If Banjo could speak I think our conversations would go something like this:

“Oh, A tomato!” he would exclaim eyeing it sitting on the counter.

“I love tomatoes, What is a tomato? You should give me one!”

I would respond with something like “Can dogs even have tomatoes? Let me check.”

“Nope dogs shouldn’t eat tomatoes because the acid will upset their stomachs. How about a few blueberries  instead?

“Yes, I love blueberries, what is a blueberry?”

Then I would give him blueberries and he would understand why he couldn’t have a tomato. I wouldn’t have to say no to his adorable face and all would be well.

You can’t actually have this conversation with a dog, but you can compromise instead of giving Fido something that is potentially harmful, give him a yummy and healthy snack.

The most important part of feeding a dog table scraps is knowing what is safe for dogs.  and what is not. I usually do a quick search online before giving dogs any new food.

Foods that are generally considered safe for dogs

Banana’s

Greenbeans

oatmeal

Yogurt (No artificial sweeteners!)

Apples

Pineapple (Is actually supposed to help solve problems for dogs who like to eat their own poop)

Strawberries

Cooked Salmon

Cooked chicken

K9xoxo’s Treat page has some great dog safe snacks recipes.

Controversial Foods

Dog Bagels probably are not the healthiest but they are good!

Peanut Butter: Peanut Butter is Mugsy’s favorite snack, but it is high in fat and the ingredient Xytol is controversial because it may be harmful to dogs. I Limit Mugsy’s peanut butter intake, though I do use it in high value biscuits and the empty peanut jar is a great bath time tool.

Cheese: Not great for humans high in fat, and some dogs might be lactose intolerant. I was against giving Mugsy cheese until my trainer at puppy class used it as motivation and Boy is it good motivation! If his recall ever fails, I might just try shouting cheese and see what happens…

Bread: Bread is a filler and will expand the dogs stomaches with out giving the dog the high amounts of protein it needs. Very occasionally Mugsy gets a hard earned bit of bread.

Avocado: Avocado is often stated as straight up toxic to dogs due to the toxin called persin, That being said certain commercial manufactures claim that persin isn’t in a high enough quantity in the part of the avocado used in the foods to harm dogs. Mugsy’s food doesn’t contain avocado, but I did consider one that did after reading the company’s claims that avocado would make a softer shinier coat.

Whipped cream: Have you ever ordered your pup a puppicino at Starbucks? It’s just a small cup of whipped cream. There is nothing healthy about that, but we still do it and I haven’t seen any disastrous results from an ocasional puppicino. It’s diary so it would be discouraged for the same reason cheese is.

Foods To Never Share with your Dog

Mugsy at Bisbee Coffee Co.

Grapes: Don’t feed dogs grapes

Limes: All those adorable video’s of dogs experiencing lime for the fist time, well there reaction might be because lemons and limes are toxic to dogs. They instinctually don’t like it. RSPCA issued a warning asking members of the public not to participate in the trend of giving dogs limes, and lemons and videoing the result.

Chocolate: I adore dark chocolate the darker the better! For dogs it is the opposite Chocolate is harmful and the darker the chocolate the more harmful to dogs it is.

Coffee I can’t imagine the energizer bunny a good cup of coffee would create, plus caffeine is also just not healthy for dogs.

This is by no means a complete list of safe, dangerous or controversial human foods for canine it is designed merely as a starting guide. I am not a vet, I get my information by performing google searches. if there is ever a food you are uncertain about ask your vet, or search it on google.

The last thing any pet parents wants to do is shorten the life of a beloved fur child, yet sharing a good snack with those pleading puppy eyes is just too tempting. So if you’re like me and you enjoy giving your buddy yummy snacks, just make sure those yummy snacks are healthy or at the very least not toxic to your dog.

What is your favorite snack to share with your pup?