Dog Community

Funny story; borderline embarassing

Posted : 8/15/2006 7:03:02 PM

So I went over to my friends house today (who free feeds their dog Beneful). Wolfie ate his normal wet food breakfast and had his dry food out offered this morning (munches throughout the day) at my place. When I took him over there, he went over to the bowl of Beneful and GORGED himself like he was starving....I have NEVER seen my dog eat that much dry food in one sitting. It almost makes me feel bad because I always have so much trouble getting him to eat and gain some weight, and there he goes chowing down on Beneful like there's no tommorow. Almost makes me wonder if it's worth it since he actually eats it. My friend (who knows nothing about dog nutrition) asked the whole "why not just feed him that if he likes it." *Sigh* Almost makes me wonder if it's all that bad? Ok, by now you probably think I've lost it, and most likely I won't be changing his food, I just wanted to share and waste your time [

] I guess I just need some reassurance that I'm not starving my dog to death, lol.

shamrockmommy

Posted : 8/15/2006 7:07:41 PM

Tomorrow when he has multicolored diarrhea that stinks to high heaven, you'll know.

jennie_c_d

Posted : 8/15/2006 7:27:20 PM

Tomorrow when he has multicolored diarrhea that stinks to high heaven, you'll know.

Christmas colored poop is a sure sign that *something* isn't right[sm=rofl.gif]

I love walking dogs.....

papillon806

Posted : 8/15/2006 7:28:06 PM

Christmas colored poop

LOL we shall see

dyan

Posted : 8/15/2006 8:54:00 PM

Personally,,, I like to feed my dog premium food.
BUT if I was trying to get him to gain weight and eat well I would feed him what he will eat. Many many many dogs eats things much much worse then Beneful and live long healthy lives. It that is what he likes, and will eat and thrives,,,how could you NOT feed it to him?????
A sick skinny dog that doesn't like to eat is not healthier then a good weight happy dog that eats less then premium food.

glenmar

Posted : 8/15/2006 9:09:42 PM

Because something like Beneful is not going to put the weight on him. He would have to eat absolutely MASSIVE amounts to get the kcals that he's getting in the super premium now. And MOST of what he eats is gonna come right out the other end.

papillon806

Posted : 8/15/2006 9:12:04 PM

It that is what he likes, and will eat and thrives,,,how could you NOT feed it to him?????
A sick skinny dog that doesn't like to eat is not healthier then a good weight happy dog that eats less then premium food.

I know what you mean and that's the predicament I'm in. He's not deathly skinny or anything (9 lbs), but for his frame he should have more "fat" than he does (according to the vet I work for). I still don't know what I'm gonna do...my friend sent me home with a baggie of her Beneful (it's the puppy formula which is fine even though he's a year old). I put the Beneful in one bowl and the Royal Canin in the other, just to see if maybe he gets board of it or whatever (of course he only at the Beneful). We'll see how it goes until this baggie is gone, but I still don't know how I feel about it. argh [&:] All of my experience/education tells me that it's not a good idea, but who knows...

papillon806

Posted : 8/15/2006 9:13:34 PM

Because something like Beneful is not going to put the weight on him. He would have to eat absolutely MASSIVE amounts to get the kcals that he's getting in the super premium now. And MOST of what he eats is gonna come right out the other end.

That's another thing I thought about, but he won't eat enough of ANY premium food to amount to anything. I bet if I calculated the amount of food he ate it would barely account to 300 kcal (and that's overestimating).

Edie

Posted : 8/15/2006 9:24:02 PM

But what would you do if you started feeding beneful and then a year or so down the track your pooch developed cancer,kidney issues or some other disease that could be related to poor food.Could you ever forgive yourself? Would you always be wondering if it was because of the food?
IMHO the risks outweight the benefits when it comes to feed such as beneful.I would honestly be too scared to feed it,watching the dogs scarf it up and imagining all that junk,sugar,colouring,chemicals accumulating in their bodies,it would drive me nuts! Beneful just goes against every feeding principle i beleive in..

Just my [sm=2cents.gif]

jennie_c_d

Posted : 8/15/2006 9:51:45 PM

I happen to have a sick, skinny dog. She is skinny, because she is sick. If I compromised on the quality of food, to put weight on her, she'd become MORE sick. My vets say she could stand to gain a bit, but as long as she eats well, and keeps good muscle mass, I shouldn't worry about it....

This is probably a silly question, but... Is Wolfie getting a digestive enzyme? That really helps keep weight on Emma.

jessies_mom

Posted : 8/15/2006 10:02:16 PM

IMHO the risks outweight the benefits when it comes to feed such as beneful.I would honestly be too scared to feed it,watching the dogs scarf it up and imagining all that junk,sugar,colouring,chemicals accumulating in their bodies,it would drive me nuts! Beneful just goes against every feeding principle i beleive in

I agree; why couldn't you mix a little quality canned food like Innova into his kibble to get him to eat more instead of feeding a food that appeals to him because it has sugar?

papillon806

Posted : 8/15/2006 10:04:09 PM

Is Wolfie getting a digestive enzyme?

Hmm...I haven't really thought about that. I know small breeds sometimes have absorption issues in the small intestine which causes them to be skinny (in some cases). What digestive enzyme did you use for Emma? I know Wolfie isn't sick or anything; he's had a complete blood panel done twice which came back looking really good (even did a thyriod panel too).

papillon806

Posted : 8/15/2006 10:04:59 PM

I agree; why couldn't you mix a little quality canned food like Innova into his kibble to get him to eat more instead of feeding a food that appeals to him because it has sugar?

Because I've tried that and he won't touch it if he smells kibble mixed in...it's pathetic

Luvntzus

Posted : 8/15/2006 10:48:07 PM

I think he ate it with gusto because it's full of sugar, salt and other junk that's awful for him! Very bad and very tasty. [

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astaracheetah

Posted : 8/15/2006 11:41:30 PM

Don't dogs and humans alike typically gorge themselves on junk food whenever they can? I LOOOOOVE rice krispie treats and lucky charms, but it wouldn't make a very good diet. >^^;<