Glancing down the list of specialty foods for canines we find Hills Science diet dog food, natural dog food and best dog food.
Then there’s one with a distinctly upmarket name, which begs the question… do the Royal corgis eat Royal canin dog food?
While we’re not in a position to answer that question, we can provide a little advice on what to feed and what not to feed the dog who’s drooling at the chops at the sight of the meal you’re just about to place on the table.
Saving their blushes
Let’s start with the salutary tale of Bouncer, a grossly overfed Dobermann… possibly the fattest of his breed on the planet.
Bouncer is the companion of a middle-aged housewife, with too much time on her hands. Let’s call her Bertha. That’s not her name and Bouncer isn’t the dog’s name either (we’ve given them each an alias, to save their blushes!)
Not nutritious enough?
Big Bertha prides herself on her cooking… and baking… and pastry-making.
Her husband is a long-distance lorry driver so is away from home for long periods, leaving Bertha and Bouncer to enjoy each other’s company. And the goodies emerging from the kitchen.
Bertha dislike of feeding her pet dog food is because not having seen it being prepared she doesn’t believe it’s nutritious enough. So she feeds him from her own table.
Her motto: ‘If it’s good enough for me, it’s good enough for him.’
Poor, misguided woman. Poor, obese dog.
Waddling around the garden
Bertha doesn’t walk Bouncer anywhere, restricting his exercise to waddling around her garden.
‘He’s not interested in going anywhere else,’ she told us.
No. He wouldn’t be. He doesn’t have the energy.
The unfortunate Bouncer is not even walked when Bertha’s husband Alfie comes home.
‘Alfie’s more of a cat person,’ she explained. ‘But we can’t have a cat in our house. Bouncer wouldn’t like that at all.’
Drizzled with cod liver oil
Each day, Bertha cooks something different for herself and her dog. On Sundays, it’s roast meat with all the trimmings. Monday’s fare is cold cuts of meat, on Tuesday they have Irish stew with the leftovers. And for the rest of the week they indulge themselves in shepherds’ pie, steak and kidney pie, hot pot, steak and onions. Friday’s fare is fish, drizzled with cod liver oil to keep his coat shiny and her own bones supple.
Puddings, pies and assorted treats
Bouncer also tucks into his share of puddings, pies and assorted treats.
Big Bertha believes that Bouncer lives a charmed and very privileged life and gets very upset when anyone dares tell her that she is killing her dog with kindness. She positively refuses to accept that she is actually shortening Bouncer’s life. By over-feeding him, she is putting enormous strain on his heart and other vital organs. Also, while his diet is relatively safe for humans (if a shade on the stodgy side), it is totally unsuitable for dogs.
Weight would fall off
Dogs need nutritious food, containing just the right amount of vitamins and supplements. They need food which is intended exclusively for canines and prepared by experts.
If Bertha were to switch to something like Science Diet Dog Food, or any of the others mentioned above, then Bouncer would be a lot more healthy. The weight would fall off and he would be less interested in food and more in exercise. Obesity is a killer… in humans as well as in dogs.
Related posts:
