Table Scraps

Most folks today don't remember a time when there was no commercial dog food. In those days, your dog subsisted nicely on the same diet you had. Table scraps and left-overs were the rule for most. Oh, of course there were those wealthy folk wha bought nothing but filet mignon for their pampered dogs, but that was not the rule.

Dogs seemed as healthy back then as now.

My five GSDs were fed both table scraps and commercial food. All lived the "normal" number of years - 13 - then stolen. 12- hip dysplasia. 5 - killed by a car. 10 - kidney failure due to lead poisoning from buckshot years earlier. 12 - Thor succumbed to spiral cell cancer. And lovely Lady is an overwaeight, arthritic, but reasonably happy 15.

I am not impressed by the claims of the various dog food companies. When you read the labels, the content is nutritionally mighty similar to people food.

Dogs are considered carnivores, but in fact they are, like humans and many other animals, omnivores. (My first GSD, Prince, used to casually stroll through my Mother's Victory Garden (WWII) and carefully select a nice, ripe tomato, then carry it to the shade of a Walnut tree and dine on it. He also peeled the husk and cracked the walnuts that fell on the ground and ate the nutmeats. Thor, Lady's departed "husband", was a true gourmet: very selective about his diet - foods had to be well prepared. Lucky for him my wife is a great cook! Lady, on the other hand, is a gourmand - she'll eat almost anything. Although she did turn her nose up at an offer of a bite of chocolate iced doughnut this afternoon.

Aren't dogs fun?

Hi there and welcome to Dogsey! Yes, I can remember when there was not such an abundance of commercial dog food, and our first dog really ate what we ate, but I have to say that in those days, food was food. What I mean is, it was natural food with no additives, preservatives or colourings. Today we can never really be sure what our food contains even though ingredients may be listed.

Mine get table scraps plus their own food, it just adds a bit more interest and goodness to their usual dried kibble. I remember our very first gsd when I was little, he ate everything we left, plus he had his proper fresh meat from the butchers too, nothing out of a tin or bag in those days for him!

I'm glad you've still got your lovely old lady as you've been quite unlucky with all the others haven't you. I'm on my 7th gsd and 3 of them have lasted up to the ripe old age of 16 too! My current old girl (black one in the pic) is 11 and even that's a good age to be without any major problems I think.

Our first family dog was a poodle cross who never had a scrap of dog food in his life. He ate what we ate for 13 years and that included Cadbury's chocolate fingers that were bought specifically for him. He used to bark at the fridge for them.

I do remember with our first family dog, most was table scraps. I do think this was in the day though when you had proper meals of an evening, ie, meat and two veg etc (not that some people don't still do this )These days, trends have changed to fast meals and junkfood. None of which I would give to my dogs.

Can dogs eat Walnuts??

Walnuts are poisonous to dogs and should be avoided. Walnuts have been proved to cause severe seizures.
As a rule, it is best to avoid feeding any nuts as dogs do not benefit from them. Their high phosphorous content is said to possibly lead to bladder stones.

My GSD, Prince, the dog who husked, cracked, and ate walnuts that had fallen from the tree, lived at least 13 healthy years before he was stolen. All of my dogs have enjoyed nuts. All have been healthy. All have lived a normal life span or longer. Nuff said?

Junk food: pizza: bread, cheese, tomato sauce, sausage. Perfectly acceptable nutrition. Hamburgers: bread, meat, tomato, lettuce, and mayonais (eggs & veg. oil). Quite ordinary nutrition: meat and two vegetables!

The list goes on. Read the ingredients in either the cheapest or most expensive dry dog food!

Now understand that I - we - eat little "junk" food. Being "old fashioned, we dine semi formally on a well balanced diet and exceedingly well prepared cuisine. Last evening's dinner, for example, consisted of roast beef with gravy, mashed potatoes, steamed brussels sprouts al dente, green salad, home made bread w/ butter (not margerine!), and cabernet sauvignon. Lady enjoyed a little of all of it except the lettuce and the wine.

My nan lived to 95, and smoked from when she was thirteen. So does that mean that smoking doesn't have health issues.
NUFF SAID

Some dogs can eat chocolate and not have any side effects but it's generally considered bad for them.

DOBIEGIRL - Read up on it and make your own opinion on Walnuts. I personally would look at the scientific facts and base my decision on that. Personally I wouldn't panick if my dog pinched one and ate it by accident, but I would not actively feed walnuts to dogs.

It has been suggested that I research the toxicity problems of chocolate, walnuts, etc. in dogs. So I followed that suggestion. Here are the results with source credits!



PLANTS TOXIC TO DOGS
College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801

Aconite; Anemone (Windflower); Autumn Crocus; Black Locust; Buttercup; Caladium; Castor Oil Plants (Castor Bean, Palma, Christi, Koli); Cherry trees; Christmas Pepper; Christmas Rose (Hellebore); Clematis (Virgins' Bower); Cycads; Daffodil (Narcissus); Daphne; Delphinium (Larkspur, Staggerweed); Dicerna (Bleeding Heart, Dutchman's Breeches, Squirrel Corn, Turkey Corn); Dieffembachia; Elderberry; Euphorbia (Annual Poinsettia, Mexican fire Plant, Fire-on-the Mountain); Four O'Clocks; Foxglove (Digitalis--pets can be poisoned from drinking vase water of the flower); Garland Flower; Blory Lily; Golden Chain; Holly; Hydrangea; Iris; Indian Spurge Tree; Jack-in-the-Pulpit; Jerusalem Cherry; Jassemine; Lantana Camara (Red Sage); Laurels; Lilac; Lily of the Valley; Marsh Marigold (Cowslip); Matrimoney Vine; Mayapple; Meadow; Saffron; Mistletoe; Monkshood; Mountain Laurel; Mushrooms; Nightshade; Oaks; Oleander; Oxala; Philodendron; Phytolacca; Pine; Poincian (Bird of Paradise); Poison Hemlock; Pothos; Privet; Pyracantha (Firethorn); Rhododendron; Rhubarb; Rosary Pea; Snowdrop; Spring Adonis; Star-of-Bethlehem; Strelitzia; Sweet Pea; Trumpet Flower (Chalice Vine); Water Hemlock; Wisteria; Yellow Oleander; Yew.

Don't give the pooch that piece of milky way...she may love it but her body won't. One of the most common toxicities in animals seen by veterinarians is chocolate toxicity. Chocolate contains the chemical theobromine which is in the same chemical family as caffeine. Chocolate poisoning can occur with as little as a quarter ounce of baking chocolate ingested per pound of body weight. Baking chocolate contains higher amounts of theobromine than other forms of chocolate, but toxicity can occur with any form of chocolate or cocoa.
Signs of theobromine toxicity include vomiting, diarrhea, increased urination, hyperactivity (though some dogs can become lethargic), and rapid heart rate. Progressively, the signs include muscle tremors, seizures, coma, and death.
ONIONS & GARLIC
Mike Richards, DVM

Dogs develop hemolytic anemia if they eat enough onions. I don't think that it matters too much
whether the onions are cooked or not. The quantity of onions required is high enough that dogs can generally tolerate small doses of onions without any problem and moderate amounts of onion without clinically apparent disease, even though there may be measurable changes on lab
test results.


WALNUTS

All the data I have thus far found indicates it is MOLDY WALNUTS that are toxic to dogs. It is a chemical produced by the mold that is the problem.

Grape and raisin poisonings in Dogs
Recently, there was a letter in the AVMA Journal from Dr. Gwaltney-Brant and others at the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center discussing grape and raisin poisoning in dogs. Apparently, grapes and raisins can be toxic to dogs when ingested in large quantities. … worked out to be between 0.41 and 1.1 oz/kg of body weight.



Now, the point is that all are "dose related", meaning the larger the dog, the greater the amount it can ingest without toxicity, and the reverse: the smaller the dog the less it can tolerate

Gee whizz - that's like table salt or water for us. Well tolerated (actually exxential) in moderation, but fatal in excessive amounts.

I have, or have had, most of the plants listed above as toxic to dogs. Funny thing: none of the dogs ever chewed on the pine tree or even the nightshade now growing outside this little office. No, I didn't train them not to - dogs generally have better sense.

Anyway, Lady will continue to enjoy the .3 oz of chocolate she occasionally gets - 75% of the toxic level for that chubby old girl. And she'll continue to enjoy table scraps which often contain onion and garlic. (She dislikes onion, particularly raw. Her "husband", Thor (RIP) loved liver & onions, and refused liver without the onions! Much like his master!) And as we rarely have noldy walnuts in our house, she will continue to enjoy a few walnuts plus the occasional peanut brittle, etc.

I do hope this doesn't upset anyone too much!