This probably applies to other animals kept as pets, but right now I’ll talk about dogs.
I think dogs deserve to eat real, varied food instead of the same industrial feed every single day. Have you noticed how they always seek “human” food, even when they might already have food in their bowl? I think they just don’t want to eat the same processed crap everyday! They want real food! I think the fact that they would do anything for a miserable pizza border is proof enough.
That’s it, I just felt like I needed to tell someone. Thanks for reading, and apologies if the post sounds angry or something, remaking the post now would be too much work 😩
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Dogs will seek and beg for anything, even if it isn’t food, or even if it will straight kill them. They just see you have some, and they would like some too.
I don’t think my dog is begging for chocolate, grapes, and onion. They just see me eating it, and they would very much like me to share some of my prized catch with the rest of the pack.
Other then that, dogs should not be eating 95% of human food, even “natural and organic” stuff. Do heavy research into whatever you are giving your dog, and for the love of god don’t just give them kibble. Do what Last Year recommended by mixing up their food. But do not assume that just because we can eat it, they can to.
A lot of food that you think might be good for dogs, or are extremely healthy for humans, can seriously harm, kill, or do nothing for a dog in terms of health.
I’m Hexbear’s resident veterinarian and I agree with @ComradeSalad@lemmygrad.ml
Human food is not typically good for dogs, and commercial dog food exists for a very good reason.
Dogs are dogs, they don’t have the same complex taste buds humans have, and they don’t have the same sentience and long term thinking that humans do.
That being said, throw in some bone broth into their dry kibble. Give some table scraps. Supplement with canned food. Eating single proteins builds a simple gut microbiome and isn’t super healthy, but there are dogs that are perfectly healthy and happy dogs that live off Old Roy dog food 24x7
Dogs deserve as much as we can provide, but they also don’t NEED as much as we think. They want to be included, and the most pampered, and well fed dogs will still ask for a little of your food.
An acquiantance of mine gives their dogs rice, chicken and veggies prepared in a pressure cooker. Said it is cheaper and better than the dry food.
Hi I’m Hexbear’s resident veterinarian!
While it’s fine to very your dog’s diet and provide some dietary enrichment, commercially formulated foods exist to meet your dogs nutritional needs safely and consistently. Commercial dog food is “real food.”
It is typically NOT SAFE to feed your dog (or cat) an exclusively home cooked diet, as this drastically increases the risk of heart disease, metabolic bone disease, kidney disease, etc. Additionally, raw diets are associated with increased risks of infection and zoonosis.
If you are interested in home cooked diet you should always consult a board certified veterinary nutritionist.
If your friend is truly only feeding their dog chicken, rice and veggies I would advise them that their pet is at a severe risk for heart and bone disease.
Thanks. I’ll let them know.
We used to do that too. Dog happily inhaled it, as dogs are wont to do. Eventually, dog had a stomach torsion. Had to have surgery. Miraculously survived. We kept feeding it rice stew (we’re idiots, you see), dog kept inhaling it, despite warnings by the vet not to let it eat fast (how!?) and us trying our best (except not feeding him that kind of food, of course; as I said, idiots). Got second stomach torsion, second surgery. Didn’t survive. Everyone was sad. If your dog is medium to large (or smaller but with a wide chest) be careful it doesn’t eat too fast.
despite warnings by the vet not to let it eat fast (how!?)
Instead of giving all the food at once you can give it in small chunks. It is more time consuming though. Sorry about your dog.
There are people who feed their dogs raw or people who feed their dogs home-cooked food.
Hi I’m Hexbear’s resident veterinarian!
While it’s fine to very your dog’s diet and provide some dietary enrichment, commercially formulated foods exist to meet your dogs nutritional needs safely and consistently. Commercial dog food is “real food.”
It is typically NOT SAFE to feed your dog (or cat) an exclusively home cooked diet, as this drastically increases the risk of heart disease, metabolic bone disease, kidney disease, etc. Additionally, raw diets are associated with increased risks of infection and zoonosis.
If you are interested in home cooked diet you should always consult a board certified veterinary nutritionist.
I am constantly thinking about it too and it breaks my heart.
Dogs can have little a crust, as a treat.
But for real, if all i had to eat was dry cereal, id beg too.
I’m not a dog owner so i don’t know if it’s my business to even speak on this but it is true that historically dogs were usually fed scraps and leftovers from human meals, so technically that should be totally fine, however bear in mind that the nature of modern food is much different from what people used to eat in pre-industrial times. So unless your diet is that of a person from the middle ages i don’t think it’s a good idea to share your food with your dog, at least not indiscriminately. I’m sure that some things are ok, like meat that is not too seasoned or processed, but with most other things you probably want to be careful and get an expert opinion whether it’s ok for your pet. Pizza in particular seems like not a great idea but idk.
Dogs seek “human” food, dog food, cat food, inedible garbage, their own (and other animals’) shit and puke, that unidentifiable dead thing in the ditch, aww, look at the cute liddle bunny wabbit NO! Fenton! Drop it! Fenton! Bad dog! pukes Fenton drops what’s left of the rabbit and inhales the puke in one slurp. Haks a few times, pukes it, the rabbit’s entrails, that thing from the ditch, and what looks suspiciously like a used condom. Proceeds to swallow the whole mix again with gusto. Dogs want to eat everything and most of what they want to eat isn’t really good for them, or is outright poisonous.
Dogs, despite their brains being so fubared by domestication and inbreeding that they’ll try to eat anything even if it kills them, are carnivores not omnivores.
We are omnivores evolved to be able to eat all kinds of crap (we call several poisons plants have evolved over millions of years to defend themselves from predators “spices” and “recreational drugs”), dogs are not.
If you feed “human” food to your dog (or, more likely, if your dog eats it off the table or the garbage can despite you yelling at it not to), make very sure that dogs’ methabolism considers it food and not deadly poison, because the dog’s brain certainly can’t tell the difference, nor would it care to if it could…
That is factually incorrect. Dogs are omnivores and are not strict carnivores, cats are strict carnivores. Dogs need a balance of both plant based nutrients and meat.
Hi I’m Hexbear’s resident veterinarian!
While it’s fine to very your dog’s diet and provide some dietary enrichment, commercially formulated foods exist to meet your dogs nutritional needs safely and consistently. Commercial dog food is “real food.”
It is typically NOT SAFE to feed your dog (or cat) an exclusively home cooked diet, as this drastically increases the risk of heart disease, metabolic bone disease, kidney disease, etc. Additionally, raw diets are associated with increased risks of infection and zoonosis.
If you are interested in home cooked diet you should always consult a board certified veterinary nutritionist.
