Tak Muyura Talks with Veterinarian: 90% of Dog Owners Feed Their Dogs Incorrectly Their Whole Lives
Most dog owners feed their pets incorrectly throughout their lives, often giving human food or homemade meals that lack proper nutrition, according to experts on Thai talk show Tack Talk Special.
Host Tak Muyura invites a veterinarian to discuss pet nutrition on Tack Talk Special, revealing that 90% of dog owners make feeding mistakes throughout their pets' lives. Veterinarians warn that foods owners think are beneficial may actually be harming their dogs, from dental chews that risk stomach perforation to raw food diets. How can we keep our dogs living longer?
Experts dive deep into canine nutrition with Dr. Kamdis Wannarun and Thong-Pornpan Prathani, CEO of a pet food company with animal nutrition expertise, exposing hidden information on food packaging that most owners overlook. Don't let your love become "poison" you unknowingly give to your beloved pet!
Can dogs eat human food? Pornpan Prathani: I'd frame it differently. When we raise pets and love them like children, we have our own perception of what's good for us, and we want our pets to eat the same way. That comes from a good place—from love. But whether they can eat it is a different matter. Dogs can physically eat anything they can put in their mouths and chew. But that doesn't mean it's appropriate.
It's inappropriate because their nutritional needs are completely different from ours. Every aspect of their body differs from ours. If you frequently give dogs human food, malnutrition follows. Sometimes there's too much, sometimes too little—it's never the right balance for them. Even scarier are the diseases that develop without us realizing until it's too late. Liver values spike, kidney values spike, pancreatic inflammation, and you're crying at the veterinary hospital.
If it's home-cooked food without any seasoning, can dogs eat it? Dr. Kamdis Wannarun: From a veterinarian's perspective, we call that a Home Cook Diet—food where the owner selects various ingredients like meat, carbohydrates, fats, and vegetables as fiber sources, then mixes them into one meal for your pet.
But can they eat it? Yes, anything that goes in the mouth can be eaten. But is what you've prepared actually appropriate? That requires another look. Usually, if owners prepare food without understanding how to calculate proper portions, nutrients end up either excessive or insufficient—neither appropriate for your pet.
Actually, the kibble eaten daily has nutrients calculated very precisely to exactly what your dog should receive each day. Like humans, it includes five food groups—proper proportions of proteins, amino acids, vitamins, fats, minerals—everything calculated perfectly in one piece of kibble. So your dog receives complete nutrition every single day.
What's the most common feeding mistake dog owners make? Pornpan Prathani: What we commonly see is overfeeding. When your pet is at home and wants food, they come rub against your arm and leg, and you just keep giving. Another big mistake is giving too many treats beyond their regular food.
Giving treats feels like expressing love, so we spoil them completely because we're afraid they won't love us back. The consequence is diseases or behaviors where they've eaten so many treats they're full. Once they're full, the next thing that happens is selective eating. It becomes a chain reaction with no end. It's not that your dog has bad behavior—it's you, the owner, who created it. Dr. Kamdis Wannarun: Regarding treats and snacks, when giving to your pet, you need to...