Are you accused of being a Dog food Snob?

[Hazel & Chester Wayte]

We feed Chester Acana (were feeding Orijen). The breeder had him on Iams and when I learned from the DK food Gurus about what a good food actually is we switched Chester.

We were telling our Families about this great award winning Canadian company Champion and how everything is free range, locally sourced, fresh. How Chester eats better then us.. The eye rolls began. (My SIL has dogs too and she feeds hers whatever is on sale at Walmart).

She makes comments like ' I suppose these treats aren't good enough for Chester' ..

Or 'I better move Molly's dish so Chester won't eat it' ..or if he does nose into her dogs bowl.. Well..

' I guess he prefers it' . groan. I can't blame him Junk food does smell good, I sometimes go through McD's drive thru myself.

So when Christmas came- My MIL brought this bag of rawhide Candy Canes for him.(Chester hasn't eaten rawhide). from you guessed it China!..

She said to me oh..maybe you won't want to give him these- (I am thinking maybe she gets it when My eyes widened reading the bag) as the Red colouring might stain his fur!..not that this is from China and could cause an illness..

Unfortunately, a lot of my dog treats from well meaning family and friends were returned or composted. When my DH was telling a coworker about these dehydrated duck Jerky treats from Costco and Walmart- He actually emailed Costco to let them know how disappointed he was that they stocked these duck treats from Thailand and were irradiated. The response was really disappointing..that they inspect the plants..There are no recalls on this prodcut.

His coworker couldn't believe we would return them- 'that is what dogs eat'..I don't think wild dogs would eat glowing ducks :)

We started a new training Class - the first day the trainer hands out these plastic portfolios that have come from Iams- Sorry they used to have Iams samples- but they have expired. 'They are a good place to store your dogs papers and Iams is a really good food- there are lots of other food as good as iams'..the hair on my neck stood up. ' and unfortunately my opinion of her was altered from that comment. She also keeps talking about treating with 'milk bones'..Maybe it is like saying Kleenx for tissue..

So what do you do when someone at the park is dishing out treats to all the dogs - including yours??

I would never give anther dog a treat without verifying with the owner- 'Is it ok if your dog has X treat?'

But then I guess I am a Dog Food Snob.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Oh boy do I hear you on this one!  I'll never foget the day when a baby Rooney was given a "treat" from the mail lady.  A Beggin Strip thing I think.  Rooney spit it out and stood there looking at her like - "where is my organic chicken jerky"?  My family now knows that I am a food snob for my boys and they don't offer treats or food.  Stand firm but be polite!!!

[BG and Gavin]

LOL Jane!  Someone slipped one of those to Gavin one day and he spit it out on the ground.  I quickly pocketed it and disposed of it later.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

My mom has mentioned several times that she saw "x treat" at the store but didn't buy it because she wasn't sure if I would allow it.  I explained to her that a lot of the treats would be like us eating candy, cookies, and chips all the time and I think she understands.  She just likes to give me a hard time about it, but it is all in good fun.  When we are out and people try give my guys random treats, I am able to honestly say that Cubbie can't have any treats because he gets sick if he eats something with rice in it.  That usually stopped people right in their tracks, but you do run into the occasional person that insists that their treat is rice free.  Always a challenge.  

I say continue on being a food snob!

[Esther and Joey]

Your post really struck a chord with me. We, too, feed Joey Acana now (were feeding Orijen). We also treat her with Stella and Chewy's or Honest Kitchen. I'd feed her raw full time if it weren't so expensive!

Humans in America eat HORRIBLY so it's not a surprise that they don't feed their dogs any better. I'm a food snob period. It's my body and I am going to treat it right. In the same way, it's my dog, and I'm going to provide my dog with the best nutrition. I don't feel like a snob at all. In fact, I feel sorry for the ignorance in others.

That said, I think there are polite and "unsnobby" way to deal handle situations. I try to education friends and family about (dog) food slowly without being too preachy. Also, we, too, get food gifts from family and friends, like rawhide and even worse that I would NEVER feed Joey. I always accept politely and throw away. 

President's Day weekend we went on a holiday with 2 other dog families and their dogs. Joey ate Costco kibble of one of the dogs and probably Iams kibble of another one. I didn't stop her. I knew one meal wouldn't kill her and in that situation it didn't make sense to make a stink.

The other thing that is interesting our our community (NYC) is that there are a lot of dogs with food allergies! In all of Joey's classes, there's been at least 1 dog with a food allergy. As a result, trainers, and anyone who offer her food, generally ask permission and ask about any allergies. 

Perhaps the best solution to refusing food from strangers is to tell people that Chester is allergic to ... fill in the blank... eg. rawhides! People do it at restaurants so why not for our dogs! And in fact, it is true. Rawhide gives Joey running poop for days so it's fair to say that she's intolerant aka allergic :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Actual food allergies are fairly rare in dogs. An intolerance is a different thing completely. It's important to me that this distinction be pointed out, because many people blame allergies for various medical conditions or GI issues and donm't get the proper advice or treatment. So let's say "intolerance" rather than allergy. It's good way to approach the issue of strangers giving your dog inappropriate treats.

[Esther and Joey]

good point. funny thing, i normally say "disagreeable" but use allergies when lazy. but yes, you bring up a great point. i was shocked that the vet told me to give joey zyrtec for scratching without asking a single question about when and how that single symptom occurs.

[Sharon & Monty]

I'm lucky because Monty wont accept treats from strangers.  Not the vet, nor the bank or wherever.  My SIL brought chicken jerky for him at Christmas, I was embarrased when it was DH that turned the bag over and declared no China food for this guy.  I would have simply disposed of it when they left. :(

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't think it's snobbish to care about your dog's health. We are not saying "I won't feed my dog X food because it's cheap stuff from Walmart and I only feed the high-priced foods". We are saying "I won't feed my dog X food because I have friends whose dogs died from food imported from China, or have permanent kidney damage from treats imported from China, and I want my dog to live a long time." It has nothing to do with "good enough." It has to do with safe enough.

Dogs get diabetes just like people. Dogs get GI diseases, pancreatitis, liver disease, cancer, and just about every other serious illness people get.  Anyone who would like their dog to develop one of these diseases, raise your hand.

As some of you know, Jackdoodle was recently diagnosed with an immune-mediated GI disease. A milk bone or any kind of treat at this point could land him in the ER and seriously screw up his treatment. I had a delivery woman recently who tried to reach past me to give him a milk bone. I'm not kidding, this woman was at my door, Jack was behind me, and with no warning, no asking, she held a milkbone biscuit and reached her arm past me to give it to him. Even after I said "No, no, please, he can't have that!" she continued to hold it out to him and look at me a puzzled expression. I am sure it never occurred to her that any dog can't have milk bones, after all, "that's what dogs eat", right?

They aren't goats, lol. They aren't chickens. They have the same organs we do. Their digestive systems are a little different and their nutritional requirements are a little different, but they are more similar than most people understand.

I would not let anyone make me feel like a snob for caring about my dog's health.

 

 

[Jen, Lachlan, and Declan]

Well said, Karen.

I don't think it's the least bit snobbish to be concerned about what goes into your dog's mouth. I don't let anyone feed my boys anything that I didn't provide. My friends just put me down as OCD about their food, but I'm okay with that. *grin* One friend just shrugs it off but two others have entirely changed the way they feed their fur-kids now.

If it's a stranger I simply say "he has a sensitive system so I have to be really careful what he eats" or "he can't tolerate most grains" ... something I can toss out quickly to avoid hurt feelings while I'm making our escape. I have no problem being "rude", though, if someone I don't know insists on trying to shove treats at my dogs when we're in public. They wouldn't do that with someone's kid in the park; what makes it okay to do it with someone's dog? They would expect a kid's parent to be wary; why should a fur-kid's parent have to hold to a different standard?

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

If someone asks nicely if Luna can have a treat - I say ok but as long as they ask her to do something for it (she usually gets off easy with a "sit").  I want her to be able to take commands from everyone, so it's a bit of a training opportunity, even if she does get a little "junk" out of it.

The way I would handle it if you don't want other people giving your dog treats is if you're carrying some yourself - offer to let them feed your dog one of your treats.  That way they still get the treat love from giving one to your dog, but your dog still gets the good stuff.  I think it would be a good compromise.  Of course, that would require that you have treats with you, which is often a bad idea at dog parks!

My parents (and my vet) roll their eyes a bit about Luna's "fancy" food.  Apart from that they know that we won't budge on the subject so they generally leave it alone. 

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

I am such a dog food snob - I educated my inlaws when they got their most recent dog - my MIL listened and did her own research, and agreed with me and DH. My FIL took much more persuasion (really, is it too much to feed your dog a good quality food for a month  that costs you the equivalent of less that 1 days work)

Cooper has always had high quality grain free kibble or raw, and treats. occasionally she gets treats with some grain, but only the better quality ones (such as Old Mother Hubbard). Thankfully she wont take cheap treats. She spits them out at the vet, but I always take my own so she gets treats. She did one take a milkbone and ate it, but it was at the end of a several hour hike and she was probably really hungry!

It shocks me sometimes that people are so ignorant. They just assume the commercials on tv  are for really good food, and dont research what they eat. but often, these are the people who dont look at what they eat either.

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

I used to be really ignorant about dog food and treats.  I just think a lot of people don't know any better.  I get all upset now thinking about some of the junky food I fed my last dog (who I loved DEARLY) - just simply wasn't informed.  I fed Iams because that's what a vet suggested (not Bexter's vet).  Also - the commercials made is sound great.  I am glad I am more informed now, so hopefully Bexter can live a long & healthy life.  I don't think we're snobs, but sometimes ignorance is "bliss", you know?  Now, since we know so much more, we are totally paranoid.  I get all worried even if a family member comes over to watch Bexter just for a few hours that they may give him a treat or something that I don't know about...I tell them NO but they think I'm ridiculous.  It makes me mad...He's MY dog!  I'm sure it won't "kill them" to have a "bad" treat now & then given by some ignorant person, so I try to keep that in mind so I don't get too worked up.  Bexter has NEVER had rawhide...What's funny is for Christmas, we used to get presents for each other's dogs (with my first dog), and it was always rawhide bones.  Now, I don't even suggest we do presents because I know that whatever they would get Bexter, I wouldn't feed him anyway!  Maybe I am a snob!