Unwanted treats!

Feral_Moon

What gives a person the right to offer your dog a "treat" without prior permission?

I'm becoming sick and tired of people thinking they are doing me a favour by offering my pooch a sugar loaded, processed treat without my permission!

A) my pooch is raw fed, he doesn't eat processed crap, only dehydrated raw meats.

it's not anyone else's business to offer my dog a treat. He gets one when he earns it. And during training.

C) when in the company of other dogs it generally means play time. So no training, hence no treats. Unless a specified training session with other dogs is pre-arranged.

Feral_Moon

My poor dog recently suffered bad allergies and cost me a fortune in vet fees because (unbeknown to me) he was being given gravy bones and other crap treats by a fellow dog walker. DON'T EVER GIVE TREATS TO OTHER DOGS!!

janeys

I understand your concern, my rescue dog is diabetic. Most treats are given with the best intentions and the dog walkers mean well. I found it was the older people that do it, it's a way for them to make friends and get some company. I found it was better for me to explain why my dog could only have 'special' food, I keep some dry food in his bag and I would give them some of this and say ' he can have this, here, ask him to sit first' you might be surprised at how much they understand and help. The people we see regularly will now tell others not to feed him before I can. You could also get a collar or dog coat made warning your dog has allergies, this might help. Most people wouldn't knowingly poison your dog they think they are being kind.

trolleyrun

A special needs lady in my village loves dogs but isn't capable of having one herself. She buys treats to give to the dogs she meets. I know her intentions are good but I don't know what's in them so I tell her my dog is on a special diet. She accepts this without quibble. I sometimes have treats for Pipsqueak in my pocket so I allow the lady to give her one of those.

Most people mean well and don't know your circumstances and routines. Just let them know politely to not give your dog a treat. Problem should be solved.

teddysmum

Strangely, six of my dogs (I've had seven) have never taken treats from strangers or friends. Some have totally refused, while others,have taken and then dropped, until I picked the item up and offered it.


Teddy,however, is a scrounger and after getting treats at the checkouts of PaH on a few occasions, he begs at the vets' reception (very similar desk) and usually gets something.

Rowan_moon

A couple of years ago. I saw an elderly lady giving a dog bits of a Mars bar outside Sainsburys. I very politely said to her that chocolate can be harmful to dogs, so probably not a good idea to give it to her dog. "Oh it's not my dog" she replied. Turns out someone had just fastened the dog outside and nipped in to get something. Walking away I looked back and she was doing it again.:eek:

I went back and waited with the dog until the owner came.

lisa110rry

Do you know, I've never had anyone offer my dog a treat without asking me first. As a rule, I never think to take treats with me on our walks because she is already trained (she's almost 11) and if I can't recall her with her name, I just shout "treat". Several people I know do keep treats in their pockets, but I've never known one not to ask first.

Person_one

Rowan_moon wrote: »

A couple of years ago. I saw an elderly lady giving a dog bits of a Mars bar outside Sainsburys. I very politely said to her that chocolate can be harmful to dogs, so probably not a good idea to give it to her dog. "Oh it's not my dog" she replied. Turns out someone had just fastened the dog outside and nipped in to get something. Walking away I looked back and she was doing it again.:eek:

I went back and waited with the dog until the owner came.

Another good reason not to leave dogs tied up outside shops!

I do agree with the previous replies that people who do this are well meaning and trying to be friendly/generous/positive about your dog. At a time when so many people are hostile to dogs in public I don't think responding with anger is the right way to go.

The above responses from janeys and trolleyrun are perfect.

teddysmum

Person_one wrote: »

Another good reason not to leave dogs tied up outside shops!

That so annoys me, especially when the dog is tiny and friendly; just so easy to grab and run.


I mentioned the dangers to n old man who tied his very pretty friendly little shiddie outside Aldi, but he reckoned the dog was safer there than left home, while he shopped.:undecided

Feral_Moon

What on earth is a shiddie?

My concern is not just dietary but can also affect behavioural aspects. If people ask my permission and I give them appropriate treats, and they make him work them, then fine. This is something I encouraged visitors to the house to do to ensure he learned to sit and wait for visitors to greet him rather then rush to the door and jump all over people. After all, nobody wants a 45kg dog jumping up at them!

But, dogs aren't stupid and they will go to the person with treats in their pocket, often ignoring their owners. Especially if they sneakily get fed these treats without owner's knowledge or permission. He was also learning he could get treats without having to work for them, therefore started to ignore simple commands from me and look to others for treats. GSD are highly intelligent dogs!

I've unfortunately had to withdraw my dog from our walking group as a result of this so I can re-train him to listen to me first and foremost. As I said before, the walking group was just playtime as far as I was concerned. No need to carry or offer treats to dogs. And no, these weren't "elderly people who mean well".

I would never dream of giving a treat to someone else's dog and I don't carry treats whilst out walking as my dog is(was) extremely well trained.

ETA: one of my major concerns over this is that my dog suddenly started to think everyone was fair game to go visit as he might get a treat from them. In reality, with these new laws in place, he was risking his life because if someone felt threatened by him running over (and many people are frightened of GSD) then he could be destroyed under the DDA

Person_one

Feral_Moon wrote: »

And no, these weren't "elderly people who mean well".

Surely you don't think people (whatever their age) are doing this with hostile or nefarious intentions?