I have a huge preoblem, help?

Question

Ok, i have a 1 year old yorkie, she's 5 pounds. My dad likes feeding umm...everything! So, when he's eating, i take my yorkie to another room. So no, she doesn't eat people food every day, but sometimes he gives her popcorn, occasional cookie or the other day, he gave her skirt steak (he kinda chewed it up for her, maybe he thought there will be less oil in it, i don't know), i have talked to him 27,000 times that he shouldn't feed such a small dog all that crap, but he doesn't understand, he had a poodle that lived to be 13 years old, he fed her everything imaginable except dog food, she had puppies at 7 years old, but at 13 we had to put her down because her eyes were failing and her coat was falling out, but she would live 2 or 3 more years if we didn't put her to sleep. So, anyways, i just want to make sure that when he does feed my yorkie those crappy foods sometimes, that it is not that bad, right? I am always so angry when he does. She eats Wellness dry kibble.

Please no lectures about how bad people food is for dogs, i know that. It's my dad that doesn't understand. I strongly agree that a dog should only eat dog stuff, the only thing i give her besides that,is maybe fruit or vegetables, (as a reward or snack)

Oh, and he feeds her those foods, because he thinks kibble is absolutely disgusting, even for a dog! He loves her to death, and that why he feeds her table scraps

Answer 1

I have a Chihuahua and she eats EVERYTHING!!! She steals brownies of the table if they are there, she will get into a bowl of BBQ Chips if they are out she loves mashed potatos. Her favorite thing to eat is Chicken nuggets from Mc Donalds. We try not to do that often. I mean we give her Dog food alot so she gets her nutients. My husband has the philosophy of "what do you think dogs did years ago when they didn't process dog food" He had a Border Collie that lived 24 years and they fed her table scraps EVERYDAY. A little "people" food will not hurt your lil babe!

Answer 2

Your father obviously has a hard time differentiating between canines and humans ... 13 is not at all old for a Poodle so the dog likely could have lived a much longer, healthier life had he not been so neglegent and fed her the way he did. This is your dog, right? You are not a minor or are you? If you are a minor then he is responsible inevitably for the dog so all you can do is ask and hope he gets the message and cares enough about both you and the dog to stop behaving in a manner you wish him not to. If you are not a minor then I would definately let him know that it is your dog, your responsibility and that you do not want him to be feeding her anything other than what you feed her. Is he demented and incapable of understanding these requests? Your questin is that if he is feeding your dog these things that you wonder if it is not that bad, right? Well if it is not what you want the dog to eat and the dog is your responsibility then it is bad -- it is not only bad for her but it shows he has no respect for your wishes which is a matter above and beyond what is going on with the dog.

Answer 3

I hate to tell you this, but dog food started out as people food. And I find it disgusting also.

Supposedly the makers of dog food make sure it is properly balance in nutrition which people do not. When most people feed their dogs table scraps that what it is scraps and not a balance diet I feed my guys people food but it is a mixture of meats, veggies, fruits, 2 grains and nutritional whole food supplements added. And when the last dog food scare happened I wasn't worried at all because I knew exactly what was in my dog food. My poodle lived to be 17 and my Yorkie was 15.

The proper dog food is good, but tell your dad that giving YOUR dog those treats is just not what you want him to be doing Cookies will shut down her immune system for hours make her susceptible to lots of diseases. Small bits of steak are OK as long as they are not heavily seasoned. But this is YOUR dog and you should have the say on what treats she gets. But it'snot worth a fight with your Dad over it> He loves her too.

My guys get a dog treat only when they have finished their dinner and then only one. Cody will ask for a treat from the bucket and then go to his plate to show you it is empty and then go back to the treat bucket. He learned the rules really fast.

Answer 4

The problem is your dad. He thinks spoiling your dog won't ruin his health. I have a 9 1/2 year old dalmation and my dad especially, feeds him everything. He always wants to give him the greasy lard on his steak and such. I have to keep watch especially on holidays as some think he is a garbage pail. Some people just don't understand that dogs eat anything. The little extra food we give him add up. I have cut down on his regular dog food sometimes because this.
I'm surprised that such a small dog still eats his dog food. My dog has a "black hole" for a stomach. He eats pop-corn and loves toasted bread. We don't give him cookies, cake or sweets. I don't think the occasional dog treat will hurt your dog but her weight will increase if it's given too often and extra weight could lead to arthritis or something worse. My dog has arthritis.
good luck.

Answer 5

Sounds like it's pretty difficult to deter your dad's behavior. I have a Yorkie, and had the same problem with my husband. What worked for me was impressing on him how tiny our dog's stomach is, how small a frame he has, and what the extra weight will do to his hips and joints as he gets older. I also remind him (daily) that the dog cannot make good decisions about the quantity of food he eats when people food is involved. For my comfort level, there is too much salt, sugar, and oil in people food. Of course the dog loves it, and will eat until he is sick. Another bad side effect is that yorkies can easily become picky eaters and may refuse to eat dog food at all.

Counteract your dad's overindulgence with lots of exercise! Sit at the bottom of the steps and throw her favorite toy up and she'll gets lots of exercise fetching it. Take her to the park with another person, stand about 500 feet apart and have her run, run, run back and forth. She'll love it and it will keep those extra pounds off her.

Answer 6

Do you live with him? Is this his house in which this goes on? If it is your dog and you are completely responsible for it, including paying for its expenses, then you need to explain to him that you have chosen to raise this dog a certain way and you prefer that she not get table scraps or anything other than the diet you have chosen. Ask him to respect your wishes. If he can not, or will not, then you will just have to find a way to keep the dog away from him. But you need to speak with him firmly and let him know how much this bothers you.

Answer 7

Unfortunately, I do not have much advice for you. From listening to your story, it sounds like the true problem is that your father doesn't respect your wishes.

The food he's giving your dog could be the healthiest thing in the world, but it still wouldn't make it right.

I have 3 dogs, two of which I show. My family (husband and children) respects that my dogs are MY dogs and do not do things that are detrimental to my dogs' health or training. They focus their attention on the one that is the family pet.

Answer 8

Tell him that for a yorkie to eat people food it can kill it. Tell him that it causes the coat to get disgusting and if it has an allergic reaction you are not going to have any idea what the heck he fed it to be able to stop it.

Or make up that you were at the vet and the vet said it has an allergy and has to eat xyz food.

Answer 9

My dogs eat at least 80% home-made, fresh food, including raw meat. The problem isn't with dogs eating human food, rather it's what you feed them. It's also really important to keep their food balanced, including all the vitamins and minerals dogs need.

Try convincing him to stop feeding your dog cookies or anything else with sugar in it - that's terrible, especially for a breed that often has teeth problems. Popcorn has absolutely no nutritional value and dogs cannot digest corn to begin with.

If he wants to feed her bites of meat - raw is best, no seasonings, and she's a dog, she can chew her own food. You've got her on a good brand of food so a few bites of HEALTHY human food won't hurt her - in moderation.

Answer 10

Good food is good. I've known many pet lovers who cook entire meals for their pets because they don't like the crap in commercial dog foods. People did feed table food to dogs long before commercial foods.
I've always had pets. If you cook good food instead of artificial filled things then don't worry so much about it. You're dad is obviously going to do whatever he wants & thinks he is right to do so. It's silly to carry on an argument about it. If he is feeding junk food to the dog then I can see worrying. Ask him for a compromise. Maybe that will help. It's not easy to live with someone when they won't respect your wishes. Good luck to you.