STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Claudia · Gucci

What do you feed your pet?

janey831 · Kate Spade

I would like to know also. I always spoil my dog (half chiuhuaha and half boston terrier). My bf says that I spoil him too much.

I feed him kibles and bits, sometimes pedigree, dry food, once in a blue moon, i'll feed him wet food, but he is sooooo spoiled, he won't eat his dog food.

Collette · Chanel

My puppy gets dog food and only dog food. He's never even tried people food so he doesn't know what he's missing. You have to ignore the barking and whining. Your dog knows this works and will continue doing it until you stop giving in. It's not good for them to eat people food, it could lead to obesity especially in small dogs. So just remember by not giving in you are doing the right thing for them. Be strong, resist the puppy eyes!!

Hermione · Kate Spade

i totally sympathize - i know it is so hard not to give your furry babies what they want when they're begging!!

when i first got my kitties i used to give them bits of what i was eating - it was like whatever i had they would eat it - eggs, fruit, bread, whatever. i thought it was cute ...

then i realized that every time i was eating ANYTHING they would be up in it - jumping on the table - trying to jump onto my plate, meowing, being very persistent.

it was hard, but i had to stop giving them anything AT ALL besides cat food - it was my fault for letting them try people food in the first place. anyway, it took about two or three months for them to change habits, and even now they'll sortof "hang around" when i'm eating (i swear, all they have to know is that i'm putting it in my mouth and they're interested.) but it's not as bad as it was before and continues to get better.

i feed them purina kitten chow now but they're about to get switched to the indoor cat formula -

sometimes for variety i'll give them a little wet cat food as a treat instead of one of their feedings (i don't do this often at all, maybe twice a month)

and i give them each a treat once or twice a week - i get the kind that are supposed to be good for their teeth.

this way i don't feel quite so bad about them eating the same thing every day!

(bottom line - NEVER give your dog what you are eating again! it only makes it worse for yourself, plus human food is just not good for dogs!)

Elle · Hermes

I agree with the girls above - animal food only!

I only feed my cat his dry cat food, made-for-cats treats, wet cat food, and very occasionally some boiled chicken. He also doesn't beg because we've never fed him people food especially not from our plates. He likes to smell whatever we're eating, but never tries to take any for himself!

Does your pup have a toy that she loves? Maybe try putting that out of reach in the kitchen, and then when she begs she gets the toy to play with instead of food?

Drew · Gucci

DH is a big wussy and feeds him when he begs. The dog knows better than to pull that crap with me, or he'll get a stern yelling at.

RyanJ · Coach

Your dog may be begging for food all the time because she is hungry. Many dog food companies fill their food w/ "fillers" and by products. Things like sawdust, chicken beaks, and animal toenails. Which are not very filling for the animals and leaves them hungry even after they have eaten.

We make home made food for our dogs. It contains rice, chicken or beef, carrots, sweet potatoes, eggs and oils. It seems to fill them up for a longer period of time. Most dog foods that you can buy in grocery stores or places like Target are not made w/ the best ingredients. We buy a type of food called Wellness and will sometimes mix it in w/ their home made food. It is more expensive then most dog foods, but the ingredients are much higher quality. Places like Petsmart and Petco have pretty decent food-not the highest grade, but better than a grocery store.

"People food" can be okay as long as it is the right type of people food. Chicken and beef those are fine for dogs. Certain veggies are okay also. Like Broccoli, Spinach, Bok Choy, Carrots and Sweet Potatoes.

needsfashionadvice · Kate Spade

I only feed my cats cat food but I give them way too many cat treats. One cat is on a diet as a matter of fact. It's sad not to give her treats when she begs though.

Claudia · Gucci

RyanJ wrote:

"People food" can be okay as long as it is the right type of people food. Chicken and beef those are fine for dogs. Certain veggies are okay also. Like Broccoli, Spinach, Bok Choy, Carrots and Sweet Potatoes.

I have a book on Chihuahuas. On how to take care of them and etc. It says certain "people food" is ok for them to eat like the ones you mentioned.

I give her chicken and sometimes fruit. I give her a lot of junk too. I'm going to try not to give her anymore junk so she can remain healthy.

TheLovelyLady71 · Hermes

Smokey only eats dry cat food, sometimes he'll eat table scraps (and beg), but not that often. We use to buy him the Purina (?) Deli Cat catfood, but I found a store brand, just like it, and he likes it just the same! LOL

-- Edited by TheLovelyLady71 at 16:03, 2006-03-24

zeitgeist4 · Gucci

Collette wrote:

My puppy gets dog food and only dog food. He's never even tried people food so he doesn't know what he's missing. You have to ignore the barking and whining. Your dog knows this works and will continue doing it until you stop giving in. It's not good for them to eat people food, it could lead to obesity especially in small dogs. So just remember by not giving in you are doing the right thing for them. Be strong, resist the puppy eyes!!

I agree with Collette 100%. Dogs will learn to stop begging after doing it a few times without results.

My dog gets Innova kibble, it has all sorts of good stuff in it.

"Innova Dog Food brings the world of pet nutrition closer than ever to that of healthy human nutrition by incorporating lean meats and cottage cheese, vegetables and fruit along with whole grains to create a dog food unequaled in nutrition and health benefits. Finally, there is a health food for your dog!"

halleybird · Hermes

My dogs used to eat Kibbles N Bits, but it upset their stomachs. Now they eat Natural Balance Duck & Potato formula -- it's much more expensive, but they love it & they're much healthier. They get some handouts too, but never from the table.

boobaby · Kate Spade

RyanJ wrote:

Your dog may be begging for food all the time because she is hungry. Many dog food companies fill their food w/ "fillers" and by products. Things like sawdust, chicken beaks, and animal toenails. Which are not very filling for the animals and leaves them hungry even after they have eaten.

I agree 100%, except I don't cook for my dog. I feed him California Natural. Its available at many pet boutiques and online. For almost the entire first 2 years of my dog's life, he threw up at least 3 times a week while remaining significantly overweight. I spent thousands of dollars trying to get to the bottom of the problem. I had x-rays, blood work, etc. I was told it could be cancer, allergies, that he could have swallowed something, you name it. After about a year, my vet started to imply that I was worrying too much about nothing, and treated me like I had Munchausen by Proxy. He told me that some dogs just throw up a lot and that the only cure was the food he sells.

Boo would throw up bile in the the middle of the night or right before dinner time. He would eat grass and throw up on walks. So one day, I popped into a little pet boutique and talked to the owner. She asked me what I was feeding him. It was Nutro. She told me exactly what RyanJ said, that his food wasn't substantial enough and he was nauseous from not getting enough nutrients, and that it was empty calories, hence the obesity. He has not thrown up once since I switched him. I also switched vets.

By the way, I let him have some people food, especially green apples and plain popcorn. He literally drools when I eat these things, so how can I resist?

RyanJ · Coach

Yeah!!! I am so glad to see that people are feeding their dogs quality food. I worked at vet for a while and volunteer at animal shelters since I was a beaner. I am so used to people not giving a shit what they give they animals. "Ther just dogs."

Very smart ladies on ST.

Boobaby- I am glad you were able to figure out what the problem is and very glad to hear you switched vets.

I also wanted to add that just because it is a food that your vets office pushes that doesn't mean it is quality. Vets offices will often push foods when the company reps have been very generous. Reps for these compaines would come in and provide lunch and all kinds of extras in hopes that the vets office will recommend that type of food to their client. Much like what drug reps do w/ doctors and nurses. Not all vets office are like that, but some are. It is still a business and the vets want to make money.

-- Edited by RyanJ at 10:33, 2006-03-25

luckyclover · Dooney & Bourke

RyanJ wrote:

Your dog may be begging for food all the time because she is hungry. Many dog food companies fill their food w/ "fillers" and by products. Things like sawdust, chicken beaks, and animal toenails. Which are not very filling for the animals and leaves them hungry even after they have eaten.

OMG! how can they get away with that? yuk! Which foods do this so I can stay away from them? I really wonder how do they get so many animal toenails to make food with?

I feed my kittie purina indoor cat formula. She always gets sick if I feed her anything else. I feed my dog pedigree for small dogs. I saw an ad that they now make a kind for indoor dogs so I thought about trying that one next time.

Ally S · Kate Spade

My two cats split a small can of wet catfood a day, so basically they are each getting one can daily. They also get limited dry food or cat treats.

My dog gets two cans of wet daily, 8 oz. cans. She also has a bowl of dry that I fill daily to snack on. She is a chow/lab mix and weighs 100 lbs.

I rarely feed them from the table. Like Elle, maybe some broiled/grilled/boiled chicken but that is the exception to the rule.

Animals cannot dgest what we eat correctly so ignore the begging.

RyanJ · Coach

luckyclover wrote:
OMG! how can they get away with that? yuk! Which foods do this so I can stay away from them? I really wonder how do they get so many animal toenails to make food with?
As a general rule most foods that you can buy in a grocery store are made w/ fillers. You should be able to clearly tell what the first 5 or 6 ingredients are- nothing w/ the words "by-products" or “animal digest”- those should actually not be in the food at all. Corn should not be in the main ingredients either. Corn is just is another filler.

Here are a just a few thats are pretty good, but not limited to these.

California Natural
Healthwise
Innova
Wellness
Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul (usually less expensive than they others and can be found at Petco and Petsmart)
Dick VanPatten's Natural Balance

Here are a couple of sites that give you an idea of what is going into your petfood and how to figure out what all the ingredients mean.

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/

http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=ingr-wiz

nunzi182 · Kate Spade

I'm a terrible cat owner. I feed my kitty popcorn and potato chips, crackers, any carbohydrates that I'm eating he eats because he loves them. I know it's bad but he's not fat or anything, he's very lanky as a matter of fact and he's in good overall health. I feed him one small can of wet cat food in the morning and I leave him dry food out daily (Purina Indoor Cat Formula). I give him two treats every night before bed. He loves them. They're called Pit'r Pats. He seems to be a healthy happy kitty and he doesn't beg, so that's good.

Claudia · Gucci

omg, I did it. Kaui was begging for my food this morning. I ignored her and she was jumping, crying and whining. I didn't give in. After a while of trying she gave up and she went to sleep with my sister.

I just have to get my sister to do the same thing.

lilyann · Dooney & Bourke

I am a convert to dog, or cat food strictly after my dog got sick with Diabetes. She had always recieved food scraps here and there- along with the occassional sly steal that she could get away with. It can be so hard because our pets are so adept at looking dejected that they can not eat what you do- but, doing so has the potential to kill them or make them severly sick. Especially high fat meats and such. Brittany, my dog, came down with pancreatitis from something she ate- then the diabetes resulted from the attack on her pancreas. It was truely touch and go for her, we were so scared to lose her because she was in the animal hospital on an intravenous IV for two weeks before she could come home. This was three years ago, she is blind now from the diabetes, and requires two insulin shots daily- to keep her blood sugar regulated. It was a real good lesson for me.