It is a general perception that sharing food or giving table scraps to dogs is not a good thing. Giving food directly from the table or table scraps may not be a good thing or the right way of feeding a dog, but many pet owners serve their dog human food and even the dogs are quite comfortable eating them.
The major risk of feeding table scraps is that it may lead to obesity in your dog .If the food shared with a pet is high in sugar, fats and calories, the chances of the pet becoming obese is high. This risk of becoming fat is very high in small dogs as they have a tendency to put on weight very fast. But the same can be avoided if care is taken to feed scraps to the pet friend in moderation.
The major risk of providing high fat food for a pet is the risk of pancreatitis which is inflammation of the pancreas, whose symptoms include internal bleeding or discomfort in the bladder due to a blood infection. This problem may not occur if the food is provided in moderation to a pooch.
Foods containing carbohydrates like pasta and rice provide an excellent source of highly digestible energy for pets. But care should be taken to see that it is provided in less quantity to pets suffering from diabetes .Occasionally sharing last bite of food like pasta and spaghetti with a pet is fine, but giving it a complete plate of food laden with rich carbohydrates like pancake with syrup is not advisable.
Care should be taken to ensure that dogs with kidney problems are not fed with high salty diets. Generally it is found that food that is high in salts is laden with high calories and fats; hence the same should be avoided while feeding a pet canine.
Now the question which crops up that what should a pet be fed with?
Just like for humans healthy foods are very good even for dogs. A canine can be fed with fruits as due to their high content of water and fiber. In case any pet owner is hesitant to feed the same to a pet, he can opt for dried fruit. Fresh fruit may sometimes lead to gastrointestinal problems in dogs while dried fruits given in excess quantity to dogs may cause diarrhea in some pets like dogs.
A piece of watermelon given to a pet in the scorching heat of summer would always be welcome with a pet and is not at all harmful. Including fruits in the diet of dogs are one way to increase the intake of water in dogs which are picky drinkers.
Dogs like humans need a proper and balanced diet and transferring all the leftover food onto the plate of a pet animal is not the right way to feed it.
Always feed a new food to your dog in small quantities, maintaining a dairy also helps to know as to what you are feeding the dog whether it is protein, fats or carbohydrates. It is also better to wait for a couple of days after feeding a new food to a pet to see if it is causing a stomach upset.
Last but not the least; it is not considered good manners to feed table scraps to a pet or to make it beg for food. Secondly try to give him extra feeds between meal times in case he is a finicky eater.
Though it is always better to feed dogs only with the food meant for them, taking into account aspects like weight, height and growth. Once in a while indulging them with food meant for humans is not a bad idea as it will help to intensify the bond between the pet dog and its master.
