Do you give your doodle human junk food?

[Sabrina and Bentley]

Ok, so Bentley is my first dog and my fiance (Allen) and I have had him for almost 6 months now.  I don't know anything about raising a dog so I turned to the internet to learn alot about what to feed him, how to train him, etc.  I took alot of pride in learning what I could to give Bentley the best life possible.  Allen has grown up with dogs (St Bernards and Great Danes) his entire life, so he has his own opinion on how to raise a dog, what to feed them, etc.  so that's the backstory. 

My question is, do you give your dog your junk food as a  treat every once in awhile?  I give him fruit, veggies and meat as treats sometimes.  Allen on the other hand gives him tortilla chips, the cookie part of an oreo, pieces of a muffin or cupcake, pretty much any sweet that he's eating because he's a sweets junkie.  Granted this is maybe every other day and it's only one piece, but when he does this, it's like nails on a chalkboard. Smoke starts coming out of my ear.  I'd say I don't know why it bothers me so much, but I think a part of it is so frustrating because I take care of Bentley 90% of the time.  I trained him to sit, stay, come.  I trained him to not play with his toys on the couch.  He's in puppy training right now because I've been unsuccessful with him jumping on people and pulling on his leash.  I work from home, so I play with him during the day.  He gets three walks during my work hours and Allen walks him before bed.  So I feel like Allen gets to benefit from all of my hard work with Bentley while he does nothing but play with him and give him junk food. Not to mention he doesn't discipline when he jumops on people because he thinks that's what dogs do.  We are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to raising Bentley which makes me translate to how it will be raising kids with him.  LOL!!  I laugh, but it's true.

I could totally be overanalyzing this, but I haven't let up and he doesn't plan to stop, so I figured I'd reach out to you guys for your opinion.  Do you think I'm being way too anal?  Bentley has never gotten sick from any of this, but I look at the long term and wonder if/how this will affect him.  This is free therapy, so thank you in advance!!!  :-)

[F, Calla & Luca]

My dogs take treats very gently and I see no harm in the right treats at the right time. Just my thinking. Life is short, especially for a dog.

[Pat and Traveler]

With you on this one, F.  Trav takes treats very gently too, and I can see no reason not to provide an occasional treat.

[Suzanne & Jack]

Definitely does not take long to learn who the pushover is.  DH can't eat anything without all 3 boys sitting at his feet.  Me I can sit on the couch with a sandwich and not be bothered.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Sabrina, I don't think you are over analyzing this at all. It is an important topic and is actually more of a relationship issue than a "what to feed the dog" issue. It sounds like you have really done your homework when it comes to properly caring for Bentley. It would be great of you two could work as a team to accomplish what is in Bentley's best interest because as you know he is completely dependent on you for that.

My DH is more lax in the training department too and from time to time I sit down with him and explain my goals for Tara and  why I think they are important and how our doing things differently is confusing for her and setting her up for failure. Example when you correct for jumping and he doesn't.Consistency is very important in successful dog training.

Although Allen grew up with dogs there are many different schools of thought as to how dogs fit into a family and how they should be cared for.  It is important for all family members to agree on these things for the sake of the dog.

I agree with what others have said about Bentley being at risk for health issues eating human junk food and it is just not a good idea. Tara does not eat any human junk food. She does eat healthy human food as treats and for training.

Good luck!

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

I absolutely do not give my doodles any junk food what so ever.  I never have given past or current dogs food from the table or anything that I am eating.. it just turns the dogs into beggers.  When I have family or friends over for dinner neither of my doodles bother anyone at the table or if you are standing in the kitchen eating a snack  etc. my doodles never bother you for food because they have never gotten food that way.  Prime example... my Mom passed away, my sis took her dog, Suki (Shih Tzu) was a very well mannerd dog, did not beg for food or anything.  Once Suki moved in with my sis my BIL would feed Suki from the table, only llittle scraps of what ever they were eating. This turned Suki into a big time begger, when company would be over or I was over for dinner we would all be sitting at the table and Suki would constantly bark for food, you could not even have a conversation.  Same with my BFF, she would bring her dog to her BF's house when they would have dinner, he would give Rosie bits of food, then everytime my BFF would have dinner or company Rosie would beg, and annoy everyone for food.  When family or friends are over my house I immediately say "Please do not feed my doodles anything" they get their dinner from the bowl in the kitchen.  I am so proud of my two when I have company over, they just lay right next to me and sleep on the floor.   Plus, human junk food is not good for dogs anyway, it has no nutritional value what so ever.  Plus all the sugar is a no-no in my book.  I think your BF is in the process of creating a monster with food - just my opinion.   Its difficult when you are trying to raise a dog and you both are not on the same page.

 

I have a situation with my BF that he does not mind when Oliver jumps on him, I am constantly saying push him down, don't let him jump on you!!!  He is like.... "oh its ok I don't mind" and I say well I mind !!!!  I don't want Oliver jumping on anyone, he is a big dog and can knock a child or older person down.   Arrrrghhhh they just don't get it.  My BF understands where I am coming from but really does not correct Oliver... I think he just does not want to be the bad guy. 

 

I don't think you are overanalyzing this at all, I think you are 100% correct.   Keep up the good work and don't give up on Bentley (he is so cute).   Good luck !!!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Good words of advise already. My two cents is this......we've been married 40 yrs, had two children and I was the disciplinarian, dad was the "go-to" guy or "mr. nice Guy" their whole lives....fast forward 37 yrs later, we have two dogs.....I am STILL the disciplinarian and he is STILL the "go-to" guy and Mr. nice Guy". It's time to have THE TALK before kids. Not after. I didn't know any different with the kids, but with the dogs I do speak up and DH has respected my wishes for most things, but not all. I just choose my battles. And our dogs get human food all the time as I home cook and raw feed. They lay down by us at dinner, politely and if they even look like they are begging they are removed from the area. All human foods are fed in their bowls or outside in the yard, like marrow bones.
We also have a toddler grandson, and they know to back away from him when he's running around with food. Although they are forever waiting for the tidbits to fall and the "OK" from me to go get it.
Junk food occasionally doesnt bother me so much as my two have great diets, and I always remind myself that if left to their own devises they'd be eating rotting garbage, so how bad can a pretzel be once in awhile? But Im sure dogs can and do develop allergies to foods that should be avoided. (ps. I am aware that dogs eating garbage can be a health hazard and am not recommending or suggesting it, just noting.)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Good point about your grandson running around with food, Sue. A dog who regularly gets to share snacks from an adult's hand while the adult is eating them is not going to understand that that's not allowed when it's a toddler who's holding the pretzels. Pretzel or cookie in toddler's hand, dog goes for food, food is close to toddler's mouth...it doesn't take much imagination to see a child's face unintentionally but badly bitten.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

After just going through an episode of Pancreatitis with one of my Doodles, I have to say that giving a dog "people food" (other than very lean meats, fruits, veggies, rice, or low fat yogurt) would scare me to death.  My Vet mentioned to me that this disease is happening more frequently, and it is usually traced back to well intentioned people giving their dogs "people food".  That wasn't the case with my dog, but apparently it is very often the cause.  We almost lost our Doodle, and the Vet bill is over $3000.  If your fiance is not willing to listen to you, I'd suggest you take him with you to the Vet and have him hear what he/she has to say when you ask about how wise it is to feed a dog oreos, cupcakes, etc.  I'm thinking your Vet will be pretty clear about the dangers of this.  Hopefully Allen will feel like the Vet has more credibility and will listen.  I really hope for Bentley's sake that the two of you can get back "on the same page".  Good luck!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Another good point. Cupcakes, cookies, chips, etc. are loaded with fat, and too much fat can cause an episode of pancreatitis.That's the number one cause.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Our Lab, Hershey, drove us nuts with her begging. I vowed with Fudge and Vern that we would never feed them from the table or let them beg. We have kept to that rule. I do give them peanut butter, sweet potatoes, banana, & green beans, once in awhile, but I always add it to their food in their food dish.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Luna's "human food" treats consist of fruit, veggies, peanut butter (in her kong when we leave) and occasionally (maybe once a month) small pieces of meat.  The fruit, veggies and meat are ALWAYS given in her bowl.

We have let her try a tiny bit of a few "junk" things.  She tried a piece of shortbread cookie once - you would think we had just given her the best thing EVER!  These "special" junk treats are a very rare thing though - she's tried maybe (in total in her whole life) 1 cookie and a small handful of chips :p

You have to use caution even with fruits and veggies though - Luna once got ahold of a small piece of some sort of green from a Spring mix salad (it fell on the floor) and had a bad allergic reaction!  (puffy face for about 12 hours)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Don't be sorry, Roberta. I feel the same way.