"Are you gonna finish that?" Should we feed our dogs people food?

Now there are two types of people in this world: Those who don't  feed their dogs people food and then those who do. Growing up, we had a Yorkie we never fed people food to. Maybe it was just because he was so small and low to the ground, but he never seemed to beg, either. Even when we would try to give him some he turned his nose up to it. So when we got Kyzer, we made the decision that we were not going to feed Kyzer people food, either. My boyfriend had two big yellow labs at the time, and whenever we would eat dinner they would stand inches from us and would not budge until we were done eating. I did not want to have a dog do the same thing.

The first couple of weeks we had Kyzer we stayed with him at my parents' house. Every time we ate he would either frolic around or (rarely) sleep. We thought we were in the clear of having a dog beg for food. We were wrong.

The week before spring semester started we brought Kyzer to Lincoln where he would be living with my boyfriend and his roommates. After a long, wintery day we decided that nothing could make the night better than buying Cane's. My boyfriend didn't have a kitchen table, either, so we put up a gate to keep Kyzer in the living room with us and we ate our dinner sitting on the sofa. We weren't prepared for what would happen next.

Our cute, quiet little puppy suddenly became a rabid animal. He started chirping and squawking like a hungry, little bird, jumping at us on the couch. (He was not even a foot tall yet, so he had no chance of making it on the couch.) No matter what we did to try to soothe him, his gaze would not leave the sight of Cane's and he was doing everything in his power to get it. We were in shock! Kyzer had never had any people food before, but for some reason he was acting like he was entitled to what we were eating. (But let's be honest. Who WOULDN'T try everything in their power to get a bite of Cane's?)

The point of this story is that even if you try to never give your dog people food to try and prevent begging, guess what. If your dog is always as hungry as mine is, he KNOWS what food is and will want to try and convince you to give it to him. Lucky for us, Kyzer at least is a quiet begger now. He just sits a few steps away and stares at us until we finish eating.

I think when I took this picture I was actually eat Cane's, so that is what Kyzer's gaze is locked on.

So my stance on giving people food to dogs is if you can avoid it, I would. If your dog never takes a natural interest in it, take advantage of it. But if your dog is like Kyzer, sometimes those puppy eyes can easily convince. If Kyzer is being exceptionally good, sometimes I'm okay with giving him meat (take off the breading if there is any), cheese (but only tiny doses because too much can mess up their stomach), or carrots/apples or other foods that are actually good for dogs. Meats are at least natural for dogs since they are carnivores, so I'm usually pretty lenient about giving Kyzer meat. But one thing to remember is that even if your dog does always beg from day one, if you give in to their begging, their begging is likely to get worse. But, like for most things, before you EVER feed your dog human food, make sure to do your research. Because some foods that you might find to be innocent can be fatal for dogs, such as grapes/raisins, and onions. 

Now, the only thing I OCCASIONALLY give Kyzer that is contrary to the above paragraph is....ice cream. Kyzer LOVES ice cream. Now when I say I give him ice cream, I mean we'll sometimes go to Dairy Queen and buy Kyzer a pup cup (it's just plain vanilla in a small cup). Now Kyzer gets this treat only every few months, but it makes him so happy. And after a long, summer day, if we eat ice cream to cool off shouldn't we let our dog who's covered in a thick coat have the same luxury?

So whatever you decide your stance is, just remember that most dogs do in fact beg. And also remember that if you are super relaxed about feeding your dog human food, 1) do your research to make sure that they are okay to eat it, and 2) whatever you give them make it reasonable. I don't think dogs need to eat popcorn or potato chips. Dogs have sensitive stomachs so too much people food at once (even if its all meat) can upset their stomachs because it tends to be too rich. 

~Kathryn and Kyzer

P.S. Speaking of ice cream, in my next post I'll illustrate to you the love Kyzer has for ice cream. Let me tell you, it's honestly the weirdest thing.