cabbage, and no spinach, yellow squash, nor okra.

During the week if we have leftovers of meat (not just the fat cut off or undigestible bits nor cooked bone)  or vegetables  (any of the above  or more) -- I will add them in as long as they don't upset the balance of the food.   I might hold vegetables left until another night when I have extra meat to add.  I don't want to screw up the balance.

Good food is good food.  I waste nothing.  And yes, I've been known to hold a bit extra of my Caesar salad to add to the dogs' supper -- Caesar dressing has egg and   olive oil and a bit of anchovie (good Omega 3's again).

Dog's don't get onion.  It inhibits the body's ability to absorb calcium and it can be purely toxic in quantity.  Grapes (shown in the picture above) are also not good for dogs.  Dogs don't get chocolate, nor macadamia nuts, etc.

So I'll say yes, my dogs get real food -- but they don't get trash.  And my husband and I may be a bit pickier than some folks about what WE consume as well.

It looks complicated when written down but it isn't.  But will I add that last bit of cooked carrot or green beans to their food?  Absolutely.  But it's a conscious addition -- not just getting rid of trash.  

Great point. It is very important to be aware of foods that be a potential threat to your dogs well-being. Maybe a better way to phrase is "food from the table."

 Thank you for sharing your dog's diet with us. There is definitely a right way to feed from the table and it seems, in years of experience, have found a great balance!

I do feed my dog treats like pizza crusts, carrots, french fries etc, but in moderation, they may get 2 or 3 fries, they are both large dogs. I never feed them people food as a meal, dogs don't digest fats like us. Its important to feed them a good diet of healthy dog food. I always say everything in moderation.

We're a little lax about following the guidelines like those Callie described.  We don't give Ruby truly awful (or toxic) things, like chunks of fat, salty or spicy food, buttery stuff, etc., but she always gets a taste of something we're eating -- a bit of baked potato, a bite of chicken or beef, veggies, plain noodles, etc.  She also gets to lick the bowl after I finish my oatmeal in the morning!

I know she doesn't need any of these things, as she gets plenty of high-quality food and treats all day.  It's more a gesture of our bond with her to share food, I guess.  We did it with our dog, Tonka, too.  Lying quietly at our feet while we eat pays off when a bite of something is offered after we finish eating and get up to bring our dishes to the sink.

Edited to add -- I agree with the moderation thing.  Sure, Ruby has eaten a french fry or a piece of crust, but it's not like she eats it every day, and we'd never give her a piece of pizza or something like that.  I try to use the moderation guideline for myself, too, since I don't want to completely deprive myself of things I love to eat, even if they're bad for me!

I probably should be more specific --

The diet I use **is** balanced  -- it's not commercial dog food, it's fresh food, but balance is important.

If I'm giving "leftovers" it's  calculated into their diet not simply scraped into their bowl.

However I think "sharing food" as someone said **is** valid and valuable, but it's still calculated into their food plan.  Because of my own disability my dogs don't get tons of exercise  -- they get enough but in particular we don't want them to develop health issues later on b/c of being too heavy.  I've even got a pug with a **waist** -- amazing, huh??  And she's so "food motivated" she'd have the "food" gone before you could get "motivated" typed! LOL