Is it bad to give cooked bones to dogs?
Don't blame me if your dogs get injured based on my advice.I have been told by many people how bad it is to give cooked or uncooked bones of various types. Usually they disagree if I say anything otherwise. Sometimes when I tell them I do it, they look at me like I am a dog killer and avoid talking to me. I need to not talk about this I guess.I have had 7 to 10 dogs for the last 8 years. None have died or been injured from eating bones.I give whole raw cow bones from the butcher to my dogs every couple weeks. A big bag of them.I am curious if it would cause them a problem if the bones were cooked since some people say so. Recently I gave cooked cow and pork bones to my dogs and nothing bad seemed to happen. And I have done it more times now too. And I have given cooked and uncooked rabbit bones to my dogs. And cooked chicken bones.Perhaps a problem will happen someday.I had a dog get a stick lodged sideways in his throat twice and I had to get in the with vice grips to pull it out. So one could say that you should not let your dog run free in places with stick. My pack of 7 dogs runs in the forest all day every day... so I guess I am willing to risk that as well.I could be wrong, but all the evidence I see indicates you can give cooked and uncooked bones to dogs.It appears that dogs, coming from an evolutionary hunting background can eat bones. And I have yet to see a problem with cooked bones. Domesticated dogs have co-evolved with humans eating our food waste.People are so often delusional in their thoughts on risk, that I suspect they are fearfully wrong about this.I love my dogs. They are my friends and I am committed to care for them. We take risks together.You can see my other answers about dogs here: Dogs - Bosque Village Notes
How do I care for an 8-week old German Shepherd puppy?
I love Mary Nielson’s answer because it is spot on. I just need to add a couple of things.Toys - Your puppy is going to need a lot of appropriate things to chew on. Puppies chew and it is going to get excessive in 2–3 months because they will be getting their adult teeth. Without appropriate toys your puppy will chew on inappropriate things. Your puppy does not know what is safe from what isn’t and they experience the world with their mouths. That means you are going to have to pay close attention, especially out on walks.Please do not give your puppy rawhide chews! They get soggy and can be a real choking hazard. I almost lost a dog to one years ago. They also teach your dog that it is okay to chew on leather. If you want to protect shoes, bags, furniture or jackets not giving your puppy rawhide is the first step.Foods- Please make certain that you don’t give your puppy raw or freeze dried raw food/treats. Puppies do not have a fully developed immune system so these things can make them sick. Adult dogs do fine with these, but stay away from these foods until your puppy is an adult.Enjoy your puppy and remember to give them a lot of attention. German Shepherds are sensitive and extremely bright. When they feel neglected they can become destructive. I had one that tore up my couch because I worked overtime one night. If I had been home as usual that likely would not have happened. Dogs like routine, it can be altered to benefit them, but they hate it when the change isn’t in their favor. A longer walk or an extra one is cool, but one shorter than normal walk will leave them wanting.If you can find a cover for the toilet paper roll, that would be a good idea. GSDs seem to have a thing for shredding paper, you could end up with tp confetti when they are bored.
Is it normal for my dog to be this obsessed with food?
@ ErgoF: my parents get really mad at him when he takes food. They always put him in his crate, and often he just runs in there himself because he knows he's in huge trouble. They also shout at him and sometimes slap him. So he's being "punished" but it doesn't stop him.
Accidentally feeding our puppy adult dog food for over a month?
Oh, gosh no! You are NOT an awful mom and while there are nutritional benefits to feeding him puppy food, so much of the difference between the two is good marketing, different sizes of the kibble pieces...and how much it costs. Do you realize that many of our pets eat better than some humans in third-world countries? Even if your dog only got adequate amounts of adult food from the time he could eat, he would still be healthy. A LOT of the hype about puppy food and kitten food is for the owners, rather than the pets themselves. I can only imagine the thumbs down my answer will get from food purists who think that only one brand will do, and blah, blah, blah. My pug was found abandoned in the woods, living on bugs and whatever her little "puppy ingenuity" could rustle up. I gave her puppy food her first year, and she is thriving, in spite of her early months of suffering.
My Shih Tzu won't eat her dog food, either kibble or canned food. Is there any way to get her to eat her food? I've had her since she was 5 weeks old. She is now 2, but she won't eat.
I have a german shepherd, Michelle, who is not food motivated and is hard to get to eat. Here are some techniques I have used:First and foremost, make sure there is nothing medically wrong with your dog. She may have a gastrointestional problem. Eliminate this as a possibility first.Is your dog taking medication? Some of them suppress appetite. This could be a clue to her indifference to food.Are you feeding her in two sessions (morning and evening) so the amount of food you present her is not overwhelmingly large?Are you feeding her in a quiet and secluded place rather than in a loud, high traffic area with lots of distractions?Assuming none of the foregoing apply, try boiling some chicken thighs (without any seasoning - onions and garlic are bad for dogs) and pulling the meat off the bone (choking hazard and skin (too much fat means diarrhea) so you have small pieces. Give your dog a few pieces (mine love it cold as well as warm) and sprinkling a spoonful of the broth on her kibble. My shepherd scarfs it down, kibble and all. The chicken is a small complement to the kibble, not the main meal.Small pieces of cheese works, too. So, too, unseasoned salmon with no bones. It depends on the dog.BTW, wet food harms your dog’s teeth by promoting tarter. Dry kibble is better because it is mildly abrasive and cleans their teeth a bit.Trying wetting the kibble a little bit to release aromas and to make it easier to digest. I do this for my puppies.I tried hand feeding my shepherd when he wouldn’t eat and that can work. However, you will want to ween your dog off handfeeding because it is not a normal way for a dog to eat.Dogs get bored of their food (as do we) and you may want to change your brand of kibble for another high quality brand. BE VERY CAREFUL about introducing new foods to your dog because an abrupt change can cause stomach upset. Start with a small (1/10th) amount of the new kibble mixed with the old kibble. Observe the results. Does your dog each the new stuff instead of the old? Increase the mixture of the new kibble very slowly if it improves her eating.Good luck.JCH
Can I give kitten food to an adult cat? I have a cat and she is smaller than the average. Today I started adult food, but the grains were so big she was not able to eat.
I've been feeding my cat dry kitten food for ten years now and he's not smaller than average. He is very healthy and has a lovely coat.I chose to do this because, when I started him with adult kibble, I could hear how hard he had to struggle to bite through the pieces. There was no way I could leave him to cope with this food and felt that this would have a detrimental effect on his teeth.10 years on, when he had his annual vet check up last month, the vet said that he’d never seen a cat of his age with such perfect teeth.I feed my cat on the James Wellbeloved brand. He never gets human food and he wouldn't thank you for it. His food is available to him all the time in two different areas of my house and he can eat whenever he feels like it. This means that he doesn't place a high value on food as he's never been hungry. He doesn't over-eat and I don't have to worry about him trying to ‘steal’ human food the way many cats do.Here’s Bonzo…As you can see, he’s neither over or under weight.Initially, I was concerned that he may become bored with the same food all the time. However, I read on several websites that cats actually prefer the continuity of the same food. They don't like surprises. This has certainly proved to be the case with my cat. I did experiment with different food at kitten stage. He wasn't happy and he always gravitated to James Wellbeloved.Good luck with your little kitten and wishing you lots of fun together.
Is peanut butter ok to eat for a 7 week old puppy?
NO. It is too easy to choke on. It is too dry. It has too much salt. Go to a pet store and ask for chew toys and items/treats made for a puppy that young. Save the kong until he's 3 months old and less likely to choke on any treats inside.
I have a 3 month old border collie how often do I feed her?
3-4 times a day (we fed ours 3 times at that age)