Okay fess up

I don't worry about my dogs eating what I eat since I tend to mostly avoid pre-prepped stuff like that anyway. We have a few vices, like the grrrls LOOOVE their Redi-Whip :rofl1:

It's more what DON'T I feed him, honestly. I'm a pretty bad pet-owner when it comes to feeding Middie people food and junk food. Often he gets a nibble or a few bites of whatever I'm getting, and sometimes even more.. yesterday we split a bag of chips, chip for chip.

You all can flame me now. Then I might tell you about the Reeses Peanutbutter Cups . . .

Oh, Nolu . . . you MUST try the Redi-Whip. Squirt them a mouthful, then you can shriek "MAD DOG!!!" :rofl1:

You know, the last bits of whatever I am eating.

I will give in and give him a chocolate chip cookie before hot wings though. Such small quantities of chocolate are much better for him than spicy... I dont have to walk him 5 times a night...

I am SO guilty of this... I'll admit it

I usually give my chis a piece of what I'm eating after I'm done... I generally don't give them anything too bad, as I eat pretty well anyway.

I will confess that I've given them sips of my drinks *eek, alcoholic ones, shhhh!* before :yikes: I'm a bad dog mommy, I know.

I make it up to them by feeding them raw... they're super muscley and in great shape. They deserve a few treats.

but you shouldnt feed that food to people either! LOL.

I've read books that stress "never.give.a.dog.anything.other.than.dog.food.ever." and I just don't get it.

I honestly don't give them people food. Occasionally they get hot dogs for treats, and Lucy gets homemade food (So I guess that counts as people food). But when I am eating, they don't get anything off of my plate, and they no not to even bother me, or look at me, or cry, etc cause I will not cave in and give them anything!

On birthdays its different.They get a meatloaf in the shape of a bone (No additives or seasonings), and vanilla ice cream.

My mom lets them lick her plate though (Which I personally don't like her letting them do). And she has been known to start dog fights between Charlotte, Daggett, Peanut, and Lucy in the process.

they get popcorn. that's it.

Meg thought that was a great game, until the can sputtered at her.

She now cowers if you bring out a can of whipped cream. My dog was traumatized by a processed dairy product....

I had a huge argument with my sister about this topic... "People food is BAD for dogs!" Well, WTF is people food? Every single food besides kibble and dog treats? Aren't kibble and dog treats (theoretically) made up of "people food"? It's as if all whole, fresh foods are only intended for human consumption. I just don't follow that logic.

My dogs get everything that is healthy, and even little bits of unhealthy stuff.

They get tons of veggies, fruits, meats (obviously), and some dairy. When I'm stuffing their Kongs, they get some not-so-healthy stuff, to keep the Kongs exciting. Their FAVORITE Kong-stuffing is frozen macaroni & cheese. I only give it to them once or twice a month at the most, and it's just 1/2 cup or so, and it's usually for when they have to be in their crates. They seriously go APESH!T. I don't see anything wrong with noodles and cheese powder, in very limited quantities, but my sister nitpicks about it.

I also use cheetos as training treats... for Fozzie. = D I bring a bunch of healthy meat treats, like chicken hearts, but I also bring cheetos to classes for training new behaviors or for really intense distraction. Fozzie is a cheetos fiend, and again, I don't see any problems with them as long as they are a rare treat. Both of them are obsessed with Reeses pieces, and whenever I get them, I save some for training because they will do ANYTHING for one.

As long as it's not "toxic" to dogs, I share

I have no problem in raking "scraps" into their evening meal as well. I cook hamburger, chicken, rice, veggies for them anyway..........what's a little leftover "people" dinner added to that gonna hurt? LOL, I am sure to stay away from leftovers with onions and things of that nature.......but otherwise, it's a free for all!

I am sort of glad that chocolate IS toxic to them..........that way I don't feel bad for hogging it all to myself! hahahahaha

Lots of people believe the same as your sister, because most vets have been drilling this into dog owners' heads forever. There's several vets at the veterinary hospital we use but the owner vet is a medical as well as a holistic veterinarian ... who is VERY much into nutrition, supplements, and home-cooked feeding for dogs and cats .. as well as supplementing with good kibble. We always requested him on appointments for Cheyenne, especially when she entered her geriatric years.

He was kind enough to explain the truths about the "no people food ever" mantra from most vets. It's because most dog owners don't have a clue. If their vets OK "people food" it almost invariably ends up in overweight or obese dogs ... because the owners over-feed and feed junk while at the same time never or rarely exercising their dog. The second reason is most people don't bother reading the vet info sheets that identify human foods that dogs should NOT eat because of toxicities. Everybody knows about chocolate ... most don't know that's not the only one.

For those kind of dog owners it's just easier for them to remember "no people food ever ... just kibble and dog biscuits". Which does not mean that's ultimately the best diet ... but it's not the worst. At least their dogs won't be inadvertantly harmed by a loving but unmotivated dog owner ... which tends to be the majority of dog owners that vets see everyday.

I can relate to your argument with your sister ... some of my siblings thought I was nuts for "cooking for a dog".

Ben and I took Ella on a long walk this afternoon and we stopped at Dairy Queen with her.
I got a crunch cone, requested a plastic container and a spoon, ate all the nuts off of the ice cream, and scooped over half the ice cream into the plastic container for Ella.

My dog would do back flips for anything dairy.

Have you used the Cheetos Asteroids that are in the 100 Calorie packs? They are perfect training treats - just the right size (like the Zuke's dog treats), and a pack lasts for an entire agility class for us, assuming we aren't doing any serious reps on one thing. I keep a couple of packs in my training bag at all times.

Rufus and Tom used to go for ice cream in his 1952 MG TD ...to down and Rufus in the rear storage area . Small vanilla cone for Rufus and double some-or -other for Tom . Father " son" time .

I let Bear sniff my pepsi once since he is always SOO curious! It was still fizzy since it was just poured and now he leaves my drinks alone. I think the fizz scared him!

I do share chicken on occasion, but not from the table. I take it away from where I am eating and make the boys do a trick for it.

Very, very rarely will I give my dogs anything that I eat. Not because it may not be totally healthy, but because I am not a fan of mooching dogs, and by not giving them stuff, they know not to beg for food from me. That, and Dance and Keira both seem to have pretty sensitive stomachs and I don't want either of them getting sick.

After every meal/snack I give my dog a piece and he does not beg. He knows he cant have anything until I give it to him. And to be honest he could care less if I gave him food or not. But he's sooooo skinny so anything I give him can only help, lol.

Just about anything that isn't toxic. But they are also fed raw so they eat "people" food anything. I do try to keep special things up and use them as treats though. I have found that Ivan is a complete sucker for cinisticks from our local pizza place. Peewee absolutly LOVES ice cream, and he is a sucker for candy. Which he doesn't get very often, still doesn't stop him from asking.

I definitely understand what you're saying, TheGoldenRetriever... it's just... it's lame.

Personally, I would much rather see more Vets promoting whole, healthy, fresh foods. I know it's a lot like the same reasons that the vast majority of Vets adamently discourage raw or home-cooked diets; the "average" owner isn't going to feed it correctly, or research, or will feed inappropriate bones or won't provide the correct nutrients or whatnot. But I do think that's changing... and higher quality foods are becoming more popular... so I'm hoping that all of these stupid myths will be quelled, someday. I would much rather Vets were up front and told people what fresh foods are healthy for your dogs, what foods should be fed rarely, and what foods should be never fed, rather than assuming we're all morons and not bothering to educate their clients.

Luckily, I have a REALLY awesome Vet who sells premium kibble and pre-made raw, and actually consults me about my raw plan.

LMAO!
I have never heard of Cheetos Asteroids... but they sound amazing. I just use broken up crunchy Cheetos. I'm definitely picking up a few bags of Asteroids for this weekend. Would those be available at a grocery store?

Fozzie says Meg has exceptional taste in snacks! ; D We are terrible, abusive dog owners, seriously.