Seeing the sad, pathetic, yet adorable eyes of the family dog painfully watch every bite its master takes at the kitchen table can be heart-wrenching, but beware those lovable eyes! Feeding a dog "people food" or table food can create lasting health problems, bad habits, vet bills and household messes.
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Table Foods
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While a person may enjoy a chocolate bar or a glass of milk, many table foods can seriously harm a dog. Caffeine-rich foods like chocolate, tea or soda can affect a canine's heart. Grapes and raisins can affect the kidneys while raw eggs can lead to skin and coat problems. Some adult dogs lack lactose enzymes, preventing them from digesting milk and leading to diarrhea. Yeast breads, a staple for table foods, can produce excess gas in the digestive track, possibly rupturing the stomach or intestines.
Digestion
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Digestive differences between dogs and humans make many safe and delicious people foods dangerous for canines. Caffeine, for example, can give humans a rush of energy and then a slight headache as the caffeine high drops, but in dogs, caffeine can cause a canine heart to beat too quickly or irregularly, creating seriously heart problems.
Effects
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Feeding a dog table scraps can lead to flatulence, or gas, from the combination of different foods. If a dog eats a food he is unable to digest, the dog may experience diarrhea or vomiting, a reaction no owner wants inside the home. Small chicken or fish bones can also be swallowed, and their sharp points can easily cause damage in the soft membranes of a dog's digestive track. In addition, veterinary bills can start piling up if the family dog has a reaction to any of the digested table scraps.
Habits
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Offering table scraps to a family dog can lead to embarrassing and frustrating habits. If a family dog becomes used to eating people food from the table, the dog may take to begging ore frequently or lying under the table during meals. Even worst, the dog may attempt to steal food from the table. This behavior makes it difficult to entertain guests or hold outdoor picnics.
Nutrition
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Along with digestive problems and creating bad behavior and dining habits, table scraps lack the necessary nutrition for dogs, especially for active or growing canines. Table food should never make up more than 10 percent of a dog's daily diet. Providing a dog with an unhealthy diet that lacks in nutrition-rich foods can cause additional health and growth problems in the future. For inactive dogs, obesity is also a major problem. Fatty table scraps can compound a dog's obesity issues.
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