OK,,,,,,,,,,all you vegetarians

Huntindave McCann

Well-known member
Sponsor
And I mean this in the nicest way.

Many folks have followed my "dog treat" thread and I do appreciate all the responses and suggestions. I can say that I was surprised at the overwhelming favoritism given to veggie snacks and treats. So much so that I jokingly threw out a comment suggesting that you all may be tree hugging vegans.

Much to my surprise, one member here took that as a challenge and sent me proof that there is hope, for those of us and our dogs who are meat lovers. I have sent him a PM thanking him for his gesture and wish to make note of it here as well. My dog Ginger, received a care package of meat based food and treats. I'll keep her benefactors name anonymous to protect him from receiving multiple request for the same. I too wish to thank him for the gift and urge him to check his PM's if he has not done so already.

As I type this, Ginger is devouring a rib bone from Famous Dave's :>) :>)
 
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Your priority was CHEAP.

That makes a statement about how much you value your dog.

Then you made assumptions about folks that made less costly, but very healthy suggestions.

"Cheap is not good and good is not cheap".
 
Vince,

Lighten up, you are taking life too seriously. It was not my intent to offend you or anyone. If I did so, my apologies.


On a serious note;

As to the healthy aspect of a dogs diet, I present to you a quote from https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/canine-nutrition/dogs-carnivores-omnivores/



All scientific evidence clearly points to the fact that… Dogs Have a Natural
and Undeniable Carnivorous Bias
From DNA studies, we know dogs evolved directly from the timber wolf somewhere around 15,000 years ago1.
And, of course, it should come as no surprise. Wolves are clearly carnivores.
So, by their very genetic pedigree, dogs also demonstrate similar and noticeable carnivorous traits. Their teeth, their digestive systems and their behavior clearly confirm this fact.
Yet dogs must also be recognized for their significant omnivorous ability. Their proven ability to digest carbohydrate-based foods has been known for many years.
After all, modern genetic research has proof that ten canine genes play key roles in starch digestion and fat metabolism.2
However, a dog still shows unmistakable evidence that its body is optimized for eating meat. Dogs Don’t Grind — They Chop
For comparison, think about a typical herbivore — a dairy cow. Picture the way they “chew their cud”.
Cows chew widely from side-to-side. And they have broad, flat back teeth. And flat teeth are ideal for grinding grains and plant material into finer particles.
True omnivores (like humans) share this same combination of boxy back teeth and sideways grinding motion common to herbivores. Think of your own mouth and how you chew.
Dogs, on the other hand, don’t have flat teeth. Like all carnivores, they have narrow pointy back teeth.
Plus dogs can’t chew from side-to-side. Their jaws can only move in an up-and-down, chop-chop motion. It’s the perfect combination for cutting meat into smaller chunks. No Salivary Amylase
Herbivores and omnivores possess one aid to digestion carnivores typically lack.
Carnivores do not produce amylase in their salivary glands.3
Amylase is a specialized enzyme most herbivores and omnivores produce in their saliva. It helps begin the break down of starchy carbohydrates into simple sugars — before they enter the stomach.
Although dogs do produce amylase, the enzyme is added further down the digestive tract — in the pancreas and small intestine.
Edited4 Digestive Anatomy
Since they consume fewer but larger meals, carnivores have bigger stomachs than their grazing, plant-eating counterparts.
What’s more, meat-eating animals exhibit a higher concentration of stomach acid. This allows faster digestion of animal protein.
And the stronger acid kills the disease-causing bacteria abundant in decaying meat.
What’s more, herbivores have an unusually long gastrointestinal tract — exceeding ten times the animal’s body length. Longer systems like this are needed for consuming a plant-based diet. Welcome to the Age of Choice
Yet in spite of this natural carnivorous design, dogs have still managed to evolve over thousands of years — even surviving on the meat and non-meat scraps and leftovers of human existence.
So, over time, dogs have proven to be fully capable of thriving on a variety of foods.
Today, the dog food marketplace has become a living, breathing witness to the animal’s adaptive ability — and is abounding with an astonishing array of product designs.
Some favor meat. Some feature vegetables. And others are made almost entirely of cereal grains and beans.
So, how do you choose the right one for your pet? The Bottom Line
Knowing that dogs are optimized for eating meat can make it easier to recognize better dog foods.
Even though dogs do demonstrate a notable omnivorous capacity, we believe it’s important to give preference to meat-based products. That’s because…

Whether you believe they’re carnivores or omnivores, dog’s possess an undeniable carnivorous bias
Meat-based dog foods are closer to a dog’s natural ancestral diet. They’re more like the real thing. Footnotes
  1. Lindblad-Toh K, Wade CM, Mikkelsen TS, et al, “Genome sequence, comparative analysis and haplotype structure of the domestic dog”, December 2005, Nature 438 (7069): 803–19
  2. Axelsson E. et al, The genomic signature of dog domestication reveals adaptation to a starch-rich diet, Nature, 2013 Jan 23, doi: 10.1038/nature11837, Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, 75237 Uppsala, Sweden
  3. Animal Health Diagnostic Center, Cornell University School of Veterinary Medicine
  4. 11/17/2014 Removed: “So, without salivary amylase, a dog’s carbohydrate digestion can be decidedly more difficult.”
 
Your priority was CHEAP.

That makes a statement about how much you value your dog.

Well, you can look at that several ways I suppose.

You can look at it as gee he loves his dog so much that he wants to be able to afford to give her treats every night, so he's exploring the options out there since the treats that she really likes seem to not be made anymore. Nothing wrong with that, especially if you try hard to stay within a budget every month.

Or you can look at it as well gee, he doesn't want to spend much money on his dog because he doesn't think she's worth the perhaps obscene prices you can find on treats out there so he's looking for something that he can give her that might make her feel loved, but he'd rather spend the money elsewhere and not worry about "really good" treats. Cuz his dog just isn't worth it.

I have no clue if Dave budgets or not, but as someone who does budget and works hard to stay within it, I can certainly understand wanting to find something that would spoil my dogs rotten and let them continue to live the lives to which they're accustomed and yet not cause me to step outside of my budget. I tend to think that since most people really love their animals, that when people ask questions about cheap but still a "treat" that they're asking for ways that they can still spoil their critters without going broke. Not because they don't value their critters. Maybe not everyone can afford the "best" and most expensive treats, but I think people who really love their animals try to give the best they can afford. And maybe Dave can only afford "cheap" but does that mean he values his dog less than I value my boys if I can afford even slightly more above his "cheap"? I highly doubt that.

But hey, perhaps I'm wrong and Dave is a cold hearted, callous feller who only gives his dog treats because he's forced to so he's doing it to keep the peace and his dog is a tool only to be used when he is out hunting and otherwise she just needs to take up as little time, space and money as possible. I doubt that since Dave took the time to actually ask for suggestions since his dog doesn't seem to like the replacement treats he had found for her when her favored treats were no longer readily available.....but maybe it's all an elaborate front to hide what he really thinks of Ginger...
 
Mine-lab-seems to derive great pleasure from gnawing on large tree limbs, and frequently has to be reminded NOT to eat the marigolds and small zinnias that front the veggie part of the garden. If I were to describe him, it would be OMNIVORE. I am sure that, given a choice of treats, he would choose meat over veggie, although he seems to have a liking for bananas and apples at lunch.
The only things that we won't give him are onions, grapes and chocolate. The only thing he refuses to eat are triscuits. We have not figured that out yet!
 
All this angst because you feel guilty for throwing your dog outside in the cold and alone every night. Guys that make their dogs sleep outside are supposed to kick them on their way out the door and yell "TAKE THAT YOU MISERABLE CUR" and then slam the door - not feed them treats.
 
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