Our pets and dogs in particular are part of our family. They join us in our daily activities around the house. Our vacations, our holidays. They become a member of the family. New members of the family have to get along with everyone, including the dog. Meal time is another big part of family and community. I think as humans we want to include all family members into the community and meal times are a great way to do this. We feed our pets all kinds of things we eat to make them feel more a part of the family. Just like humans, dogs cannot eat everything. Either some foods don’t agree with them or some foods just are not good for their health. There are some commonly known human food items that aren’t dog-friendly, chocolate, and grapes. But in most cases, we know of these food items not being suitable for dogs because “everyone knows” these foods are dangerous if not fatal to dogs. We’ll look at what human foods not to feed your dog later. But first, let’s look at the human foods for dogs we do feed them.
What are some human foods for dogs?
In general, I think organic, natural, whole foods like fruits, vegetables, meats, and proteins with a few exceptions, are good for dogs. For example, apples, green beans, blueberries, pumpkin, chicken, cheese, and peanut butter. However, not all dogs are going to like everything. Just like people they have preferences. My first dog ate anything and everything. Of course, he was a dachshund, so a stomach on little legs. If it hit the food, he ate it, edible or not! Everything from meatballs to Crisco! Yes, Crisco shortening. Keep in mind, my first dog took the initiative to help himself to food that he could reach and he made every effort and opportunity to reach everything! The healthier food items I offered him that he ate included: carrots, cucumber, apple, pear, banana, sausage, bacon, celery, tomato, peanut butter, corn, green peppers, cheese, and more. My current dog, a Corgi, is a fussier eater. He wanted to try and get his nose into everything but that doesn’t mean he’ll eat everything. For instance, when I first got him, I tried carrots and celery with him and had no luck. He was very young, and I noticed he didn’t like anything too hard. Even a change in food from what he was eating with the breeder he was fussy about and wouldn’t eat for a couple of days. During these early days with him, I soon noticed that he liked sweet potatoes. I would boil or steam sweet potato, cut it up, and feed him small pieces of sweet potato to him as treats. While he’s older now and I do believe his stomach has settled down, he’s still not a huge fan of hard foods. He will nibble on carrots and celery, even tomato and cucumber but he still very much prefers softer foods.
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