When you get a dog, you immediately become responsible for its whole life. As the owner, you are the one who needs to make sure that the animal is happy, that it is growing up in a suitable environment, that it is properly socialized and, most of all, that it is perfectly healthy. What do you think plays a role in its healthiness?
Of course, there are a lot of factors that will affect the health of your pet, but some are certainly higher on the list of top priority. For example, your dog’s diet is one of those things that plays a huge role in the overall health of your pet, meaning that you should do your best to make sure that what the animal is eating is actually good for it. This is why you need to get properly informed about what it is that canines can and cannot eat before you start feeding it just anything.
Now, when you start talking to people about what your pets should and shouldn’t eat, you are bound to get a few contradicting opinions. There are some ingredients that most owners agree about, but then there are also some that people have different opinions about. This can lead to you getting highly confused and being unable to decide what you should give to your pet and what you shouldn’t.
Well, first of all, I’d advise you to speak to a veterinarian rather than participate in those conversations filled with contradicting views. These are the professionals that will be able to tell you everything you need to know regarding the food that your dog should or shouldn’t eat. So make sure to speak with them instead of making your own decisions and basing them solely on the opinions of other people.
Of course, you cannot actually call your veterinarian every single time you want to feed your canine, which is why it is of utmost importance for you to actually learn what it is that these animals can and cannot eat and remember what you have learned. Well, that’s exactly what we are going to do today. In other words, if you keep on reading, you will learn about some foods that your dogs can eat, as well as about certain ingredients that it should never eat. So, let’s get started.
What Your Dog Can Eat
The safest option is, of course, to give your canine dog food instead of human food. I suppose that you already knew that, since it’s not exactly new information. Yet, the point is that you will also have to be careful when choosing these particular products. On top of that, you might have a fussy pup that doesn’t want to consume just anything you give it, which means that you might want to find some dog food for picky eaters, because those types of products are usually of exquisite quality and no canine will be able to resist them.
That, however, isn’t the only thing I had in mind when I mentioned that you will have to be careful when choosing these specific products. The bottom line is that you should always go for high-quality dog food sold by reputable and amazing brands. This means that you should check brand reputation among other things and try to find at least a few product reviews before doing the shopping, so that you can check how satisfied other dog owners actually were with the particular food that they bought.
Apart from dog food, however, canines can in fact eat some human foods as well. Of course, you will have to be rather careful when deciding which ingredients to give them. I assume you understand that dogs cannot eat everything you consume. There are some ingredients that they strictly need to avoid, including chocolate and similar ones. Before we get into the topic of what they should avoid, let us talk about which human foods pups can actually eat.
Some sorts of fruits, such as bananas, blueberries, orange slices and similar, are perfectly healthy for your canines. As for vegetables, your pups can eat celery, carrots, green beans, cucumbers, as well as peas. Lean meat, eggs and white rice are also good for these animals. Make sure, however, that you don’t exaggerate with any of these ingredients. They should be given to your pet in moderation.
What Your Dog Cannot Eat
After figuring out what it is that your canine can eat, now it’s time to have a look at what it is that it cannot eat. Knowing this is extremely important, since you certainly don’t want to give some toxic and harmful ingredients to your pup by accident. I suppose it goes without saying that you only want the best for your pet.
One of the first things you must know is that alcohol is a huge no-no when animals are in question. This is basically common sense, but I still needed to emphasize it, since there might be some odd individuals out there who might find it funny to and amusing to try this out. In addition to that, sweets like chocolates and candy bars are definitely not good for animals. Those are some of the more obvious ingredients that I believe you already knew were harmful for dogs.
Let’s take a look at some of the less obvious things. Onions and garlic, for example, are not safe for your canines. Those ingredients can actually cause poisoning. Caffeine, milk and dairy products are also not suitable for animals, since those can cause allergies.
Now, if you are one of those who think that raw diets are good for your pups, here’s what you should know. Veterinarians agree that giving your pets raw eggs is actually not a good idea. Among other things, it can cause salmonella or E. coli. So, it would be much better to avoid those.
