here is something that if i posted it on the old acme it:

[Cindy]

we ate milkbones as children--tasted like Cheerios ;o)

I wonder if there is a connection to the line of books? Maybe they just bought rights to the name? Maybe there is a parent company that owns both?

[Traci]

I also discourage my clients from feeding their dogs table scraps for a couple of reasons.

And another often overlooked problem.....pancreatits and/or bloat.

[davet]

hey Trac:::are you blaing dog food for pancreatitis and bloat...???

[Traci]

hey Trac:::are you blaing dog food for pancreatitis and bloat...???

Table food and scraps I'm blaming.

[davet]

table foods and scraps might, just slightly possible cause pancreatitis but i would supect other causes as bacteria, immune etc but the torsion is a vagal nerve anomaly and can be related to any food in the stomach causing a pendulus gut.....both are up in the air....have seen torsion with dry, canned, table etc foods and most always late at night...

[Dogladybarks]

table foods and scraps might, just slightly possible cause pancreatitis but i would supect other causes as bacteria, immune etc but the torsion is a vagal nerve anomaly and can be related to any food in the stomach causing a pendulus gut.....both are up in the air....have seen torsion with dry, canned, table etc foods and most always late at night...

I think Traci is probably thinking what I am and have seen, re pancreatitis.
When telling the average pet owner it's okay to feed table scraps, what you don't know is how much they are going to feed, or what they are going to feed...they will feed anything. Common sense doesn't always prevail, and that's why I don't encourage the table scraps.

More than one of my clients ended up with dogs who had pancreatitis, because of the table scraps that were extremely greasy, and also fed far too much. One poured off all the bacon grease into her dog's bowl along with scraps, plus a few strips of bacon. She got one mighty big bill for a trip to an emergency clinic, and hospitalization at her vet for a few days.

Thanksgiving is another time when this has happened...nothing like a load of greasy gravy, poured over all the trimmings that a dog should not eat, which includes dressing.

[Cindy]

OMG! I never thought of this! From now on, no more pan drippings for my dog unless the fat is skimmed first. I learn stuff here all the time

I just figured if he wasn't getting fat from it, it was OK

[Traci]

Doglady, exactly...and of course the client won't tell you exactly what food was fed, mostly they tell you "well I only give him tiny pieces of chicken or beef or (insert whatever)."...when in all actuality, there is no balance in any of the diet whatsoever. Alittle further prompting and giving the lab results, diagnosis, and treatment options, the client will then most likely be alittle more honest about the diet.

Davet, only my experience but I've seen more pancreatitis cases related to table food and scraps than commercial dog foods. Same for bloat, I've seen the most incomprehensive things during a gastric lavage and emptying of stomach contents.

[Dogladybarks]

Doglady, exactly...and of course the client won't tell you exactly what food was fed, mostly they tell you "well I only give him tiny pieces of chicken or beef or...."quote]

Boy are you ever right about the above Traci. Wanna know what some of them do? They call me first at ungodly hours, because they DON'T want to call the vet...sheesh! Then they lie like a rug, and that's when I tell them to cut out the crap. I know them all too well, and they just don't get it.

I had one years ago with a Boxer. This dog was young, and OBESE, not just "fat." She was constantly sick, horrendous diarrhea, etc. She would call me up with .......is soooooo sick. I would ask "what did you feed her this time?" Oh.........I only gave her a teeny bit of chicken. That's when I said BS! One time I had to stop there to pick up a new key. On the floor was a plate piled high with Spaghetti, a bunch of meatballs, and the greasy gravy...you could see all the oil on that plate.

She ran this dog to the vet constantly, and he got sick and tired of telling her also. This dog became so obese, she could hardly walk, and that ticked me off. I finally said to her "why don't you paint her pink, and walk her around as a pig." I totally read her the riot act, told her I was NOT going to deal with cleaning up diarrhea messes every night, losing tons of time, causing me to be late for other jobs, since she was creating the problem."

Another thing vets need to be aware of, and I always tell mine this. When they ask their clients how much they are feeding their dogs, they better ask them if they are talking about a "standard measuring cup." Few of the owners I deal with use a standard cup. A "cup" ranges from an undersized teacup to a huge plastic tumbler, OR a bowl. Many of their vets were "perplexed" as to why the dog was so overweight when they were "only feeding 2 cups/daily." Of course when asked if they are feeding table food, the answer is nooooooo, I nevvvvvvver do that.

The funniest was a dog that also had frequent bouts of diarrhea and vomiting. The client used the same vet I was using, and because the client didn't tell the truth, he was having difficulty getting to the bottom of the problem. One day he asked me about that dog, and I told him exactly what was happening. The next time that client brought the dog in on an emergency visit, He told her "I think it's time we do several tests," since you don't feed anything other than dog food...something is wrong."
She wanted to know "how much will this cost?" When he told her, she finally came clean, and told the truth ROTFL!

[Magnum's Mom]

You know than the rest of us about what keeps a dog healthy. Since Magnum ate the expensive Science Diet full of fillers and preservatives and died young, it makes sene to switch to the expensive, all natural Natural Balance for Athena. I brought home many small bags of food and this as her second choice after cat food. Both of them prefer rotting road kill and table scraps. The expensive foods might just be for the dog owner's soul and to ease his conscience when the dogs get old and sick.