By Lucy Notarantonio
What started out as a treat has become a daily demand for this dachshund who refuses to eat breakfast without a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.Mabel’s owner Megan (@meganbl) has recorded the moment she asks the brown dog if she wants some of the hard, granular cheese on her breakfast. Mabel responds by barking and then races into the kitchen.Megan then holds up the packet and asks, “Is this what you want?” Mabel responds with an eager grunt and wags her tail enthusiastically. Since she asks so nicely, she gets what she wants鈥攁 topping over her kibble.This hilarious TikTok video, captioned, “I’ve created a monster,” quickly went viral, gathering almost 200,000 views since it was posted on July 3.The text layered over says that Mabel was given Parmesan twice on her breakfast to encourage her to eat in the heat. But it backfired. “Now [she] won’t eat without it at breakfast,” it says.Newsweek previously spoke to Dr. Jerry Klein, chief veterinary officer at the American Kennel Club in Chicago, Illinois, about healthy human foods that can be given to canines.Klein explained why dogs like cheese, saying: “That strong sense of smell is why dogs prefer foods that have a stronger odor such as warm, moist food over cold or dry foods.”Klein said that the following human foods are safe to give puppies as treats, in moderation, due to being relatively low in both fat and sugar:
Blueberries
Cheese (including cottage cheese)
Green beans
Cooked eggs (without butter)
Cooked chicken/turkey (without spices, skin, or bones)
Cooked fish such as salmon, sardines, and mackerel (without bones, spices, or garlic).
TikTok ReactsAt the time of writing, the video has almost 20,000 likes and over 225 comments.”I gave my sausage dog Greek yogurt in her licky mat 2 nights in a row when we had dinner a while back. It’s been 3 years and she’s had Greek yogurt every night while we eat ever since,” wrote one user.Another posted: “Our mini dachshund has kibble and chicken for breakfast, a food pouch for tea, and a tiny bit of kibble before bed, and she WILL NOT have any other routine.””Mine can be like this. Too spoilt to eat their own food [because] I give them treats like this,” added a third commenter.While it may be hard to resist those puppy-dog eyes, it is important for owners to know that some common human foods are toxic to dogs. Some of the most well-known dangers include grapes, raisins, chocolate, garlic, onions, macadamia nuts, and avocados. Pet owners also need to watch for products with xylitol, a sweetener found in certain flavored ice creams, peanut butter, yogurts, sugar-free gum, and baked goods.Additionally, foods that could pose choking hazards or cause blockages in a dog’s digestive system鈥攕uch as corn-on-the-cob, fruit rinds, pits, and apple cores鈥攕hould be avoided. It is also critical not to give dogs meat bones.Newsweek reached out to @meganbl for comment via email. We could not verify the details of the case.Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.