Most people are aware that they shouldn’t feed their dogs certain foods, such as onions, chocolate, raisins, and grapes. But people are often curious about what it’s safe to feed their dogs. What human foods can dogs have? You’d probably be surprised! Dogs can eat a lot of the same healthy foods that you eat.
Safe Human Foods for Dogs
Meats
Biologically, dogs are carnivores, so it’s fine to give your dog meat protein from good animal sources. That means you can give your dog some chicken, beef, lamb, pork, turkey, or meat from other kinds of animals. If you’re cooking these meats for yourself, it’s okay to set aside a portion for your dog. Most dogs prefer their meat plain, so leave off the seasoning and sauces. Your dog may turn up his nose if you cover a piece of steak in steak sauce, especially spicy sauces. If you have a small dog, it’s a good idea to cut the meat into small pieces first. Many dogs will wolf down meat when it’s offered (pun intended), so cutting it into smaller pieces reduces the chance that they’ll choke.
Vegetables
Wolves and dogs in the wild don’t necessarily eat a lot of vegetables, but many pet dogs like them, and most are perfectly safe to give to your dog. Wolves and feral dogs do consume vegetable matter when they eat the stomach and intestinal contents of their prey, so it does form part of their diet in the wild. Many dogs like broccoli, carrots, green beans, cauliflower, zucchini, squash, and other veggies. It’s fine to give small pieces of these vegetables as treats – they are crunchy, and lots of dogs like them raw. However, if you want your dog to get any nutrition from them, they need to be pureed or broken down. Putting them in a food processor for a minute and/or cooking them for a few minutes will allow your dog to get more nutrition. Just remember that dogs should not eat onions and should only have garlic in small amounts.
Eggs and Dairy
When it comes to what human foods dogs can have, eggs are great! Many dog foods include eggs in their ingredients. Dogs can easily digest eggs and get lots of protein from them. While egg whites contain enzyme inhibitors and a substance called avidin (a Biotin inhibitor), Biotin deficiencies are very rare. Your dog would have to eat a large amount of egg whites to have a Biotin deficiency. Additionally, egg yolks are rich in Biotin, so feeding the whole egg balances it out. As long as you cook the eggs, these inhibitors will be neutralized. It’s perfectly fine to give your dog some scrambled eggs or eggs cooked in other ways a couple of times per week.
You can also give your dog other dairy products. Some dogs are lactose intolerant, so it’s usually not a good idea to give your dog milk, but there are still plenty of other dairy products that are safe. For example, you can add a little yogurt to your dog’s diet. A cup of low-fat yogurt has half the lactose of a cup of whole milk, and most dogs have no issues with yogurt. It’s also a good probiotic that aids digestion. A half-cup of cottage cheese has even less lactose. You can also give your dog American cheese, Swiss cheese, or Cheddar cheese as they contain very little lactose.
Peanut Butter and Nuts
Peanut butter is often mistakenly thought of as being made from a nut, but peanuts are actually legumes. It grows from a plant. Peanut butter is a great favorite with dogs, and it’s perfectly safe to give your dog peanut butter, peanut butter cookies, and peanut butter dog treats.
Many nuts are also safe for your dog, but some are not. Almonds are fine, and you’ll find many dog food treats made from almond flour. However, macadamia nuts are NOT safe for dogs as they contain a toxin that is dangerous to dogs. While some walnuts are toxic to horses, there is no evidence that they are toxic to dogs. However, dogs can choke on large nuts in the yard, though this is not the same as toxicity.
There are other foods you could give your dog, but they probably aren’t very healthy. For example, it won’t hurt your dog to eat pasta or bread, but these foods aren’t great for his waistline.
You may wonder if you should cook these human foods or give them to your dog raw. That’s really up to you. Those who prefer a raw diet claim that cooking food can reduce some of its nutritional value, and that’s true. However, raw foods also carry more risks associated with Salmonella – mainly for you, rather than your dog. Dogs have strong stomach acids and are usually capable of coping with Salmonella, but people who handle raw food can spread bacteria to other foods and people. So, cooking food is generally safer when humans are involved in its preparation.
No matter how you choose to prepare your dog’s food, there are plenty of human foods that you can safely share with your dog.
