"human" food or dog food?

[MacPack]

You say you are adding 'extras' to the dry food, that should be fine as long as it's a good quality food with adequate nutrients. Adding some human food as an 'appetizer' is good (according to Nicky's internist, after her pancreatitis) just don't give any extra fat or fatty foods. I also add some hot water to the kibble and let it sit for about 20-30 min, it is soft-crunchy and they love the gravy. I add a bit of canned food and sweet potato, mush it up, and my dogs gobble it.

[ACAkeyla]

Thanks for the info everyone!

[agilebasenji]

http://www.maryshouse.us/Recipes.htm

my pups get a bit of muttloaf with their evening meals

[DaMac]

A lot of the food that people reccomend are just not available in this small area. Anyway, the only people food mine have ever gotten it pizza crust, they think its just a great chew.
Dave

[tanza]

@DaMac:

A lot of the food that people reccomend are just not available in this small area. Anyway, the only people food mine have ever gotten it pizza crust, they think its just a great chew.
Dave

This is my personal opinion… your pets miss out on people food, not scrapes as was done for many years, but veggies, fruits, raw meat... regardless if you feed a regular good quality kibble... I see no reason not to give them good human grade meat, fruits and veggies

[krunzer]

LOL…how tough are your pizza crusts??

[sharronhurlbut]

We give our b's a lot of human food. The Wheat, my village girl, will eat anything. Bird seed, from our backyard bird feeders , things my 2 p/b b's turn their nose up at…
She has no allergies, no food issues and is very hardy. But that figures, as only the very strong ones make it in that hard place.
My boy has food allergies, and grass allergies, so it more of a problem for him.

[Patty]

Human food?? Mine are on a raw meat diet but also have veggies, fruits and scraps if there are any left! In fact just anything - like Miss Wheat they will eat almost anything and are usually very fit.

[Buddys Pal]

Oh no, I was not going to have to post a reply to this because I do add some human food once in awhile and rotate it, eggs, tuna, chicken, bovine heart, chicken livers (all cooked) but anyway-the carbs in a pizza crust can lead to disaster! My Dad was always giving his dog table scraps (right from the table too!!! Uggg!!!) But now, after many pizzas etc, the dog has diabetes and does not take well to the needle of insulin. PLEASEEEEE DONT FEED THIS UNHEALTHY PART OF HUMAN FOOD!!! PLEASE?! Preenpets.com has a good selection of made in America food for cheweys. check it out….

[tanza]

@Buddys:

Oh no, I was not going to have to post a reply to this because I do add some human food once in awhile and rotate it, eggs, tuna, chicken, bovine heart, chicken livers (all cooked) but anyway-the carbs in a pizza crust can lead to disaster! My Dad was always giving his dog table scraps (right from the table too!!! Uggg!!!) But now, after many pizzas etc, the dog has diabetes and does not take well to the needle of insulin. PLEASEEEEE DONT FEED THIS UNHEALTHY PART OF HUMAN FOOD!!! PLEASE?! Preenpets.com has a good selection of made in America food for cheweys. check it out….

I agree with unhealthy human scrapes. Now that said, once in a great while a little treat of this is OK… IMO... but never on a regular schedule. If you are going to feed human food, do not use scrapes.. feed good food that only you yourself would eat. I agree with eggs, tuna, chicken, etc as noted by Buddys Pal.... and many veggies... and/or fruits...

[krunzer]

But not grapes or onions….those are toxic to dogs.

[eeeefarm]

I don't think the occasional piece of pizza crust is going to do any harm, but obviously don't overdo it. Dogs evolved as scavengers, and up until fairly recently they mostly got by on table scraps before someone had the brilliant idea of telling us we had to only feed "scientifically balanced" meals to our canine friends. Funny, it is acceptable to feed your children fast food garbage, but God forbid you should feed your pet anything that isn't "veterinarian approved" (most vets know diddly squat about nutrition…...they get a short course provided by guess who? The dog food companies!)

"People" food is fine, IMHO, but beware the known toxic items. Most people know about chocolate, but some aren't aware that raisins and grapes can be dangerous. My Basenjis have always loved most vegetables and fruits, and popcorn is also a favourite. But I feed a good quality dog food for convenience (NRG dehydrated) and supplement with veggies when I am cooking.

[agilebasenji]

@tanza:

.. feed good food that only you yourself would eat. I agree with eggs, tuna, chicken, etc as noted by Buddys Pal…. and many veggies... and/or fruits...

Uhm, well, at my house the rule is I only feed my dogs human food that I should be eating. :rolleyes: Like tonight Zest really, really, really wanted a bite of the homemade peach/blueberry cobbler. But I gave her garden fresh zucchini instead. :p
Yes, I suffer for my pups.

[LindaH]

@DaMac:

A lot of the food that people reccomend are just not available in this small area.

You can always order it online, often at a cheaper price and often without any shipping charges. That's what I do when we're in Arizona during the winter since we live out in the middle of nowhere and the closest stores with premium dog food are 120+ miles away. Even when we're in Spokane during the summer, I more often than not order online because 1) The food I use is often cheaper than what I can buy at a store here and 2) I don't have to pay Washington State sales tax of around 8.7%.

The place I order from is PetFlow.com, although there are other, similar, places. Order over a certain dollar amount and the shipping is free, or only $4.99 if you can't meet their minimum dollar requirement for free shipping. You can also arrange for repeat shipments, but it's not a requirement.

[krunzer]

LMAO @ AgileBasenji….....I know the things we do for our dogs hey!! I mean I think I would have also sacrificed the zucchini for the peach cobbler....that has sugar in it and is nooooo good for doggies!!!

[Shaye's Mom]

@agilebasenji:

Uhm, well, at my house the rule is I only feed my dogs human food that I should be eating. :rolleyes: Like tonight Zest really, really, really wanted a bite of the homemade peach/blueberry cobbler. But I gave her garden fresh zucchini instead. :p
Yes, I suffer for my pups.

A "bite" of the cobbler would not have hurt her - wonderful if she likes fruit - mine totally turn their noses up at fruit - Shaye likes green veggies and carrots, Gemma merely tolerates them because her "sister" is eating them so she must do so, but does like cooked sweet potato.:rolleyes:

[eeeefarm]

My guy likes carrots so well I can use them as a training reward. I carry one in my pocket and bite off little pieces for him, as needed. (I think he acquired his taste for them because he likes to steal them from the horses. Basenjis think anything meant for someone else is great!)

[krunzer]

My dogs eat everything. They aren't too big on carrots though, I used to use them when they went into their crates…..so now apparently they have an aversion to them. But my dogs love broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers (they hear you cut a cucumber and they race to get there), strawberries, watermelon(another FAVE). I have a strawberry patch in my back yard that is fenced in with the dogs. Becca goes and picks her own strawberries (just the ripe ones) when I am away at work.

[agilebasenji]

@Shaye's:

A "bite" of the cobbler would not have hurt her - wonderful if she likes fruit - mine totally turn their noses up at fruit - Shaye likes green veggies and carrots, Gemma merely tolerates them because her "sister" is eating them so she must do so, but does like cooked sweet potato.:rolleyes:

Oh, no, I think it's best if I safely dispose of the cobbler myself.

In other news, Z is not sure about cantalope

[eeeefarm]

My guy's absolute favourite is probably tomato. He has been known to "baroo" for it, when I was making a salad. He also loves whatever berries we are having on our cereal. Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and also peaches if I am cutting them up. Not interested in bananas, however. My girls liked them, and also oranges. Of course, everyone has enjoyed broccoli, green peppers, asparagus, peas, beans, most any vegetable on offer. We're vegetarian, so it's a good thing he loves his veggies!