Feeding pup human food?

[m0therofdragons]

Dpup has always been fussy but we found a combo that worked with kibble and tinned cannagan. Suddenly he’s not interested at all so I put some of our food down - turkey and veg, gammon and veg. He loves it and honestly it’s not really more expensive than his dog food and making an extra serving when I’m cooking for 5 is easy, but how do I know I’m getting the balance right for him?

I wouldn’t. But I’m not brave. Maybe just add some cooked veg to his usual puppy food.

When mine was a puppy I needed to know he was getting all the nutrients he needed to grow, especially as he was struggling with a stomach condition and was underweight, so I wanted to rely on complete foods instead of trying to judge what he needed.

Now he is an adult I am more relaxed and he has a combination of cooked human food and wet dog food.

Gammon is a bit heavy on salt to be feeding to a pup is it not?

He’s 6.5 months so maybe I’m getting braver. It was more veg than gammon as I was aware of the salt and wouldn’t give gammon daily. I’m considering trying raw but need to reduce the freezer food to make space. I wondered if it’s a bit like baby food where you are actually better feeding normal food instead of jars?

If you are going to prepare your dog's food then you need to make sure that you are getting the nutritional balance right, not feeding foods that are potentially harmful, nothing too salty etc
You also need to add supplements.
You can't just randomly give them a bit of whatever you are having.
And pork is not really great for dogs, they shouldn't have very much at all and gammon is far too salty.

We have prepared our own raw food and did a huge amount of research and preparation. We now use a complete food but still add a supplement.

Apart from salt, you need to avoid alliums - no onion, garlic or leeks. A small amount may not matter but regularly feeding these to dogs and cats can make them anaemic.

There may be other no-nos, that's just one of the ones I know about.

We feed our dog "human" food but certainly not gammon!

There are plenty of online recipes for making your own dog food but make sure your sticking to their percents of food

3% of their body weight a day I believe as adult dogs

6-10% as puppies

Gammon would worry me because I thought it was high in salt.

I tend to feed mine cooked chicken (he used to struggle with that but much better as an adult), turkey, beef or salmon in addition to his wet food.

Have you tried the fresh dog food? A bit pricey, but possibly not to expensive depending on the size of your dog. They do it in some supermarket pet food aisles- it's refrigerated and complete but fresh.

Do look it up if you're making the dog door yourself- a random bit of what you're having is unlikely to fulfil all their dietary requirements.

Dog food, not door 🤦

I feed human food, chicken thighs or minced beef, occasional chicken liver, whatever vegetables we’re having, sometimes sardines or eggs.
I cook the meat because our cat won’t eat raw meat. Dog also gets raw bones.
This is cheaper than the better commercial foods and I know they aren’t eating junk.

Gammon is probably a bad example as we’ve had that tonight because I won it in a raffle but it’s more than 2 years since we last had that ourselves as dd3 doesn’t eat pork so I rarely cook it. It was just the fact he’s ignored food but cleaned the bowl when it’s not dog food. He liked his dog food a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been on all about dog food and ordered some Luna and Me raw food. I’m not fussed about there cost so long as he eats it. A dog not eating the complete food won’t be getting the nutrients he needs either.

Do they sometimes have less hungry weeks? He’s had monthly vet checks with the puppy plan we pay for so I know he’s perfect health but want to keep him that way. Anything I need to look out for with raw?

Remove the gammon, far too much salt for a dog’s kidneys.

If he likes cooked food, and you aren't keen on raw, I know people rave about Butternut box which is unprocessed cooked meals for dogs. They offer a good sign up and referral bonus so if you are interested in trying, I'm sure someone can offer you a code.

No, I wouldn`t. I have done in the past for one of my fosters with severe issues, on the advice of our brilliant and trusted vet, and together she and I came up with a meal plan. It was a nightmare of epic proportions, but it really was a last resort.

Dog food - good and reputable brands that is - employ PhD qualified veterinary nutritionists, and go through many, many trials in order to make "complete" dog foods.

I have also fed raw, again, under the supervision of our vet, its not just a case of getting some raw meat and putting it in a bowl, there is so much more to it than that.

Thats not to say you cant do it successfully, but please do speak to your vet and come up with a plan

we use butternut box and ours LOVES it as much as he loves sneaking human food. literally drools as I'm putting it out for him.

Judging dog food by an ingredients list (which is how dog food comparison websites come up with their ratings) is full of pitfalls.
This article written by three Professors of Veterinary Medicine who are also Board qualified Veterinary Nutritionists and run a vet clinic explains why:

vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2016/06/why-you-shouldnt-judge-a-pet-food-by-its-ingredient-list/

It is also worth noting that the FDA opened an investigation in 2019 as there is emerging evidence that grain free dog foods can greatly increase the risk of heart disease (dilated cardiomyopathy). Our vet does not recommend grain free dog food, nor do many other vets.
Much more research is required, but its not only that but many dog food companies have lost lawsuits recently for falsifying ingredients lists.

All that said, we all need to weigh up the information and evidence, discuss with you vet and come up with what you think will suit your dog best. It is such a worry, and the difficulty in finding impartial info doesn`t help

butternutbox.com/Laura877
code if you wanted to try it you get 50% off first box and 25% off second.

Our last dog was incredibly fussy as a pup and young dog. DH would sometimes go out specially to buy a rotisserie chicken from Asda.

He (the dog, for clarity) became markedly less fussy after he was neutered.

My dog is incredibly fussy and we’ve tried all sorts over the years including , raw / raw prepared / home cooking but we’ve now had well over a year on small Applaws tins / pouches and Milllies wolfheart kibble ( he’s had that for many years on and off) . The other thing is he won’t eat out of a dog bowl so he has his own human plate . He’s never been particularly food motivated and has periods where he would only eat if someone fed him off a fork .

Our pup is similar age and has become quite fussy in the last few weeks. We’ve started to give him the complete food but add a tiny bit of our food , cooked veg, chicken etc. He seems to eat the whole lot now

Of course, there is the other option.. My cat was incredibly fussy, but became remarkably less so once I stopped pandering to her nonsense and just left her kibble down for her. She eats when she's hungry enough and isn't over or underweight. 🤷

I doubt any dog will actually starve itself.

Most dogs go through a fussy phase at that age.

However I would not go down the road of cooking for my dog! He eats dog food. Yes, he gets some scraps and leftovers but they're in addition to his meals, not instead of them.

When mine was fussy we stopped all treats and human food. He got his two meals a day and if he hadn't eaten after twenty minutes, the bowl was removed and he got nothing until his next meal time. It took about two days of that before he ate properly and now two years later we've never had an issue. We picked a good quality wet and dry food and stuck with it.

Personally I think cooking for your dog can be quite risky unless you're very committed and know what you're doing - you need to make very sure you don't use any ingredients that can harm them and a lot of human food is far too high in fat and salt to be eaten on a regular basis.

At this age many are fussy. It's a teenage thing.

Most grow less fussy again as they mature.

Personally I wouldn't feed like this because of the risk of not getting the right balance of nutrients. Even more so in a young dog that still has some growth (up and out) to do.

Their fussiness now can sometimes have the benefit of keeping them lean - which is perfect for joint health when they are older.

That's not a balanced meal, especially for a puppy. They need the nutrients from a balanced diet to grow and develop. Plus gammon is incredibly salty. Processed meats are very bad for dogs. Your puppy isn't starve himself but you could change his food to another complete brand to see if it helps