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March 2, 2008 2:04 PM

Weird foods do dogs like to eat?

A friend and I are considering selling gourmet dog treats at the local farmers' market. We're especially interested in incorporating unusual ingredients (fruits, nuts, veggies, popcorn, etc.) that will appeal to their owners. Problem is, neither of us have a dog. (We're thinking of doing taste tests at the local SPCA.)

Help us get started. What are some weird things that you've known dogs to eat, and that aren't unhealthy? (In other words -- suggestions like rubber bands and ink pens and socks and the like aren't all that useful.) And what are some non-weird things that you've seen dogs absolutely flip for?

Also, what about common supplements? Are they palatable to dogs? We know that garlic and nutritional yeast are often used as flea repellent, but do dogs like stuff like that? Which ones seem to be the tastiest?

Thanks.

posted by mudpuppie to pets & animals (50 comments total)

My dog will eat absolutely anything except celery.

He flips for peanut butter.
posted by dobbs at 2:06 PM on March 2

First: awesome. Second: talk to a vet! He/she will be able to tell you all about supplements and whatnot. Third: unusual things my dog loved included macaroni and cheese. As for non-weird, she would absolutely go nuts for popcorn. She'd hear the bag go in the microwave and she'd start going through all of her tricks without being asked.
posted by cooker girl at 2:09 PM on March 2

My dog will murder for cheese and also likes pomegranate seeds.
posted by Krrrlson at 2:09 PM on March 2

Pickled ginger and raw string beans.
posted by brujita at 2:09 PM on March 2

My dog loves salad turnips. And pretty much every other vegetable, actually.
posted by miss tea at 2:18 PM on March 2

I had a dog that would eat absolutely everything not nailed down. Green grapes directly from the grapevine, cabbages out of the garden, pecan nuts (the shells made her foam at the mouth somewhat) and fallen stone fruit. We made our own dogfood and she seemed to prefer the batches that had garlic in them (basic components: meat, rice, carrots, cabbage, overgrown zucchini, garlic and whatever was too old in the garden boiled up and kept in a fridge until needed).

We also made up a supplement when she got older with kelp, bone-meal and some other stuff (trying to remember) that she went berserk for. We used cat-food as a bribe to feed her pills. She did once knock a jar of homemade plum jam off the counter and left only the glass behind. Oh, and she'd take cheese and/or salami right off the table if you didn't watch her like a hawk.

So, basically, anything that might be human food with the exception of chocolate. Chewy fruit bars, or cheesy cookies might be the go.
posted by ninazer0 at 2:20 PM on March 2

My mom's dogs love Braunschweiger. I know that's not that unusual, but they adore it.

My mom would also sometimes grill liver and garlic for the dogs when she needed an extra-special treat. They loved liver with garlic.
posted by christinetheslp at 2:20 PM on March 2

My dog will eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. She’ll eat just about anything, in fact. Bananas, apples, celery, carrot, cooked potato, cheese, peanut butter, popcorn, cream cheese sushi rolls… She picks up pecans from the ground in my yard and crunches the shells with her teeth to eat the nuts. I used to add a little nutritional yeast, garlic powder, soy sauce, and olive oil to her dry food. I’ve seen dog treats made with carob as a substitute for chocolate.
posted by ijoshua at 2:25 PM on March 2

My dog loves the white part of romaine lettuce, which I think is the strangest thing she eats. Also bananas, apples, and popcorn. But she'll eat just about any food we're willing to give her.
posted by dpx.mfx at 2:26 PM on March 2

My dog loves to eat carrots and peas, but when we buy her dogfood with carrots and peas, she does not eat them but spits them out and eats the rest. I think it has something to do with fresh vs. freeze-dried. So, when you're doing your taste tests, make sure you consider the delivery method and test appropriately.
posted by jeffamaphone at 2:29 PM on March 2

Also: Grapes and Onions are bad for dogs (or so I've been told by a variety of sources).
posted by jeffamaphone at 2:29 PM on March 2

You should look into which foods are unsafe for dogs to eat - chocolate and onions being two I can think of.
posted by pravit at 2:30 PM on March 2 [1 favorite]

No grapes or raisins (as well as chocolate, macadamia nuts, and onions), please.
posted by Addlepated at 2:32 PM on March 2

My mother's dog really liked broccoli a lot. And most green vegetables. Also, if you offered him any of the multicolored milk bones, he would always eat the green "veggie flavored" ones first. I miss that dog.
posted by SassHat at 2:33 PM on March 2

My dog would kill for raw carrots. They had to be raw (she'd ignore them if cooked), and the bigger the chunk of carrot, the happier she was. I swear, if she had to choose between a steak and a giant carrot, she'd choose the carrot.

You couldn't force her to eat a whole grape or blueberry though. She'd spit them across the room. The only way she'd reluctantly eat them was if we cut them in half before giving them to her; we figured she didn't like the little explosion of fruit that occurred when she bit into them whole.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that texture can be almost important as flavour.
posted by cgg at 2:39 PM on March 2

My dachshund loves cheese (string cheese is her favorite), popcorn, french fries, bread, anything meat, mashed potatoes (we haven't tried solid ones), rice, and her all-time favorite is peanut butter in a tortilla heated in a microwave, with a close second of yogurt. She's not a fan of veggies, excepting carrots (raw or cooked), but will eat most of them anyway (with a really confused look on her face). She will not eat lettuce, though. That's the one thing she walks away from. And I guess peppers. She doesn't really like those either.

Be careful with the fat content in the treats, too. My parents' dachshund got pancreatitis from eating too much fat over the years and now we have to be really careful about how much fat she gets. At least make sure that information is available on the package.
posted by lilac girl at 2:45 PM on March 2

My aunt's little pomeranian goes crazy for apples. She feeds him some cut-up apple pieces every day for a treat. And I have seen him go after windfall apples like nobody's business--it's really cute.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 2:48 PM on March 2

Our dog has been known to slurp coffee if you leave a mug unattended.
posted by desjardins at 2:49 PM on March 2

You seem to be aware of this, but just for emphasis, it's the owner demographic that is going to be forking over the money for the treat. Perhaps the question should be: what kind of gourmet treat flavor would you buy for your dog?
posted by bluenausea at 3:03 PM on March 2 [1 favorite]

I've known several dogs who liked carrots better than "real" dog treats. Our previous dog would stand about two inches from me on the couch when i ate carrots and literally try to steal them from my mouth. Our current two dogs like just about anything we like, actually. Especially popcorn. And crazily enough, anything with some bacon grease :).
posted by MadamM at 3:11 PM on March 2

Absolutely carrots, apples and popcorn. Clementine oranges are also a fave (pretty much anything a toddler/preschooler eats is dibs here). Strangest of all though, mashed potatoes and fortune cookies. My first Frenchie would just about lose.his.mind whenever he heard that cellophane cookie wrapper.
posted by dancinglamb at 3:17 PM on March 2

While my mom was peeling and cutting up some kohlrabi, our dog came by and delicately took some kohlrabi out of the pan she was using and ate it. He then kept coming back for more.
posted by Sassyfras at 3:19 PM on March 2

Probably not much help for you, but my dog goes completely crazy for watermelon. But I don't think it's the flavor so much as the texture.
posted by penduluum at 3:30 PM on March 2

We once made some cookies with real bacon bits in them for our dog and as Christmas gifts, and all the dogs went nuts for them.

And it has been said already, but raisins/grapes, onions and chocolate are absolute no-nos.
posted by Rock Steady at 3:48 PM on March 2

My mom's dogs love... everything. She mixes canned pumpkin and string beans into their food.
posted by necessitas at 4:03 PM on March 2

my dog LOVES yogurt. All kinds.
posted by AsRuinsAreToRome at 4:20 PM on March 2

My last dog loved Asian pears. It was the only food he'd beg for to a frenzied level. He'd sit and watch, then whine with increasing decibals, until he'd let out a strained frustrated bark. Though interestingly he didn't like clementines. We'd give him one, he'd massage around his mouth with his teeth for a bit then spit it out. I don't think he liked the texture much.
posted by kkokkodalk at 4:37 PM on March 2

Our dog laps up spaghetti and tomato sauce. Absolutely goes crazy for it. She also loves to eat cat poo out of the litter box, but I am guessing that would not be an acceptable flavor for treats...
posted by 543DoublePlay at 4:49 PM on March 2

My dogs also love apple cores. I've watched one of them eat an entire core in about a minute, daintily leaving just the stem behind.

Does anyone know if apple seeds are bad for dogs?
posted by MadamM at 5:08 PM on March 2

MadamM: Apple seeds contain small amounts of a cyanide compound and aren't recommended for ingestion. (Cherry, peach and apricot pits contain the same compound.)
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 5:25 PM on March 2

The dog cake we bought our dogs for their birthdays was made of peanut butter and yogurt. They went crazy for it.

Then again, one of them eats his own poop. So I don't know if my dogs are a good standard for taste.
posted by Jacqueline at 5:45 PM on March 2

Another vote for vegetables, of (nearly) all varieties. Raw carrots are my dog's favorite, although recently I discovered she's gaga for raw brussels sprouts, too (I've gotta be careful not to give her too much of that, though ... her dog farts are KILLER even without the extra 'ammo'), and she's always loved tomatoes, too.

The only thing she consistently seems to love even more than raw veggies is ice cream of any sort, I swear she materializes out of nowhere any time I even open the freezer ...
posted by zeph at 6:06 PM on March 2

carrots! carrots! carrots! and also blackberries.
posted by judith at 6:14 PM on March 2

Expensive gourmet treats I've bought for my dogs that they liked:

frozen cupcakes made of peanut butter, frozen yogurt and banana
little baked carrot or pumpkin cakes
crunchy cookie/biscuit things made with carob/oatmeal/peanut butter type ingredients
posted by pluckysparrow at 6:15 PM on March 2

Chunked apples, bananas. We haven't tried veggies yet . . .
posted by 6:1 at 7:17 PM on March 2

my dog likes carrot, apple, banana, lettuce, butternut squash, yogurt, orange . . . I am sure there's more we just haven't tried more. yet. She's a fruit and veg kind of girl (not to say she doesn't dig a little bacon fat on her kibble).

My friend has a dog that will eat tomatoes of the plant.

Dogs are great.
posted by nnk at 7:27 PM on March 2

oops.

"off" the plant
posted by nnk at 7:27 PM on March 2

My dog grew up with a bunny. He would go crazy over parsley and beet greens. He still goes nuts over the snap of celery. Loves that and buttered popcorn.
He really will eat anything he thinks I think is delish, tho.
posted by beccaj at 8:05 PM on March 2

Binky loves broccoli, carrots and cauliflower. (Does not matter if it's raw or cooked.) He will separate the vegetables in order so that he can eat the carrots last. Binky is also a fan of green beans. (He does not care for lettuce or celery as much.) Binky's most favorite food is cheese, though. Sometimes I will mix a bit of chicken broth and pumpkin in with Binky's food and he thinks he is having a gourmet delight.

Lulu will eat damn near anything and is much harder to gauge on what she actually likes.

They sell some treats at the local pet supply that are carrot cake flavored and both dogs will do damn near anything for them.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 8:29 PM on March 2

My dog loves cooked sweet potatoes and will eat the peels, too. He'll also go crazy for toast and all kinds of bread.

FWIW, he won't eat carrots, popcorn, apples, or many of the other favorites mentioned above unless they're blended in with something he likes more.
posted by chippie at 8:46 PM on March 2

I keep a garden every year. In it, I grow tomatoes (about 10 varieties), okra, hot peppers, sugar snap peas, and herbs like basil and rosemary. I also throw in some variation, like broccoli and other things every year. Each day, and without fail, my golden retriever will select for herself the ripest, most juicy of each of these things and eat it with relish.

She's particularly funny to watch when she pulls off the cherry and grape size tomatoes---just the most gentle pluck and then NOM NOM NOM.

The other dogs love that stuff too, but they seem to prefer me to cut it for them, with the exception of the grape tomatoes---they seem to love the squeeeeeze...POP those give.

They also like all melons, especially canteloupe and watermelon. I'll give them each a slice of watermelon and they'll use just their front teeth (think Tom Hanks in Big) to eat the melon down and leave the rind. Then, the Golden will eat the rinds if given the chance.
posted by TomMelee at 9:20 PM on March 2

Odd that no-one has mentioned rotting seagull or asphalt-baked lizard. You'd think the things were fucking truffles the way my dogs carry on in noseshot of such delicacies. Anything pre-rotted would go over a treat with my hounds.
posted by tim_in_oz at 10:00 PM on March 2

Our Shih-Tzu was particularly fond of cheese. He also loved cottage cheese with rice, which is ironic considering that's what we gave him when he had an upset stomach.

He also loved yogurt. My mom used to let him lick her yogurt containers clean after she was done.
posted by radioamy at 10:18 PM on March 2

My mom's schnoodle is just nuts about frozen green beans. She has a very delicate digestive system, and these agree with her just fine and have been OK'd by the vet.

A long time ago I had a dog that loved the crunchy midrib of (iceberg) lettuce.
posted by marble at 10:45 PM on March 2

I am amazed at the number of dogs that like carrots in this thread. What is it about carrots?
posted by Camofrog at 10:52 PM on March 2

Crosbie will eat just about any fruit or vegetable available to him, especially if it fell from a tree and is swarming with bonus ants. (I tried growing strawberries in a planter box outside, but he ate them all; this year I'll have to use hanging baskets.) Raw eggs, yogurt, aged cheese, parsnips, whatever.

The only thing I can think of that I like but he's middling-indifferent to is artichokes.
posted by tangerine at 1:32 AM on March 3

My girlfriend's dog loves ice cubes. Whenever he hears us rattling around in the freezer he comes over and begs us for a cube. He must like the cold crunchiness of it.

Most dogs love peanut butter also.

I suggest making frozen peanut butter treats for dogs.
posted by Caper's Ghost at 7:09 AM on March 3

Thanks for all the info, y'all.

Caper's Ghost, frozen treats/ice cream are already on the list of things we're going to try! (Maybe garlic/peanut butter/carrot? Ugh!)
posted by mudpuppie at 11:17 AM on March 3

I can't believe all of the carrot responses. The ONLY thing my dig will not eat is a carrot. You can give her a bowl full of beef stew and she will lick the bowl clean and leave every single carrot. She has even happily downed an entire stick of butter.

Her favorite human food is whipped cream out of the can. Sometimes as a treat we top her dry dog food with it like an ice cream sundae.
posted by comatose at 2:24 PM on March 3

Carrots, dried apricots, cantaloupe, anything orange like that. My dog also loves plain cooked oatmeal, and cries for it if we have it for breakfast. I was eating some dried apricots one time and my dog was following me around and I finally gave her one. She loves them so much that now every evening at about 7:00 she gets three or four of them.
posted by chocolatetiara at 7:47 AM on March 5