Treats vs Table Scraps: What's Safe and What's Not for Your Dog

Not All Extras Are Created Equal

Your dog is staring at you from under the dinner table with those impossible-to-resist eyes. You've got a bit of chicken left on your plate. What's the harm, right?

The answer depends on what you're offering and how often. There's a meaningful difference between purposeful dog treats and random table scraps. For Canadian dog owners navigating everything from holiday turkey dinners to summer barbecue leftovers, knowing what's safe — and what's dangerous — is essential.

Treats vs Table Scraps: What's the Difference?

Dog treats are foods specifically chosen or formulated for dogs, given intentionally in controlled amounts, often as part of training or enrichment.

Table scraps are whatever happens to be left on your plate — seasonings, sauces, oils, bones, or ingredients that may be harmful to dogs. The randomness is the problem — you're sharing based on convenience, not what's good for your dog.

The distinction matters because table scraps come with unpredictable variables: salt content, fat levels, hidden ingredients like onion or garlic in a sauce, cooked bones that can splinter.

Which Table Scraps Are Actually Safe?

Not all human food is off-limits. Plenty of whole, unseasoned foods from your kitchen can be offered safely in small amounts:

• Cooked plain chicken, turkey, or lean beef — no seasoning, no skin, no bones
• Cooked salmon — an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids (ensure it's fully cooked, never raw)
• Plain cooked sweet potato or pumpkin — great for digestion and loaded with vitamins
• Carrots — raw or cooked, a low-calorie crunchy snack most dogs love
• Blueberries — packed with antioxidants, perfect as a small treat
• Plain cooked rice or oatmeal — easy on the stomach, useful for dogs with mild GI upset
• Green beans — fresh or frozen (not canned with added salt), a filling low-calorie option
• Apple slices — remove the seeds and core first
• Watermelon — seedless, without the rind, a hydrating summer treat during those hot July days in Ontario
• Plain scrambled eggs — cooked without butter or oil

The key word in all of these is plain. The moment you add butter, garlic, onion powder, salt, or sauces, that safe food becomes a potential problem.

Foods That Are Dangerous or Toxic

Some common human foods are genuinely toxic to dogs. This isn't an exhaustive list, but these are the most important ones every Canadian dog owner should memorize:

• Chocolate — especially dark chocolate and baking chocolate; contains theobromine, which dogs metabolize very slowly
• Grapes and raisins — can cause acute kidney failure, even in small amounts
• Onions and garlic — damage red blood cells and can cause anemia; this includes onion powder in soups, sauces, and seasoning mixes
• Xylitol (birch sugar) — found in sugar-free gum, some peanut butters, and baked goods; causes dangerous insulin release and liver failure
• Macadamia nuts — cause weakness, vomiting, tremors, and hyperthermia
• Cooked bones — especially poultry bones, which splinter and can puncture the digestive tract
• Alcohol — even small amounts can be toxic
• Caffeine — in coffee, tea, energy drinks, and some medications
• Avocado — the pit, skin, and leaves contain persin, which can cause vomiting and diarrhea
• Raw yeast dough — expands in the stomach and produces alcohol as it ferments

If your dog ingests any of these, contact your veterinarian or an emergency animal hospital immediately. In Canada, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center and Pet Poison Helpline are also available around the clock.

The 10% Rule for Treats

Veterinary nutritionists widely recommend the 10% rule: treats and extras of any kind should make up no more than 10% of your dog's total daily caloric intake. The other 90% should come from their complete and balanced meals.

Here's why this matters:

• Nutritional balance: Dog food is formulated to provide specific ratios of protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals. When treats exceed 10%, they dilute those ratios and can create imbalances over time
• Weight management: Treats add calories quickly. A medium-sized dog eating just one extra large biscuit per day can gain significant weight over months — a real concern given that over half of Canadian dogs are estimated to be overweight or obese
• Digestive consistency: Too many extras, especially varied table scraps, can cause diarrhea, gas, and stomach upset

To put it in perspective: a 15-kilogram dog eating about 700 calories per day has a treat budget of roughly 70 calories — about two or three small commercial treats. It adds up faster than you'd think.

Healthy Homemade Treat Alternatives

Making your own dog treats gives you complete control over ingredients and lets you avoid the preservatives, artificial colours, and mystery by-products found in some commercial options. Here are simple ideas:

• Frozen blueberry bites — just freeze fresh blueberries on a baking sheet; perfect for warm summer days at the cottage
• Dehydrated sweet potato chews — slice thin, bake at low heat (100°C) for two to three hours
• Pumpkin and oat cookies — mix canned plain pumpkin with oats, form small balls, bake until firm
• Frozen broth cubes — pour low-sodium bone broth into ice cube trays and freeze; a satisfying warm-weather treat
• Banana and peanut butter bites — mash banana with a small amount of xylitol-free peanut butter, freeze in silicone moulds

These treats are inexpensive, easy to make, and free of questionable additives. They're especially handy during Canadian winters when you might be doing more indoor training and want a stash of healthy rewards on hand.

How Treats Fit Into a Balanced Diet

Treats aren't the enemy — they're a valuable tool for training, bonding, and enrichment. The goal isn't to eliminate them but to use them thoughtfully.

For training: Use small, soft, high-value treats your dog can eat quickly without breaking focus. Adjust the size of their next meal to account for treat calories.

For enrichment: Stuff a Kong with a small portion of regular food mixed with peanut butter. This provides mental stimulation without adding much to the daily calorie count.

For dental health: Some harder treats and chews help scrape plaque from teeth. Look for options approved by the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC).

For medication: Factor treat calories into the daily total. A small piece of cheese or a soft treat pocket is usually sufficient.

A Thoughtful Approach to Sharing

The impulse to share food with your dog comes from a good place — it's an expression of love. The key is channelling that impulse into choices that are genuinely good for them. A piece of plain cooked chicken from your plate is a perfectly fine treat. A forkful of garlic mashed potatoes is not.

Know what's safe, respect the 10% boundary, and when you do treat, make it count.

Alqo's meals are designed to deliver complete, balanced nutrition in every serving — so when treat time comes around, you can indulge your dog a little without worrying that their core diet is falling short. A strong nutritional foundation makes room for life's small extras.