Dogs are eating 54,000 extra calories a year thanks to dinner table titbits

A boy feeding a dog at the dinner table
Dogs are eating more than you think (Picture: Getty)

When you’re having your dinner and those puppy dog eyes are looking up at you, it’s hard not to treat your dog to the scraps from your plate.

But it all adds up and it could be pretty bad for them.

According to a new study, dogs are eating an extra 54,000 calories a year – that’s the equivalent in a medium dog of a human eating 340 cheese burgers, 1310 chocolate chip cookies, or 360 ice creams every year, in addition to their regular meals.

For small dogs, their yearly overeating equating to 1362 hash browns, 1065 sugar doughnuts, or 717 slices of pizza in human food terms.

The survey by Royal Canin analysed the way 2000 dog owners feed their pooches.
A dog looking a girl eating pizza
Try to ignore the gentle prod with a nose under the table (Picture: Getty)

One in five dog owners admitted that they believe giving their dog extra treats from their own plate shows them that they love them and that they are one of the family, with chicken (77%), beef (68%), sausages (67%), ham (63%) and vegetables (57%) listed as the most commonly fed foods.

Hannah Poile, Scientific Communications Manager for Royal Canin Canine Care Nutrition, said: ‘The research has brought to light some shocking results and shows that we could be loving our dogs a little bit too much. By highlighting the differences between a human’s nutritional needs and their pet’s, we hope to enable owners to better understand the needs of their animal.

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‘The four most commonly fed titbits are different varieties of meat which you could assume are the healthy choice, however these foods could easily lead to digestive upset, weight gain, or even skin issues.

‘Portion size is also really important. A medium-sized dog needs almost 50% fewer calories than its owner to maintain a healthy weight and shape. Giving this size dog just one sausage roll could amount to over a third of its daily calorie requirements, so it’s really easy for this to quickly add up and result in a pet becoming overweight in a relatively short space of time.’

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