Maggots in dogs food!

anniehoo

I honestly feel sick typing this now! I pet sit for a number of different people and of course everyone has a different level of hygiene and cleanliness but this takes the biscuit! I was booked to call in and walk 2 dogs about an hour ago for a regular client. Now he lives on his own and his standard of cleanliness is not the best but the dogs always have the best of food/vet care etc so i tolerated it. Well...today i found in both the dogs bowls heaving lumps of maggots in the ends of both the dogs bowls:eek::eek::eek: and rotting meat in the fridge! I was (and still am) absolutely disgusted! I chucked hte bowls out the back garden and gave them fresh food and wrote the most annoyed letter ive ever written anyone! My question is how long does it take for fly eggs to hatch into maggots..these were fat lads who looked like theyve been feeding a good bit!!!!! I want to have an idea of how long the food was sitting there for!!!

the dee

I don't know, but I'd say at least a week.

That's horrible. Poor dogs.

Alun

I think you're looking at something in the order of a couple of days for maggots to hatch. It varies from species to species though (forensic pathologists use this fact sometimes to determine time of death )

fits

Hmm.. correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldnt dogs be well able to stomach maggoty food?

anniehoo

fits wrote: »

Hmm.. correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldnt dogs be well able to stomach maggoty food?

Are you serious? Stomach it or not..fresh food should be given as a basic requirement everyday for a dog and not left sitting around for flies to infest it! The smell was putrid!!!!!

peasant

fits wrote: »

Hmm.. correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldnt dogs be well able to stomach maggoty food?

anniehoo wrote: »

Are you serious? Stomach it or not..fresh food should be given as a basic requirement everyday for a dog and not left sitting around for flies to infest it! The smell was putrid!!!!!

I'd say a bit of both is true.

The dogs would probably quite happily eat the maggots themselves and their stomachs shouldn't have any problems with maggots or meat/carrion that has gone a bit off.

But dog food, full of preservatives, stabilisers, enhancers and whathaveyou ...once that goes off, it can become quite toxic.

anniehoo

I feel like im over reacting here:(! Dya not think its awful that the food was in that condition?

fits

anniehoo wrote: »

I feel like im over reacting here:(! Dya not think its awful that the food was in that condition?

Well I wouldnt give it to my own dogs... or store it in the fridge...

but if it was rotting meat (rather than rotting dog food) I'm guess I'm trying to say it could be worse...

peasant

It certainly shouldn't have been in that condition.

But it would probably do less damage to the dogs' stomach for eating it than yours for looking at it.

Still no excuse, though.

houndsoflove

Poor dogs. :mad: Your not over reacting, after all if he wouldn't eat the rotting meat why should he expect his dogs to. Is he an elderly man?

peasant

houndsoflove wrote: »

Poor dogs. :mad: Your not over reacting, after all if he wouldn't eat the rotting meat why should he expect his dogs to. Is he an elderly man?

just as an aside

What do you think dogs used to be fed before our society became so affluent?

Prime beef?

Still ...the maggots aren't a good sign and don't bode well for the overall level of care that these dogs receive.
You just wouldn't feed stuff that's that rancid unless there wasn't anything else (which in this day and age there alwys is)

BillyGoatGruff

You say he has the best food/care for his dogs normally and he had gotten you in to walk his dogs. It sounds like he does loook after them well. Maybe this was just a once off.

Our man in Havana

No animals should have maggoty bowls!

I would have a word with this chap - maybe things are getting ontop of him - he could be having emotional/mental problems etc.