True confessions time; UPDATED

What an interesting morning with my dogs!

It began right after I got up. I was in the kitchen getting ready to cut up some Romaine lettuce for my finches, and I knocked a dinner roll off the counter to the floor. I had left it out last night on purpose so that it would harden a little. I planned to have it as a sandwich today, so I wanted it to firm up a little. Well .....!

Jazmyn pounced on it like a rabid animal! I'm serious! My little laid-back, easy-going, ignore-the-rush-at-the-food-bowl girl sunk her teeth into it and was trying to make a getaway! The roll was three times the size of her head, and it looked hilarious! I grabbed her tail to stop her escape, then I reached for the roll, and she growled at me and clamped both front feet around it without letting go with her teeth! Of course, by this time all the others were clustered around, trying to see what the big deal was. They were scarfing up the crumbs that were flying from the skirmish between Jaz and me.

After I retrieved the roll, it was obvious I wasn't having that for lunch, so I broke it into little pieces and put ii in their dishes. OMG! I'd just given them the best treat ever. EVER!

Everyone ate a good breakfast, and a couple hours later I decided to chop some apple for the birds. I was mincing it, and all five dogs were at my feet. Jazi is too cool to hang at my feet like that, and Joey usually hangs back from the crowd around my feet, but not this morning. I fed the birds, while ten hopeful eyes followed me. So I decided to try a few nibbles of apple and see if the dogs liked apple. They already like banana and peaches, cucumber, zucchini, bell pepper, sweet potato, and several other vegetables I've given them from time to time. So I put 3-4 bites in each of their dishes, and all five went crazy! I cut up more apple, giving each of them a dozen or so little bites of apple, and they were delighted!

Now, I don't believe in giving dogs people food. I especially don't believe in giving them anything from my plate. But fresh fruits and vegetables is a different story. Given the ferocity with with Little Missy attacked that roll, followed by their enjoyment of the apple, I'm thinking I need to give them more fruit and vegetable "treats" with their regular food.

So it looks like I will be slicing and dicing more in the future. What I won't do for my pets! I have a friend who doesn't cook for herself, but she cooks for her pack of dogs! (She also rescues dogs, especially older ones, and currently has just two.) They don't eat dog food, she fixes cooked vegetables for them, buys raw meats, chops fresh fruit, all for her canine charges. My nephew and his wife who scramble an egg every morning for their two Chihuahuas, although they don't cook breakfast for themselves often. What we won't do for our furry friends!

So now I want all of your to 'fess up to how you indulge your furry or feathered buddies. C'mon, you know you do it! Share your stories with us!

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UPDATE: Since we've touched on the subject of things that are not good for dogs, I looked up a couple lists. Here is the info, FYI.

It's Not Just the Grapes

There are other foods your dog should be kept away from, and some of them may surprise you:

Chocolate

Who can resist chocolate? Like it your not, your dog.

Chocolate is made with cocoa beans and cocoa beans contain a chemical called Theobromine, which is toxic to dogs. So on Valentine's Day, you're actually being kind to your best buddy if you eat all the chocolates yourself!

Cocoa Mulch

Mulch isn't food, but there's one type tempting enough for dogs to eat. Cocoa bean shells are a by-product of chocolate production (which is how mulch made it into the "foods" category) and are popular as mulch for landscaping. Homeowners like the attractive color and scent, and the fact that the mulch breaks down into an organic fertilizer. The coca bean shells can contain from 0.2% to 3% theobromine (the toxin ) as compaired to 1-4% in unprocessed beans.

Fatty foods

Fatty foods are hard for a dog to digest and can can overtax the pancreas, leading to pancreatitis. This can threaten your dogs health and is potentially fatal.

Nuts

Macadamia nuts should be avoided. In fact most nuts are not good for the dogs health since their high phosporus content is said to lead to bladder stones.

Onions

Onions, and especially raw onions, have been shown to trigger hemolytic anemia in dogs. (Stephen J Ettinger, D.V.M and Edward C. Fieldman, D.V.M. 's book: Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine vol. 2 pg 1884.) Stay away from onion powder too.

Potatos

Potato poisonings among people and dogs are rare but have occurred. The toxin, solanine, is poorly absorbed and is only found in green sprouts (these occur in tubers exposed to sunlight) and green potato skins. This explains why incidents seldom occur. Note that cooked, mashed potatoes are fine for a dogs health, actually quite nutritious and digestible.

Artificial Sweeteners

iXylitol is used as a sweetener in many products, especially sugarless gum and candies. Ingesting large amounts of products sweetened with xylitol may cause a sudden drop in blood sugar in dogs, resulting depression, loss of coordination, and seizures. According to Dr. Eric K. Dunayer, a consulting veterinarian in clinical toxicology for the poison control center, "These signs can develop quite rapidly, at times less than 30 minutes after ingestion of the product" states Dr. Dunayer, "...therefore, it is important that pet owners seek veterinary treatment immediately."

Turkey

Turkey skin is currently thought to cause acute pancreatis in dogs, partly due to it's high fat content.

Here are the rest of the foods listed by the ASPCA as harmful:

Alcoholic beverages
Avocado (the only "fatty" member of the vegetable family)
Coffee (all forms of coffee)
Moldy or spoiled foods
Salt
Yeast dough
Garlic