Do you have someone who seems to be feeding your dog table scraps against your wishes? Is your dog hanging around a certain person in the house on a regular basis? Dogs know who and where they can manipulate people. They know where they can get what they want!
Food and treats are things dogs don’t turn down. We noticed our dog had gained a significant amount of weight and no matter what we tried to do someone was sabotaging our attempts at keeping his weight in a healthy range.
Dog sunny Day Afternoon (Photo credit: allert)
The person we suspected of providing food of all sorts denied doing so. We noticed that person was loosing weight, but also noticed napkins stuffed with food. Denial was ongoing, but suspicion continued.
Within a year of this person’s death, our dog lost 5 pounds without doing anything different. As sad as the loss was, the truth of how the extra weight was put on became obvious. We just laugh at this permanent diet and it’s called “The grandma die…it”.
We’re sure she’s laughing at us from heaven! She always told us if she were to come back in life … she want’s to come back as our dog!
Our dog had a permanent weight loss only after a significant loss of life of the person keeping him well fed by table scraps and other unknown treats! Food is definitely the way to a dogs heart, and stomach! The lack of food was an accurate lie detector test when weight loss became obvious!
Delayed response to a lie-detector minus the fees. At that point who care if you pass or fail? You passed the doggie test of time, patience, love and FOOD (treats, snacks, meals) … a direct route to their existence and stomach! Nothing usually gets past Mom!, but eventually it catches up with you!
Have you had an experience with someone feeding your animals against your better judgement?
**********All material presented on Brain Injury Self Rehabilitation (BISR) is copyright and cannot be, copied, reproduced, or distributed in any way without the express, written consent of Edith E. Flickinger, BSN RN.
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Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, MCC, SCAC
May 23, 2013 at 2:01 pm
Since my dogs have always been little (Shih Tzus – allergies to most of the others), I have never been able to be casual about over-feeding. I couldn’t have afforded unnecessary vet bills that always come with overweight dogs – and I wanted my dogs to live long healthy lives. People food was a RARE exception – usually chicken, although they were fond of veggies too – and spaghetti was their favorite. But never much – really just a tiny taste treat.
It also makes me nuts when dogs rule the dinner hour – so I had a STRICT “no food from the table” rule that all my friends understood. I like to linger – I was raised with a family dinner hour and I just kept up the drill after I left home. So my guys quickly learned that if they bugged us at the dinner table they got NOTHING. (no – they didn’t starve – dry dog food was always available, but I’m sure they considered that nothing!)
If they left us alone they got “the plates” – meaning that I mixed miniscule amounts of acceptable table-scraps into a half-cup of dry dogfood, moistened with just enough water to make a sort of dry “stew” and served it on the plates before they were washed – as much a smell thing as a taste thing. Doggie heaven! (If those plates hadn’t been on the floor, by the time they were finished you’d swear the plates HAD been washed and you’d never believe they had access to dry dog food at all times – they went after those plates like they were starving!)
As long as we were at the table they’d keep their respectful distance, sitting like shaggy statues abut 3-1/2 feet away, eyes fixed on me – in case I forgot the drill, I guess. As soon as I got up with a plate in my hand, I had ecstatic escorts to the kitchen sink, tails wagging so fast it was funny – the entire time I “mixed” what would eventually go on the plates (after most of any remaining food had been removed.) As long as everyone respected my “please don’t feed my dogs” rule, everyone was happy and healthy.
The guilty parties have always been the men in my life. They knew better than to sneak food to them from the table, but they all found their ways.
I caught one giving each dog AN ENTIRE HOT DOG from the ‘fridge. Then I noticed that this had been going on long enough that one of the two packs was gone, and I exploded! (My smallest weighed around 11 pounds, so even a 1 pound gain would be almost 10% and significant.) And HOT DOGS?! They aren’t even good for US, and we’re a lot bigger.
While I was certainly not as gracious as you about it all (who am I kidding, I was a raving lunatic!), I was effective. I’ve never been sure if it was concern for my wrath, my dogs’ health, or my threat to throw any hot dogs that entered the house DIRECTLY into the trash if it EVER happened again that did the trick. But I must have have made myself PERFECTLY clear somehow, and nipped it in the bud before weight gain.
With each new man in my life, the scenario above repeated in one way or another. Crazy, huh? My last “ex” now has the fattest Shih Tzu I’ve ever seen. He was a rescue, about 10.5 lbs when we got him – I think he’s over 16 lbs at this point – won’t even TOUCH dogfood now — and the vet is all OVER my ex about it.
He was supposed to be MY dog, but he & Lynn *really* bonded & we think he had been abused by a female with glasses (growled when I wore mine and wouldn’t let me NEAR him until I took them off), so I didn’t insist on taking him when I moved out. I still worry whether I did the right thing leaving him behind.
So sad to me when food is offered as a demonstration of love – but it’s nice to read that it is not simply a guy thing!
xx,
mgh
brain injury self rehabilitation (BISR)
May 25, 2013 at 10:37 pm
Madelyn, I can’t stop laughing when you said “I was certainly not as gracious as you about it all (who am I kidding, I was a raving lunatic!)” … this is laughter and I’m crying I’m laughing so hard! Believe me, I’ve been a “raving lunatic” but over different things! I let my dog lick our plates and they are clean. Clean enough that if I ever have someone over that I don’t want them to return I will pick the plates up off the floor and put them right into the cupboard!LOL What do you think about that idea?
My dog does get fresh veggies when I cut them up, but otherwise there usually isn’t anything but the smell and few licks on plates but you’d think I was feeding him an entire turkey! He waits on those plates. Sounds like you are too much like me … or I’m too much like you? Hot dogs are rarely in my home. I think I might have one a year … maybe! You are right we need to keep our little ones healthy, and that’s our responsibility. Most people don’t realize that one pound weight gain is equal to ten pounds in humans. That’s a lot … especially with our small dogs. None of us feel well either, with a ten pound weight gain. But, if I gain ten pounds I want it to be eating something delicious like chocolate!
I eat healthy 95% of the time, but intermittently fall off the healthy food wagon and splurge. Do you have any Shih Tzus now? They are adorable little fellows. My dad had one, and my husband drove his dog all the way from Ohio to Florida. My dad’s wife hated his dog. When my husband got “Chan” (dad’s dog) back to him, he jumped back into the car wanting to leave with my husband again and return to Ohio. Dogs are smart. We should have just kept the dog, but who knew that is what would happen. I know my dad was good to the dog.
Food is not a replacement for love and all too often that is the major problem with obesity. I must admit I can be an emotional eater periodically, but I never feel full. I found out that it’s part of brain injury … but I at least it’s not constant. I think I ate too much broccoli today!(doubt that’s possible though)
Take care and stay safe, Edie
Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, MCC, SCAC
May 26, 2013 at 2:24 am
Well CRAP – I just lost another LONG reply to your comment, moving my cursor to expand the comment window. WordPress’s latest glitch. I am so OVER having my time wasted every time somebody upgrades something and doesn’t beta test functionality of the rest of the platform. Seems to happen daily anymore – wonder what won’t work today! Major toleration. I wonder if the other blogging platforms experience the same?
I’ll be back – too grouch to redo the comment right now.
xx,
mgh
brain injury self rehabilitation (BISR)
June 11, 2013 at 10:43 pm
I consistently have the problem when responding. I don’t know why I loose my response before I can hit enter, but it doesn’t seem to improve. I wonder if they are even working on it.
Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, MCC, SCAC
June 11, 2013 at 10:52 pm
Don’t know – but I know I have complained about it SEVERAL times. SO frustrating.
Hate to sound all “misery loves company,” but it’s nice to hear its not just on MY site!!
xx,
mgh
wendy
June 12, 2013 at 4:39 pm
Madelyn,
I have had numerous people complain about not being able to post on my blog, or not being able to post unless someone else has posted.???
I have lost long comments too. I have gotten in the habit of copying my comment before I try to enter it, then if I lose it I can try again and just paste my copied comment in. Saves time and frustration….well a little frustration. I shouldn’t have to do this.
And yes, I have trouble posting to a Blogger site often it will delete my comment, usually because I put in I’m from WordPress and I’m not logged on. Ugh!
hope you can post all you want today!
behindthemaskofabuse
May 23, 2013 at 5:41 pm
Now that’s funny!! My Mother-in-Law when we lived near her was terrible for this. My Hubby is somewhat guilty too.
Problem with our dog is it’s not just about weight, he has terrible allergies as well, and they not only affect his breathing and cause insane itchiness, they cause his anal glands to leak, and that is putrid!! I get so ticked when we tell people not to feed our dog and they do anyway.
brain injury self rehabilitation (BISR)
May 25, 2013 at 10:01 pm
People should respect “don’t feed the dog”. It takes a lot to keep our dogs healthy, and there are many reasons why others should not feed the dogs. Dog owners set their own rules. I wouldn’t think about feeding another dog without asking. Some dogs act hungry all the time (dachshunds) and others may perceive as though they are starving. Take care and stay safe.
behindthemaskofabuse
May 25, 2013 at 11:06 pm
yes and the (not so) funny thing is my mother in law will ask, i’ll no and she’ll do it anyway…lol. you’re right dachshunds always think they’re hungry ahaha!
you take care too!
wendy
May 31, 2013 at 4:11 pm
During Halloween our dog wore a skeleton costume, my husband said that everyone thought she was starving….actually he said the dog was telling people she was starving, “Just look you can see my bone! Sneak me some food.” Of course, some did….I guess it was a party for her too.
She did gain some weight in her mid-life years, but that was more from medication. It came right off when she got off the meds. And I have to admit we weren’t as strict with not giving her as many treats and trying to keep her weight down after we found out she had cancer and a limited time to live….she was pretty spoiled the last couple of years….but amazingly she didn’t gain weight.
I went to an art show at a gallery once and they had a dog that came to work there, he had gained some weight since the last time I’d been there…..funny thing, he had a sign on him…Please don’t feed me, I’m on a diet. And there was a sign on the door explaining that he had gained too much weight and need to loose a bit. But the sign on the dog was hilarious to me.
Great posts on doggy Die-t.
brain injury self rehabilitation (BISR)
June 12, 2013 at 5:31 pm
You were great with “Sandy” (I think that was her name)! She enjoyed the treats and when anyone (our furry relatives or others) there is no need to deprive them of what they like most in life! I do find the sign quite hilarious but I can only imagine how many people would be feeding our furry friends when they are exposed to so many humans. Each person might say it’s only one treat. Imagine if we ate 15-20 candy bars a day! Each doggie treat is like one candy bar to us! Thanks for sharing this. How are you doing now? I know it’s been a little over a year since Sandy died.Take care and stay safe.