Pet advice

[Texasgal]

My husband who loves his dogs like babies cannot STOP giving them table scraps! I've tried over and OVER again to tell him to stop, but for some reason he continues!! Major source of aggravation here. :mad:

Anyway, while I was away ( I was out of town this week for work ) he decided our male Boston was hungry and gave him "puppy dog eyes" so he cooked them a package of ground up turkey that we had in the freezer. I spoke with him on friday and I was pissed. When I see him doing this I STOP it.

I get home and my baby now has nice rash on his belly. Benadryl has been given and cortisone cream applied.
My female old girl is okay as far as I can tell.

He seems better today but the rash is still there. Any advice? Do you think I should take him to the vet? Bath? better cream? He seems okay, just the rash... any advice?

[mopinko]

1. i think what you need is marital advice.

i have no idea why there are such things as overweight pets. unless they have figured out how to use can openers and debit cards, there should be no way.

i wouldn't worry about the rash unless it persists more than a few days.

[Texasgal]

5. My pets are not overweight

they are average size both of them.

Thanks for the advice.

[mopinko]

7. that's good. as long as it isn't leading to fat dogs

and as long as he eats first and gives them the last bites, i think it is fine to share a little food with them. it is a good pack-bonding thing.
and turkey shouldn't hurt them.

[woo me with science]

2. The rash is probably not from the ground turkey.

Dogs eat meat. Meat supplements to their diet are not evil. Most commercial dog foods don't contain ENOUGH meat. Human food snacks and even the occasional human food meal are no big deal as long as the overall diet is healthy. Dogs crave variety and treats, too. How would you like to eat nothing but the same dry dog food every day of your life?

I dislike when people become nazi-like about what you can feed to dogs. As long as the overall diet is generally healthy, sharing some ground turkey is a GOOD thing IMO. When our older dog had kidney disease, I was counseled by our vet to cook her ground beef and rice. I'll bet that turkey was healthier than ground beef. Unless the turkey was bad or your dog has a specific, unusual allergy to turkey, I seriously doubt it was the cause of the rash.

[TorchTheWitch]

3. I agree with that

Meat is good for a dog, and I seriously doubt the turkey has anything to do with it. The rash is probably environmental allergy related. My dog's been having skin issues since May, it almost all went away in the last few weeks with colder weather, but the last day or two the pollen has been really bad, with temps going up again, and after a lot of rain, and we're both suffering allergy symptoms. If it's a food allergy it's more likely something odd like pizza crusts or some kind of sauce or something spicy. Food allergies in dogs usually have some change in bowel movements along with a skin problem... not necessarily always, but usually.

Fleas, ticks and other assorted annoying biting insects are also raging this time of year.

[Dr Morbius]

4. Inform your husband that you've decided to divorce him and marry the dog.

After all, it seems clear to you who's the man, and who's the dog!

Now, I do not suggest this seriously, or perhaps I mean to say you shouldn't say this if he'll take it seriously. But I'd follow this tack. No man likes being emasculated; hinting that his weakness and indulgences are unmanly might get through.

Anyway, so long as that turkey was properly cooked, I suspect Boston will be fine. Best of luck.

[Skittles]

6. you want I should kick some Mr. Texasguy ass???

LEMME AT HIM

[KurtNYC]

8. i give my dogs turkey all the time

cheapest lean meat you can buy and the ground stuff is easy. Not a problem.

As others have said, it sounds more like a reaction to a flea bite perhaps.

[EFerrari]

9. As a rule, I try not to eat anything that I can't give my dog.

It simplifies everything.

[applegrove]

10. It is so hard to stop a symbiotic relationship when pets get table scraps.

My dad keeps feeding Sam the cat meat. Now Sam begs at the table and makes a fuss so that it is impossible to ignore her. What can we do? Pets are experts at looking cute.