My dog eats the healthy food I give him, but he loves table food…especially stew. Can I switch up a meal or two each week, and is it ok for our dogs? They say it’s best to switch up our own diets – could it be true for our dogs as well?

Feeding our pets “table scraps” is not a bad thing. In fact, I encourage it to some extent. Most people shy away from it because they’ve been told it’s harmful, they’re afraid of making their dogs start begging or they’re afraid of excessive weight gain. Before the early to late 60‘s commercial dog food didn’t exist in most homes. Therefore leftovers and table scraps were used to feed our pets.

I personally feed my two pups leftovers a few times a week. However, I would like to warn you that foods which contain heavy amounts of sugars and salt are not what I call “healthy leftovers”. Pretzels, chips, doughnuts and other similar snacks are not part of my encourage “table scrap list”.

When you feed table scraps, just remember to reduce the amount of commercial dog food so you are not adding on extra calories. I’m sure your dog won’t mind if his meal was light that evening if the delicious leftovers were involved. He’ll just be happy to enjoy a nice home cooked meal.

Be aware if your dog is sensitive to certain foods, you don’t want to clean up loose stool just because of a yummy table scrap meal. I personally know my dogs are sensitive to steak or hamburger meat so when I do give them some I give very little of the meat and more of the rice, noodles or veggies.

Variety for your dog’s diet is good for them. Balance is achieved over time, and by offering different proteins and a wide spectrum of nutrients through the addition of healthy leftovers your dog will certainly thrive.