If you’re a die-hard dog parent like me, you’ve probably noticed that your dog seems more excited about human food than dog food. Especially if you’ve given a bite to them once and they’ve got the taste for it!
The same happens with my two dogs and me. They eat their kibble when we serve it, but they’ll always be more interested in our food than theirs. Why is that? Luckily, I’ve come across a few weird and exciting reasons dogs prefer human food over dog food. Suddenly, my dogs’ behaviors make so much sense!
Your Dog Tasted Human Food Once and Can’t Turn Back From the Deliciousness Now
Every time your dog is pestering you for food, it’s because they remember the taste of human food. The knowledge is ingrained in their brain, and they can’t stop thinking about how good it tastes.
Have you ever been craving something super bad and then thought about it constantly until you got to eat it? That’s what happens to your dog when they smell or see human food. The scent of deliciousness starts the cravings: once your pup knows what that hamburger tastes like, there’s no way to forget.
They’ll want more hamburgers because the taste was terrific. In your dog’s mind, there is nothing better than human food. Suppose you’re tired of having a begging pup who always tries to steal your dinner right off the plate. In that case, you should avoid giving them any table scraps at all costs (unless you want them drooling over everything all the time).
Don’t get too upset, though: we’d probably feel the same way if we had a nose as our dogs have!
The Praise and Attention Dogs Get From Their Owners is a Double Reward
You might have noticed your dog does this as well. When you set down a plate of food, your dog will likely come running and quickly work of it no matter what. Is the food better? Probably not! But there’s something about that interaction with you, their owner, that pleases dogs very much indeed.
The reward center in their brain lights up when they get praise from you, so the combination of the pleasure from eating human food and the joy from being praised by you makes for a powerfully good feeling in their minds.
Dogs Have Incredible Taste and Smell Senses, and Human Food Is More Alluring
Does your dog crave human food? Whether it’s pizza or steak, dogs will love the smell. In fact, our canine friends can have far stronger reactions than we do to the scent of food. Dogs have anywhere from 125 million to 300 million odor receptors in their noses compared to about 6 million for us humans. When you think about it this way, dogs’ sense of smell is incredible!
Because dogs have so many more odor receptors than we do, they tend to use their olfactory senses more than we do—but that doesn’t mean they don’t also have a good sense of taste! Taste buds are different from smell receptors—we humans have approximately 9,000 taste buds.
But dogs only have around 1,700! While this may not seem like much compared with any ours, the way dogs use them in conjunction makes for a magical eating experience, leaving them wanting more.
A Dog’s Smell and Taste Senses are Closely Related
Have you ever wondered why your Beagle won’t eat dog food, even if it was one of the more expensive brands? Well, there’s a reason for that. Dogs have an incredibly powerful sense of smell. They can smell 1,000 times better than humans can. Pretty impressive, right?
In addition to their keen sense of smell, dogs also have two sets of taste buds. They have one set on their tongue, just like humans do, and the other set in the back of their mouth and throat. Though both groups use similar chemicals to detect taste, the second set doesn’t have as many taste buds as our first set.
Because they don’t rely on their taste buds as much as humans do when eating food (that also means they don’t need fancy $50 dog food), it makes sense that dogs will opt for something with a more pungent scent—like people food.
Their sense of smell and taste link closely together that when they sniff a piece of food in the air or on someone’s plate, it’s like tasting it for them. It makes me wonder how my hot chocolate tastes without any marshmallows in it…
Dogs Get Away With Leaving Their Food to Get Human Food Instead
You know that there’s a good reason why dogs like human food. But let’s talk about why they don’t always like dog food. Often, it’s because their owner doesn’t clean their bowl often enough (or ever). This makes them pickier eaters and less likely to eat what you give them.
On the other hand, when we share our food with our furry friends, a lot of times it’s because they’re looking us in the eye while we eat (namely “begging,” but I’m sure you knew that already since your dog does it all the time). We feel guilty if we don’t share some with them. So what happens then? We cave in and give our dogs bites of our food instead.
Let’s face it: as much as most of us love to lecture people about not feeding table scraps to their pups, how often have you given leftovers from dinner to your dog? You don’t want them going hungry or getting jealous when you’re enjoying something delicious in front of them. It doesn’t seem very kind! But, the more you allow your dog to eat your food instead of theirs, the more they will come back to snack on your types of food.
Dogs Can Have Insufficient Nutrients in Their Food
Suppose you’ve wondered why your dog is constantly looking for a taste of anything you’re eating. In that case, it’s probably because your pup can’t get enough nutrients from the food it usually eats. According to the FDA, “A complete and balanced pet food provides all the protein, fats, vitamins and minerals a pet needs for a healthy life. The label on most commercially processed dog foods must include information about the product’s nutritional adequacy, use (e.g., how much to feed), and feeding instructions.”
The vital thing to note here is that if your dog’s food doesn’t have all the required nutrients — such as protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals — they’ll find them elsewhere. That’s also why dogs love human food: Your meals are more likely to contain all those essential nutrients than a dog’s standard fare.
The Paws Perspective
Now that you know the weird reasons your canine best friend would eat human food instead, you can work on preventing that in the future- if you want to, of course! The thing about dog nutrition is that it should benefit your dog and your lifestyle.
So, if you have human-grade food, your pup would enjoy it, ensure that it fits into their dietary and daily calorie needs. Remember, your dog should fit into your life, and everyone has a different idea of how that relationship looks. You’re good to go as long as you keep your dog’s health and dietary needs in mind!
While we’re on the topic of health and nutrition, remember that water is just as important to your dog’s health. But what if your dog doesn’t want to drink water? Check this blog post on what to do.