Who Said You Shouldn’t Feed A Dog Human Food?
Copyright 2006 by Karyn Garvin

Variety is the spice of life. When it comes to good nutrition, no one describes a need for variety better than Gwen Shamblin, who has her master’s degree in nutrition and is also a registered dietitian. In a taped series entitled, “Rising Above The Magnetic Pull of the Refrigerator,” she takes the listener through a mind exercise. The exercise begins by having you first imagine your favorite food. Let’s say it’s pizza. Great. Guess what you get for dinner tonight? Pizza. Guess what you get for breakfast tomorrow? Pizza. Guess what you get for lunch tomorrow? Pizza. You would soon dread eating pizza. She points out that people are biologically repulsed by a lack of variety. This biological feedback ensures that you get a variety of foods, which, in turn, prevents a malnourish syndrome.

Ethology is the scientific and objective study of animal behavior. Domesticated dogs developed from wolves that somehow became accustomed to living among people. If you examine a wolf’s diet, you would find that it consisted of a variety of foods. They do not select one source of food and eat that same source day after day. They naturally put variety into their diet. Most dogs also like variety. While a particular dog food given day after day may be a well-balanced meal, it does not offer the dog the variety it seeks. If a dog is not given variety in its diet, it may lead to syndromes which can be life threatening.

I can tell you as a behavior specialist that 99% of the time when a client complains about their dog eating rocks, which is a life threatening condition, that dog is on a strictly dry dog food diet and there is little, if any, variety given. Often when the dog’s diet is modified with a variety of foods, the rock-eating syndrome will clear up immediately. In cases where the dog has been eating rocks for a long period of time, it becomes more complicated, and adding variety to the diet may be only part of the cure.

People who believe the old adage “Don’t give a dog human food,” are usually just trying to do what they have been told is best for their dog. Many dog owners intuitively want to add variety to their dog’s diet but they feel guilty about doing so. If you are one of those people, follow your intuition.

There are behavior problems that some professionals believe are the result of feeding a dog some of the same food that the owner eats. One of these problems is the dog begging for food at the owner’s mealtimes. However, there are just as many dogs that have never been given variety in their diet begging for food. A dog’s desire to eat, along with their sense of sight and smell, will bring them to your side when you’re eating regardless of whether or not you have ever shared your food. If this is a concern for you, here are some solutions:

a. Feed your dog it’s meal, prior to feeding yourself. If the dog is full it will be less motivated to beg.

b. Never reward your dog for begging by feeding it your food when you are eating.

c. Teach your dog an alternative behavior such as to lay and stay during your mealtime

d. Remove the dog from the environment and the temptation.

Professionals also suggest that a dog’s obesity can discourage a dog owner from giving it variety. The true cause of obesity is overindulgence and lack of exercise. This can happen with any food. If your dog is obsessive about eating and has a tendency to overeat, you should control the quantity. It is best to feed your dog smaller amounts at least twice a day than a large amount once a day.

I will not advise you on the best food to feed your dog. Dogs have special needs, and some need special diets. The point of this article is to stress that dogs need and like variety. Humans have been provided with a bountiful variety of foods. Surely this bounty was meant to be shared by all of God’s creatures. Enjoy life!

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