What Human Food can Dogs Eat?

What to Feed Your Dog Other Than Dog Food

We’ve all met those special people who choose to feed their dogs three square meals a day… of human food. And while it may sound appealing to have your dog take a seat at the table and scarf down some potatoes and broccoli with the rest of the family, it isn’t always the most sensible idea. Dogs need a balanced diet, just like us. It’s how they stay healthy.

Are You Looking for Homemade Dog Food Recipies?

Dog food companies understand this. They know the perfect balance of nutrients, minerals, fats, proteins, and all other ingredients that it takes to keep a dog healthy. In fact, dog food companies have spent years developing the healthiest combinations of ingredients to improve your dog’s diet.

This is why there are specialty formulas: old canines, puppies, big breeds, small breeds, medium breeds. They know the formula for maintaining the health of your dog. Dog food is really the best thing that you can feed your beautiful Havanese, and it is unlikely anything you can add to their nutritional intake by feeding them fried eggs and ham. 

That being said, things happen. Maybe you’re out camping, fishing on the river, having a family BBQ – and your cute Havanese dog gives you a pleading look and wags its tail, eyeing that last bit of hamburger or sausage. Of course, they want to it! They’re a dog! But should Havanese be eating human foods? And if so, which ones can they eat?

Can I Feed My Havanese Puppy Human Food?

You should almost never give people food to your Havanese puppy. This is because they are just developing. Think about giving a big juicy steak to your toothless baby. It doesn’t make sense, right? The same goes for Havanese baby dogs.

A puppy doesn’t need to be eating human food. Their digestive system isn’t ready for it yet. And while it’s true that human food comes rich in minerals, vitamins, and proteins that are good for us, that has literally nothing to do with the needs of a small puppy. Different species, different genetics, different nutrient requirements – and again, a puppy.

Be sure to keep your puppy chowing down on the proper dog food to boost their growth up to adulthood. Do everything in your power to keep your Havanese fur friend healthy, happy, and living their best life.

What Human Food Can I Feed My Adult Havanese Dog?

Once your Havanese grows to adulthood, you can probably let them taste some human food. It’s really not the end of the world. A slurp of something yummy off your finger, some scraps off the ground, maybe a few licks of an ice-cream cone. Everyone is at some point going to feed their dog something. You may as well know what is safe and what isn’t. There are many foods, seemingly random to most people, that can be dangerous or even deadly to dogs.

Fruit and Veg

Fruits and vegetables, though extremely healthy for humans and koala bears, can be volatile for your Havanese dog, some much more than others. Don’t forget your canine is a carnivore.

They eat meat, whereas humans are omnivores and can eat both. Things like raisins and grapes can cause renal failure, kidney failure, and even liver failure. Even cherries can give your Havanese dog serious issues with its intestines. Avocadoes can make your dog super sick, while smaller veggies may block the pup’s internals.

One of the scariest things is the seeds from apples, peaches, and plums, as these can release some seriously deadly toxins into the body of your poor little Havanese. Also interesting is jackfruit, plantains and olives

The exception to this rule of fruit and veggies are carrots, blueberries, pineapple, and watermelon. The next time you’re on a picnic or find yourself with a giant watermelon, feel free to let your Havanese dog jump in and eat its fill.

Just make sure the watermelon contains no seeds since the small dog can choke. Other yummy plants for dogs are blackberries, green peas, and coconuts. They can even enjoy a helping of strawberries if you dice them into small, digestible pieces. Dogs however are ok with edamame.

Fruit

Click on any of these fruits to see a full article about that fruit.

• Acai
• Papaya
• Plums
• Jackfruit
• Plantains
• Clementines
• Pomelo
• Tamarind
• Grapeseed Oil
• Gooseberries
• Rambutan

Vegetables

Click on any of these vegetables to see a full article about that veggy.

• Peas
• Basil
• Olives
• Pepper
• Seaweed
• Jalapenos
• Edamame
• Sauerkraut
• Black-Eyed Peas
• Rutabaga
• Coleslaw
• Mung Beans
• Yucca Fries
• Arugula

Yes, dogs can eat arugula, and in fact, arugula is one of the healthier treats that you can give your dog– arugula is much healthier than processed foods or other snacks. Just be sure to do so in moderation and not as their main diet.

Meat and Nuts

Meat, in general, is quite okay to add to your Havanese dog’s daily diet. However, there are rules. Chicken is safe, just make sure you leave out the fat and gristle and yucky bits. Chicken breast is perfectly fine in moderation.

Stay away from bloody meat – no steaks! And chicken wings probably aren’t the best choice. Ideally, you would add some clean fish to your Havanese dog’s diet, like salmon or cod. Even cooked shrimp is okay to feed your Havanese. When we’re talking about pork, keep it light. No processed pork, I’m talking about bacon! No spices either.

Keep it clean and light and your Havanese will thank you for it. This goes the same for beef: clean, no spice, and no processed beef. Another yummy meat is turkey, just make sure it has no skin or bone. Thick, clean chunks of dark turkey meat are especially tasty for your doggie. 

Articles on Meats

• Dogs and Crab
• Dogs and Pepperoni
• Barbacoa
• Chipotle
• Falafel
• Fried Calamari
• Scallops
• Chorizotis acai a fruit

Nuts are harmful, plain and simple. Some of the worst are pistachios, hickory nuts, almonds, and walnuts. But the very worst is macadamia nuts. These can cause irreversible damage to your Havanese physically and neurologically.

The exception to the nut rule is, of course, peanut butter. We all know dogs love peanut butter, and Havanese dogs are no exception. They’ll eat the whole jar if you leave it lying around. Just make sure the peanut butter is free of salt and other additives. Salt is unhealthy for dogs. Also, raw peanuts are okay in moderation, just make sure they are plain.

If you do plan to feed your Havanese dog peanut butter, keep the levels low. Too much peanut butter and you’re going to have a tubby dog on your hands.

Articles on Certain Nuts and Seeds

• Dogs and Poppy Seeds
• Can Dogs Eat Birdseed?

Sugar

Sugar is bad. Never give your dog candy, chocolate, sweet snacks, gum, or any of these types of foods. They aren’t that great for humans, but they are even worse for your Havanese dog. Keep your dog sugar-free! And never, no matter what you read on the internet, feed your dog chocolate. It is extremely dangerous. One fun thing you can feed your dog is plain, unsalted popcorn. This is a perfectly acceptable treat, just be sure to clean their teeth after.

Marshmallows

Marshmallows are a fun summertime treat for all of us, especially around the campfire. But Marshmallows are not good for your campfire friend the dog.

Tootsie Rolls

Bread, Grains, Other Foods

• English Muffins
• Cheese Rinds
• Miso Soup
• Split Pea Soup
• Frozen Custard
• Hazelnut Spread
• Sushi
• Cookie Butter
• Truffles
• Tapioca Pudding
• Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
• Cookie Butter
• Tzatziki
• Weetabix

Spices

• Jalapenos
• Cumin

Medicine

There are certain human medicines that are considered safe for dogs, Immodium, Pepcid, Tums and Pepto Bismol

Treats

There are a number of really great treats on the market. We like to use natural treats at home and give the dog real food that it is ok with. especially veggies. You can even use a snuffle mat to help keep them occupied.

Other Things

Bugs

Fireflies

Home Goods

Leather

Food FAQs

Can you use Food to Train your Havanese?

Operant conditioning is the fancy term that scientists use to describe using something to entice action. When it comes to Havanese training using small treats and food as a way to get their attention is very useful.

We generally use little healthy treats and repetition to get our Havanese to remember things and to perform certain behaviours. Eventually, you want your dog to do things without the treats, but the food is a great way to get them started.