We are a nation of dog lovers, that’s for sure. They bring such joy to our lives and are a loyal and loving addition to any family. That is why, as owners, we should all be making good choices about what our much-loved pet is eating, to keep them in the very best of health. Feeding your dog treats and scraps from your food is not recommended however. You might think you’re showing love and affection, but you could be doing terrible damage to their well-being.
Even if you consider the food from your table to be healthy and you simply want to include them in family life, there could be serious adverse effects from human food consumed as part of your dog’s diet. This includes damage to their health as well as affected their social and behavioural actions.
Behaviour Problems
Thinking you have your dog well-trained with table-feeding could be misplaced. They have you trained! Whenever they come to the table to get your attention and you provide them with a treat from your plate, you are introducing bad habits from an early age. This is a trait that can become very difficult to break in the future. Treat your best friend in better ways with gifts like new Dog Collars and Leads from iwoof.com/
The outcome of off-schedule, non-food bowl feeding is that your dog will begin to beg. They will beg when you start cooking, every time you sit to the table and even when you’re grabbing a quick snack. They will most likely whine, stare, jump and constantly demand your attention whenever there is food around. It’s tempting to give in to stop the annoying behaviour, but this will further compound the problem.
Health Problems
Other than encouraging bad behaviour, you could also be bringing on health problems by feeding them potentially toxic food. You’ll also be doing them no favours by feeding too many calories in a day.
A dog that is only provided with appropriate dog food is normally one with a healthier weight with regards to its breed, size and age. Being the right weight lowers the risk of weight-related illness and injury such as joint, ligament and bone problems. It’s also easier to avoid other conditions such as respiratory problems, heart disease and decreased liver function.
By not giving in and supplying your dog with human food, you’ll also lessen the risk of giving your dog something poisonous to their system. This can seriously damage their health and even kill them in some circumstances. If your dog is used to pestering for human food, you might not always be able to control who gives them a treat. What if a guest gives them a grape for example? These are highly toxic for dogs.
Picky Pooch
The other problem with regularly giving your dog human treats is that you could be creating a very fussy eater indeed! Why would they return to their food bowl when they know that what’s on your plate is much tastier? If your dog becomes so picky that they refuse to eat their own food, this is a very tricky behaviour to rectify.