Dogs only being fed chicken

perri winkles

Ok so we have two terrier mixes who are basically spoilt rotten. Not by me, my parents!
They will only eat chicken now, which my mum buys especially each week, and won't touch any dry or wet food, no matter what brand it is.

They were fed dry food at the very start at the rescue we got them from, so I know they can eat it, but my parents insist they are 'hungry' and 'prefer' chicken. One of them is even hand fed !!! :eek:

I'm not going to win the battle, at the end of the day its them buying the food and they are with the dogs all the time. So my question is, is there any way to make this set up a bit healthier? Like feeding offal (saw this in another thread) or mixing something else with it?

One of them likes carrots and things, will this help? Im pulling my hair out over this, I know its so unhealthy but the parents won't listen !

Thanks !

morganafay

Maybe if they mix the chicken with some offal, veg like carrot (raw or cooked, whichever they'll eat, raw is better though), and a bit of cooked wholegrain rice or cooked potato maybe, that would be pretty balanced I think.

I know your parents have their best interests at heart, but only eating chicken won't be good for them and might make them sick after a while.

perri winkles

morganafay wrote: »

Maybe if they mix the chicken with some offal, veg like carrot (raw or cooked, whichever they'll eat, raw is better though), and a bit of cooked wholegrain rice or cooked potato maybe, that would be pretty balanced I think.

I know your parents have their best interests at heart, but only eating chicken won't be good for them and might make them sick after a while.

I know i've told them a billion times they just don't listen! Very frustrating.

My mum was mixing in liver, but someone told her that too much of it is bad for dogs?

Graces7

perri winkles wrote: »

I know i've told them a billion times they just don't listen! Very frustrating.

My mum was mixing in liver, but someone told her that too much of it is bad for dogs?

It is the vitamin A in liver.

Is it filleted chicken or with bones and all, ie raw or cooked?

perri winkles

its chicken legs cooked, and then they take the meat off the bones. Couldn't be anymore unhealthy!

Graces7

perri winkles wrote: »

its chicken legs cooked, and then they take the meat off the bones. Couldn't be anymore unhealthy!

:rolleyes:

perri winkles

Why the :rolleyes: face?

I can only do so much when its my parents who are buying the food and feeding the dogs. I'm asking for advice on how to make it a bit better.

And i mean my parents take the meat off, not the dogs. We arn't that stupid!

Graces7

perri winkles wrote: »

Why the :rolleyes: face?

I can only do so much when its my parents who are buying the food and feeding the dogs. I'm asking for advice on how to make it a bit better.

And i mean my parents take the meat off, not the dogs. We arn't that stupid!

I was totally and fully agreeing with you.. Rolling eyes at the parents..

I used to be the same with a neighbours dog that had never had a bone to chew in all its life. wanted to throw one to it. And the neighbour was the same; used to fillet out cooked chicken.

All you can do is try to educate, and slip the wee ones what is better for them.

Good luck.

perri winkles

:(Sorry for getting so defensive, you can see how frustrated its making me ! :P I swear, their dinner gets more loving preparation then mine ever does

I think i'll try get them to introduce different types of meat, probably the best I can do from a distance.

morganafay

I know liver is high in vitamin A, but would they overdose on it? People eat it (unless you're pregnant right?) so is it really very risky? It would be a good treat for them every now and again anyway.

kylith

Maybe explain to your parents that only eating chicken won't provide all the nutrients that the dogs need, the same way that it wouldn't provide all the nutrients that a human needs.

Could you get the vet in on this? Have them recommend Brand X to your parents?

Graces7

morganafay wrote: »

I know liver is high in vitamin A, but would they overdose on it? People eat it (unless you're pregnant right?) so is it really very risky? It would be a good treat for them every now and again anyway.

I got the impression that the folk were giving it every day; as a cat breeder we were told once a week was safe for liver. Must google that when I have time.. The other thing that sticks in my mind is reading somewhere that a polar bear liver is so high in vitamin a that eating four ounces would kill a man. Yet of course before we had injections, severely anaemic people had to eat raw liver.

I will look it up sometime..

Graces7

perri winkles wrote: »

:(Sorry for getting so defensive, you can see how frustrated its making me ! :P I swear, their dinner gets more loving preparation then mine ever does

I think i'll try get them to introduce different types of meat, probably the best I can do from a distance.

Please worry not; I was in a hurry and just used the emoticon..

And just persevere is all you can do.

Hey; maybe next time you visit take a HUGE bag of dog food? As a gift? Surely they will not waste it! Just a thought!!

perri winkles

Haha I still live at home so no visits for me ! I'm in and out though with colelge etc so they are the ones who are with the two dogs all the time.

The thing is they buy dog food! They buy the mixed dry food and put it in with the chicken, but it's always ignored and the chicken gobbled up. :rolleyes:

The dogs are just too spoilt, its gonna be a hard habit to break
Anyone else hand feed their dog ??:o

morganafay

My dogs ignore their food and prefer to steal any cat food or guinea pig food or rabbit food they can get! But eventually they get hungry and finishd their food! (I have no idea if eating guinea pig/rabbit food is good or bad for them, but it's just cereals and veg and stuff and they love it!)

The Sweeper

Graces7 wrote: »

All you can do is try to educate, and slip the wee ones what is better for them.

Oooo, careful now! It might be different in the OP's case because the dogs are his parents and he knows their health, but as a matter of course you should never give food to other people's animals.

I've seen people on these forums say things like 'Ah just give it the grass cuttings from your garden' about a local horse in a field who looked bored or 'Give it a saucer of milk' about a visiting cat - when the grass could make the horse very ill indeed and the milk could give the cat the squirts.

If you don't know the animal, the owners and the whole situation, don't feed. Some dogs, for instance, could be on a boiled chicken diet to combat pancreatitis from too much rich food, and you could mess that right up by slipping them something different.