You Share Table Scraps with Your Four-Pawed Best Friend?

I’ve met many families who feed their dogs table scraps as treats. Not only do dogs LOVE table scraps, being very social animals, they really enjoy getting to sit down with their family. And we pet lovers think that letting them in on the nightly dinner tradition is a great way to share the love.

Unfortunately, sharing the love and sharing the table scraps are two different things. In fact, feeding table scraps to our furry friends can be downright deadly.

Reason No. 1 to Not Share Table Scraps With Fido

Eating table scraps puts your pooch on the fast track for obesity. Because these foods are not nutritionally dense for dogs, they basically amount to empty calories. Empty calories lead to barrel-shaped pooches!

Reason No. 2 to Not Share Table Scraps With Fido

The things we know dogs love the best – and make the easiest scraps to share – are fatty meats, fat trimmings from our own dinners and skin. Not only will these scraps make your pooch chubby, they can cause serious health conditions  such as pancreatitis.

Reason No. 3 to Not Pass the Scraps to Poochie

Another easy handout is bones. As much as your buddy love, love, loves to gnaw all the flavor off bones, they pose a high risk for choking and intestinal perforation .  What seems like the perfect treat is better tossed in the trash when your pet’s life is literally at stake.

Reason No. 4 to Separate Your Fuzzy Buddy From Dinnertime

Feeding dogs table scraps quickly turns them into beggars, which can be both an annoying and health-harming habit. Dogs who beg not only annoy their parents, they also tend to eat more calories they need and are at risk for consuming foods that they may be allergic to.

Stick to the Basics

When it comes to feeding Fido, the best rule is to stick to dog foods formulated to meet your dog’s nutritional needs. If you still want to offer Fido a little treat, check back with us. We have some real-food treat suggestions your dogs can indulge in safely.