Did you know that Alpha Paw has its own channel on YouTube? Watch the latest episodes with host Bernie Zilio as she tackles your pet parent questions with our board of pet experts. In this episode, she talks about the wonderful human foods that your furry family member can munch on. Watch the video and read the transcript below!

The Transcript

Bernie Zilio
Here are five foods you likely eat on a regular basis that your furry friend can nom on to. Welcome back to alpha Paw, your destination for everything dog. I’m Bernie Zilio, and I’m on a mission to answer every doggone question you have ever had about your fur babies. And today we are talking about human foods that are actually safe for your dogs.

Fortunately, we have an expert with us today. Dr. Ross Bernstein. Dr. Ross is a seasoned veterinarian and pet care expert. He earned his doctorate degree in veterinary medicine at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. And his work has been featured in several industry-leading publications, including the Journal of veterinary surgery. He is our go-to vet for everything we want to know about our fur babies. Welcome back to Alpha Paw Dr. Ross.

Dr. Ross
Hey, Bernie, how are you doing?

Bernie Zilio
Good. How are you? Thank you for being here.

Dr. Ross
Good. Yeah, it’s awesome to be here.

Bernie Zilio
Okay, so we have talked about dog nutrition so much on this show, but we focused mostly on actual dog food, and then on the human foods that our dogs should completely avoid. So today is a little bit different. Today we are talking about human foods that are actually safe for our dogs. Now, before we get into all that, I do want to say that my dog Pod’s absolute favorite dog treats, I’m not exaggerating, I bought him one bag; had to buy a whole case.

All of the ingredients in those cookies are foods we’re going to be talking about today. So I just want our viewers to know that these Victor doggy cookies, which are the ones My dog is absolutely obsessed with, are made with all-natural ingredients safe for dogs, there’s no preservatives, no added sugar, no added salt.

This is the type of treat that I feel super comfortable giving my dog. He’s obsessed, like I said, and not only that but he’s got a girlfriend Her name is Ali and she lives on our floor. And she’s very food motivated. But the only way that her mom got her to go back to her apartment was with these cookies and then they got obsessed with cookies.

So now that we have established how phenomenal these cookies are, I do want to talk about the specific ingredients because these ingredients are everyday things that I was actually surprised that I had most of and even more surprised to know that they’re safe for dogs so I want to talk to you a little bit about them. So the first ingredient is honey. I had no idea that honey was safe for dogs. Can you enlighten me, Dr. Ross?

Dr. Ross
Yeah, honey, dogs can eat honey. I guess if they ate the whole jar, maybe you’d see some problems like vomiting or diarrhea but yeah, honey in moderation. it’s sweet so they’re probably gonna like it. It might make them a bit sticky if they’re just eating honey, but yeah, it’s totally safe for dogs, especially if it’s just in moderation.

Bernie Zilio
I love that it’s probably the same for humans. I don’t think we should be eating an entire jar of honey either. But awesome to know and it’s natural. It’s nice to hear that you say it’s okay for dogs. Now the next item of food was also surprising and also made me laugh because the image of my dog who’s a messy eater and a messy water drinker, eating a giant bowl of oatmeal, just kills me. But that’s like another food item that I have readily available in case my dog needs it or whatever the case may be. So can you tell us how and why oatmeal is safe for dogs?

Dr. Ross
Yeah, oatmeal again, it’s I would say a little bit like honey, I wouldn’t give them packets and packets and packets of oatmeal. Especially if they’re eating oatmeal don’t want to mix it with any raisins or grapes. But oatmeal is going to it’s safe for them. It’s actually in a lot of products like shampoos that we use for dogs for soothing skin and so if they did eat it, it’s safe for them.

Bernie Zilio
Totally and I was actually seeing that oatmeal is being used in a lot more dog foods as sort of like a grain supplement because I think some dogs do have grain intolerances or allergies or whatever. So I am seeing this, you know, the popularity of oatmeal in different products. So it’s good to know that dogs can actually consume like human-grade oatmeal that I have, you know in my cabinet. But the next food item which I don’t think any of us wonder or question whether or not our dogs love them, or love it is bacon. So we all know that dogs adore bacon because who doesn’t? But I was surprised to know that it’s safe for them.

Dr. Ross
Yeah, like, pretty, I would say. So there’s a couple of things to think about if you’re giving your dog Bacon. Number one – You don’t want to give bacon if your dog has a pork allergy, which is not the most common, I would say it’s not the most common food or an ingredient in pet food. So you might not know that. But on average, yeah, dogs can eat pork, so bacon should be fine. If you’re giving your dog bacon, you want to make sure it’s cooked rather than raw. And also bacon can be pretty high in fat. So in moderation is always better than just giving them a ton of bacon. Because they can get pancreatitis, which is inflammation of the pancreas, or they can get gastroenteritis from eating all that grease and fat, but bacon by itself should be okay, and in moderation.

Bernie Zilio
That’s the keyword today, moderation. So we’re not giving our dogs, pounds, and pounds of any of this food. But it is good to know that all of this is safe for our dogs that we can give them a little nibble from our breakfast and not be super concerned. Now this next one personally, makes me so happy to know that it’s good for our dogs because my dog Pod is obsessed with eating apples. And I’m even more obsessed with hearing the crunch of him eating apples, which is probably why I give him so many for selfish reasons. But Dr. Ross, can you explain why apples are safe for our dogs?

Dr. Ross
Yeah, and apples are actually one of the low-calorie treats that I often recommend to my clients and pet owners that have overweight pets, and they still want to give them treats. I often say apples are a good one. For whatever reason, my dog doesn’t like apples. Maybe he’s just a picky eater. But apples No, they’re very good. They’re safe, low calories. And yeah, a lot of dogs like,

Bernie Zilio
Oh my gosh, that makes me so sad. I’m sorry, you can’t hear your dog crunch on apples.

Dr. Ross
He’ll do one crunch., and then he’ll spit it out and be like, No, I want some like chicken or bacon.

Bernie Zilio
Okay, so this last ingredient, which we often use as a distraction in case we need to clip our dog’s nails, give them a bath, etc, etc. It’s peanut butter. Now, this is something my dog hated as a puppy. But as an adult loves it. So can you tell us why peanut butter is safe for dogs?

Dr. Ross
And so this is an important thing to talk about with peanut butter. You want to make sure it’s normal peanut butter because you don’t want a sugar-free or with a sugar substitute like xylitol in it because xylitol can be very toxic to dogs. So a lot of sugars these days are sugar-free or with sugar alternatives with xylitol. Those can be very dangerous and cause liver failure in your dogs but actual peanut butter that’s normal and has real sugar in it. It’s safe again in moderation.

Bernie Zilio
This is awesome. This is so good to know. Truthfully, all of these foods sound like a healthy snack for humans as well. So we should just all pet parents should just keep these things handy. And when we munch on them, it’s cool to give them to our dogs. So I’m super excited that you confirmed what I was hoping Dr. Ross.

Now, again, all of these ingredients that we talked about today are in Victor’s doggie cookies. Let me tell you about these cookies. Obviously, you know my dog’s obsessed with them. They’re great for dogs, they’re safe. But the best part is that the adorable CEO of Victor’s doggy cookies is a 10-year-old boy named Victor. And for every bag, somebody purchases of his cookies, he donates a meal to a shelter dog in need. Like there is no negative to buying these cookies.

I’m telling you, it’s a good cause good for our dogs. Your dog will love them. And I want you guys to try them so badly that I am going to give you 20% off so we’re going to drop down a link in the description box below. For 20% off you can try these cookies. There are two flavors, you can’t go wrong. Thank you so much for being here, Dr. Ross. And if you guys have any more questions, comments or concerns, go ahead and drop them down in the comment section below. Again, I’m Bernie Zilio, and this is alpha Paw. Be sure you subscribe so you don’t miss a single doggone episode and we’ll see you next time.