WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? People Food vs. Table Food vs. Dog Food by Lesley Shade, VSA-CDT
What’s the difference between “People Food”, “Table Food” and “Dog Food”?
If you ask a dog trainer, they’d say that the most important difference is the location of the food.
The statement that we often hear from clients is "I don't want to give my dog people food.”
The intent behind that statement reveals the true dilemma. Although some clients site concerns about their dog becoming overweight, most clients tell us that they don't want to give their dog 'people food' because they want to prevent their dog from begging at the table during meals.
The belief is that if the dog hasn't tasted the 'people food,' it won't know how delicious it can be and therefore will never beg or disrupt them during dinner.
The truth is, a dog doesn't need to taste a food in order to beg for it - they rely on their olfactory senses to tell them which food is appealing.
👃Did you know that the canine nose has over 300 million olfactory receptors? Our noses have a measly 400 olfactory receptors in contrast. There is really no way to say that your dog will desire what’s on your plate🍽 any more or less whether they get a taste or not, because they can surely taste it through their excellent sense of smell!
The truth of the matter is that 'people food' and dog food are quite similar in content. There are foods that are toxic to dogs and should be avoided at all costs, but modern dog foods use similar food groups - grains, protein, vegetables, fruit, etc. - that are found in human-grade food.
So our goal is to teach the dog what we want them to do instead of begging. This is where the focus should be. We can ask the dog to lay down or go to its place when people are at the dinner or kitchen table.
Offering your dog a delicious piece of steak at their designated place during your dinner time can be an excellent way to teach your dog that doing the appropriate behavior is rewarding. By doing so, you are saying to your dog, “Yes! Good choice! I like what you did!” and your dog is likely to repeat this behavior.
Whether you use 'people food' or 'table food' or dog food to reinforce this behavior, you’re reinforcing the behavior that you like and can successfully avoid a dog that begs, which was the root of the issue from the start!