Dogs may tend to eat more during cold weather, but inclement weather may prevent them from getting enough exercise to burn off extra calories. If Maestro begins begging at the table or looking particularly wistful when her dish is empty, beware of just letting her lick the plates or tossing her a bit of cheese or chicken when you're fixing dinner. If you're not careful, she'll need an exercise regimen to slim her waist when spring rolls around. Table scraps can be fed to dogs without ill effects if they replace some of the regular diet, not add to it. Just avoid spicy or fatty foods and keep portions small.
Food tends to sit around the house during the holidays.
Dogs quickly learn about hard candy in that bowl on the coffee table or the box of chocolates that the boss sent over. And they learn to cadge food from guests at a party or from kids who trail Christmas cookie crumbs throughout the house. Some dogs will eat wrappers and all in their haste to down the prize before discovery. Chocolate, of course, is poisonous to dogs, but the toxicity depends on the amount of theobromine in the particular candy the dog has eaten. Shasta might eat a piece or two of milk chocolate with few or no ill effects, but a bar of baking chocolate could kill her.