Is it ok to serve human food to dogs

[eRobin]

I know there’s a number of things dogs can’t have and to beware of stock and things in sauces, but is it healthier for them to have mini versions of what I’m having? Could I give them a mini fish pie? Is there a cook book for dogs?

Why would you need to do this?
My dog gets good quality raw meat only and the only thing he gets that we also eat is the odd bit of raw veg such as any left over bits of carrot or broccoli when we are cooking

My dog isn't much of a chef, and I don't think he can read very well.
He'd struggle to reach the cooker.

You could try Huge Furry-Waggytail's books.

Mine is far too lazy to cook. If it's not chasing the rather suicidal squirrel that's taken up residence in the garden, sniffing lampposts, eating meals that her staff have provided it snoozing it simply isn't a priority for her.

I don't think she would be able to reach the knobs on the cooker either

Yes there are cook books for dogs, and yes of course you could prepare healthy home made meals for your dogs but a hint ... they eat everything pretty much and would be quite happy with a mid ranged dried with perhaps a sachet of wet food in gravy or human food scraps as a treat some evenings. They really don't care if they have the same "flavour" every day either. My ddogs favourite food was trout and potato dried from the local pet shop, £14 for a months worth (7kg)

We pretty much only ever fed our old dog leftovers from what we'd had, didn't buy dog food for her ever in all her 16 years.

Current one is a delicate little princess and can only eat special diet (aka expensive as fook) grain free dog food 😂

I think as long as you are careful with things that can be "poisonous" to dogs and you make sure the dog is getting a good balance of protein, fats, fiber etc same as you would a person then there's no issue!

Cut down on seasoning especially salt. Years ago most dogs lived on scraps before actual dog food became common. Dog food may look nasty but it should be balanced for what dogs need.

at first I gave her regular dog food now a more expensive brand of fresh food which is supposed to be really good for her and has different flavours but it doesn’t look that appetising, it all just looks the same. And it may actually be healthier and cheaper to just make an extra portion of whatever I’m having. But I wasn’t sure if there’s something special that I don’t know about that’s in dog food that they need and can’t get from human food.

I raw fed mine with human grade meat and organs in a carefully balanced blend.

However dog food is a recent invention. Dogs used to eat leftovers. Bear in mind food was probably plainer- so leftover cooked veg and meat scraps.

Lily’s Kitchen looks nice - That’s what mine eats, with occasional human grade chicken and beef- organic as a treat.
blueberries , bits of apple and carrot 🥕

Errr ... well, I'm pretty old, but - our dogs ( and cats) ate the family leftovers.
They lived. Thrived even.

Mine really likes human food. He's not read the dog manual and will eat anything

Not if it's seasoned - dogs shouldn't get any salt (very bad for their kidneys), or pepper, or any of our seasonings really. Also, you have to be careful not to feed your dog anything that could be poisonous to them (lots of foods that are completely fine for us, like grapes or garlic, are poisonous for dogs). You would also have to provide your dog with some extra nutrients, because cooked food doesn't have that many and dogs have different nutritional needs than us humans.
So in short: yes, you can cook for your dog, but you shouldn't just give them a smaller portion of whatever you are eating, and you should probably educate yourself about their nutritional needs and how to supplement the food you're making.

Edited to add: I pre-cook for my dogs once a month (one of them has a very sensible stomach, and it's easier if they both get the same food) and freeze their food in portions. But I have informed myself about it and consulted a dog nutritionist, so I know that they are getting everything they need. A dog should never just eat human food, it makes them sick.

Better to get a decent balanced dog food. We have a spicy goulash tonight with fried potatoes. Neither good for our dogs.

The science has evolved and now we know better, so why would anyone continue to do that?

My dog lacks the opposable thumbs for cooking. His knife skills are atrocious.

Goodness I'm not going to start cooking for my pets! I mean if you want to there's a number of dog cookbooks on Amazon.

There are about 1,700 dog taste buds on the average canine's tongue, compared to around 9,000 taste buds on a human's tongue. A dogs' sense of taste is not as defined as our own, they are perfectly fine eating food that "doesn't look appetising" to you. And yes, good dog food has some added nutrients that can't be gotten from human food, so you need to supplement it or BARF.

While I get that it's tempting to just cook them an extra portion, do you know enough about canine nutrition and what is and isn't safe for them to eat?

There are a surprisingly large amount of foods that dogs shouldn't eat - while many are okay in very small doses (ie, a dog having a little bit as a one-off shouldn't be a problem), if you give them those foods on a regular basis, it can cause kidney damage or even kidney failure.

There are also certain vitamins and minerals that dogs need to have in their diets, which is why you need to make sure they're fed "complete" foods and not just complimentary ones.

That said, if you're willing to do all the research and put all the work in, a dog can thrive on a homemade diet, but it's not cheap and many dogs will just as happily eat bog standard dog food.

Years ago most dogs were fed on the scraps. The dog we had in the 1960's was. He'd have the leftovers of our dinner with a bit more added if that wasn't enough. People (specially country folk like us) didn't buy tinned dog food. He was never ill and lived to a good age.

@eRobin ive actually come across a few ‘recipes’ for dog food in the slow cooker. Because yes it’s cheaper than bought food.

Having said that left over are good too.

@coffeesaveslives im finding the idea that of you want to ‘cook’ fir your dog you need an in depth knowledge of what they should eat, vitamins etc… a bit baffling.

Because I’m sure that very few people do that work to feed themselves.

I was looking after someomes dog for the day and I asked where the food was (didn't have our own DDog at that point) and she said just to feed it whatever we were having. I said that wouldn't work as we were having a curry and she said that would be fine. I actually went and got it some food

My dog loves scrambled eggs. I cook my 2 cats a chicken breast on a Sunday and they have half each.

Dogs don't eat with their eyes, so it doesn't matter what it looks like to you. The important bit is balanced nutrition.

Everyone will say, 'but my dog had scraps and lived to be 18' or whatever. The exception does not prove the rule. On average, dogs live longer and have fewer health problems when fed appropriately.

It's not really that baffling - allergies aside, all the food available in supermarkets is safe for us to eat, so there's no need for us to sit there and research whether we're allowed to safely eat certain things or whether they'll give us kidney failure if we eat too much in one go.

But, what's safe for us isn't necessarily what's safe or appropriate for dogs - there are a surprisingly large number of foods that are unsafe for dogs and that can make them sick over a period of time - onions, garlic and salt are just three off the top of my head, but there are lots more.

I also never said you need an in depth knowledge, but you do need to be aware of what you're feeding and whether it's actually safe for your dog to eat it on a long-term basis.