# What do you do when people knock what you feed?



## A1Malinois (Oct 28, 2011)

I am constantly getting griped at for when people find out I feed Pro Plan. Its the only food my dog can eat and poop normally on. Everyone tells me that I just didnt try another food long enough or didnt try the right food etc. I am getting sick of it. What do you say without being really rude to people who tell you what you feed is "crap". Sometimes people make me feel like I am a horribly owner for not feeding a high quality food. 

Should I just lie from now on and say I feed like Orijen or something?


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

Well, you can ask them how many AKC Breed Champions were campaigned and earned their championships while eating their favorite brand of food.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Ignore them.


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## Benita (Oct 12, 2011)

Sometimes it's just not worth it and it's better for your nerves to ignore them


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## A1Malinois (Oct 28, 2011)

Yeah, but I get asked what I feed and if I dont answer...

I dunno, since I used to be a raw feeder I would hear people saying the champions that won are all over weight and their coat looks dull etc. But now that I am on this side of the box I really dont know what to think. I find myself sometimes wanting to switch his food to something more "quality" but I just dont think its worth screwing his system up...


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Swampcollie said:


> Well, you can ask them how many AKC Breed Champions were campaigned and earned their championships while eating their favorite brand of food.


 
That, and ignore them.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Lincoln_16 said:


> Yeah, but I get asked what I feed and if I dont answer...
> 
> I dunno, since I used to be a raw feeder I would hear people saying the champions that won are all over weight and their coat looks dull etc. But now that I am on this side of the box I really dont know what to think. I find myself sometimes wanting to switch his food to something more "quality" but I just dont think its worth screwing his system up...


You are exactly right, feed what works for him. If you have to reply tell people he gets sick on a lot of foods and PP is working for him. You feed what works.


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## Benita (Oct 12, 2011)

If you feel that you have to, just say "grain free dry food or something like that" :wave:


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## Vanfull (Jan 20, 2012)

If anyone says anything they are rude. It is your choice what you feed your dog so you dont have to defend it to anyone.

I have certain people who judge everything I feed to my kids. Like we occasionally go to McDonalds if we are on a car trip and every time I get an emails from a certain family member if I make the mistake of mentioning it about the dangers of fast food. The same with any chicken recipes I make because chicken horrible and I am not aware. Now I purposely get them going sometimes! LOL.


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## momof2boys and one dog (Jan 20, 2012)

I agree with vanfull...there are certain people who will nit pick every single thing they can about you. I homeschool...omg, you would think I have a third eye or horns growing out of my head they way some people react to that. My cousin swears Im going to slowly poison my kids because they eat the occasional fast food meal. Our puppy was pulling us on the leash when we FIRST started walking him and some man felt the need to stop us (which only made our pup WAY excited) and explain to me that I am failing as an owner and no dog should ever pull on a leash...oookaay. Thanks for your uninvited opinion on OUR dog, great. Ive learned pick and choose my battles that is for sure.


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## laprincessa (Mar 24, 2008)

Tell them you feed him this amazing brand called "noneya." As in "none ya business, buttheads."

You don't have to give the explanation, let them wonder what it means.


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## Stef_Walsh (Sep 3, 2011)

I would probably tell them that no one knows my dog as well as I do, and that as long as they are healthy and happy on the food that they're eating then I have no worries and neither should they. I'm not one to be rude, haha, just direct and to the point.

This is actually a pet peeve (no pun intended!) of mine and has been for some time. I hate when people turn their nose up or treat you like a bad pet owner because you don't feed your dog gold-encrusted dog food or something. Half the time I think these people don't even know why the food they have their dog is supposedly "better," just that it has a higher price tag so that must mean its better.

My other dog Hershey is 16 years old and her whole life she's eaten Alpo. Not a great food by all these "standards" but her health speaks for itself. 16 years old, no major health scares in her entire life, no joint problems, or anything that has negatively impacted her quality of living, and she's still going strong. She's still the same weight and has the same muscle tone she had when she was young. On the other hand I have Ace on a slightly "higher quality" food that is grain-free with fish because he has a mild food allergy, and he's doing great on that.


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## Wyatt's mommy (Feb 25, 2011)

Tell them your dog likes crap

No need to defend something you know more about than them....


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## Bentley's Mom (May 19, 2011)

I answer honestly and when people start to give me their opinions I remind them I didn't ask for them  I say it super nice too just to annoy them.


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## Jamm (Mar 28, 2010)

I reply by giving them really disgusting poop stories from when Joey wasn't on a good food  Now that Joey is on pro plan he has the most beautiful poop ever! (as beautiful as poop can get)


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## A1Malinois (Oct 28, 2011)

Jamm said:


> I reply by giving them really disgusting poop stories from when Joey wasn't on a good food  Now that Joey is on pro plan he has the most beautiful poop ever! (as beautiful as poop can get)


LOL thats a good idea, I might tell them stories of his poop on other kibble. His poops on Pro Plan are very pretty and perfect haha


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## Jamm (Mar 28, 2010)

Lincoln_16 said:


> LOL thats a good idea, I might tell them stories of his poop on other kibble. His poops on Pro Plan are very pretty and perfect haha


Thats the same with Joey! He had been on fromm since he was about 6 months of age... then i started mixing in some PP because I heard good reviews... then went back to just fromm and Joeys poop was soo bad. Runny, 3 times a day... not good looking at all. Bought a bag of the PP sensitive skin & coat and now he has amazing poops once (sometimes twice) a day!


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## A1Malinois (Oct 28, 2011)

I was impressed with Links poop. I came here and meanwhile was having no luck with kibble. His poops (eventually even on a raw diet) were liquidy 3,4 sometimes 5 times a day. Tested negative for parasites and we even treated for them in case. 

Read reviews on this forum for Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach...picke dup a bag ever so reluctantly and BOOM, the very next day his poops are solid. Been that way ever since *knocks on wood*. He poops 2-3 times a day but they are small firm poops.

Not to mention the cost. Mine only needs a 20lb bag a month. A 40lb bag lasts nearly 2 months and each large bag is $58.99 and I commonly find it on sale


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## laprincessa (Mar 24, 2008)

My step son's dog has been on Alpo since she was a puppy - she's 9 years old and going strong. It's what he can afford, and while I think it's yucky, she is healthy, and loved, and happy. So I bite my tongue about it. She's been offered Max's food when she's here, and she turns up her nose, so I guess it's a case of noneya! None of my business!


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## oakleysmommy (Feb 20, 2011)

ProPlan is a good food, there's a before and after picture on this forum somewhere. The results were amazing! It works period.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

The only person, beside my husband, who is entitled to ask about what I feed my dog is the dog's veterinarian.


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## Nyahsmommy (Jul 23, 2011)

I agree with everyone else on here, ignore them... or say "ok I'll feed them what you recommend, then I'll leave a bag of his poop on your porch so you can see the state of it." : Nyah has been on Pro plan for pretty much her whole life so far... I've added so called healthy kibble to her diet and everytime I has her poo has been green and runny :yuck:. Pro plan is one of the few foods that makes her have nice poops


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## goldhaven (Sep 3, 2009)

So sorry to admit that I am one of those nosy people that ask what you feed. Sorry, I just can't help myself. If I see a dog that has a beautiful coat, my first question is, "what do you feed". It is the same question that I ask when I see a dog with severe allergies and horrible skin. I don't usually gripe about it though. I just like to educate myself on all the different foods out there and see what is working and what isn't. What I have found from asking this question is that it is definitely a case by case basis. It is always a trial and error process. I have seen some dogs go from a very high quality food and have severe diarrhea and skin problems, to one of the lowest quality foods that I know of and had the diarrhea and skin problems clear right up. 
As for what to say to those people who grip, I really don't know, I never have been able to respond to rude people, but please don't stop answering the question for people like me who just want to learn.


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## A1Malinois (Oct 28, 2011)

I dont mind when someone asks what I feed. But when they see my dog is as healthy as he can be with his current medical conditions and they still say oh you should feed a better food it drives me nuts. 

If you see a dog with nasty skin allergies and poor coat and the owner says "Oh I feed him pedigree and hes been on it his whole life" yeah its pretty obvious the food is likely the cause. But when your telling someone what they feed is crap even though the dog is pretty healthy bothers me. 

Lincoln has allergies and every one assumes its the food. But I get to tired explaining to them that he did this even on RAW, or Orijen etc. 

Just the other day some lady asked me what I fed because his coat looked great and shiny. I said I feed Purina Pro Plan and she looked at me like I had arms growing out my head. I could tell she thought it was crap as she worked in a pet store who pushes Orijen etc. But I dont think she had the man berries to tell that to my face lol. 

His poops are so pretty on Pro Plan, I thought of trying another food, but I just dont have the man berries myself to do so lol. Hes fine on this food why bother changing it


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

If someone asked me what food I feed my dog I will tell them. If they nicely discuss foods and feel the food I am feeding may not be the best I will just let it go. They are just giving guidance according to their own experience and even if my experience is different I may learn something I didn't know.

If they act all knowledgable and on a high horse about it I will probably add fuel to the fire.  Saying something about how lucky we are that dogs are property and as long as no abuse is involved we can at this point chose to feed them just about anything.  Sometimes I just can't be nice. 

Or I may say nothing at all even if I think they need to mind their own business.


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

The only brand dog food we ever gave our quail dogs was Purina Dog Chow. And that is what I fed my dogs, including my Irish Setters. Our English Setters and pointers lived long, active lives for the most part (lost a couple of distemper at a young age, one was stollen, one hit by car. I had my first Irish for 8 yers, no telling how old he was as he showed up as a stray. Had my 2ed one 12 1/2 years before losing him to bone cancer. 


I got blasted on the old i-dog forum becaue i said I didn't think the dog chow was as bad as they (a few) were say9ing, and it had worked great on our dogs. There was a couple tht flat out told me I didn't know what I was talking about. dogs on Purina had dull coats, no muscle tone, were not healthy, etc. One got banned for telling me I was "to old to change or learn new things."


I posted these below pictures of my dad's 14 year old English setter, Mack, and his pointer, about 10. Luckey was chewing burs out of Mack's coat. There is no way anyone can say Luckey didn't have great musle tone. Wish I had more pictures of our dogs from back then. And the one of my Irish Setter, Boots. What is wrong with that coat. Couldn't ask for more gloss.

One girl was always getting blasted for giving her dog Science Diet for digestive problems, She said she almost killed her dog trying to feed her the 'right foods) that the people were telling her she should be giving instead of "science death."

Several years ago I did start doing some home cooking and i always went with Taste of the Wild to try to keep grains away the dogs. They looked no better, had no more muscle tone than before. But I can say, they had much smaller poops. I can hardly find Honeyls

I saw feed what works for you dog. Buck couldn't handle the "top of the line foods". He was on Purina til he had a heart attack at 12 yrs. 3 months 5 years ago. Spent 3 months on ?Science Diet when he had his one and only kidney infetion. Sonme can't handle the Purina, etc, some can't handle the "bette5r stuff (only better if it works for you dog.

By the way, the ones telloing me I didn't know a well toned dog or a dog with a nice coat didn't comment on the pictures, but plenty of others did, all for the good.


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## Jamm (Mar 28, 2010)

Just wanted to comment to rant!! I know I'm still young (20) and people think i don't know what i'm talking about... But i'm pretty sure I know more about dog food/dog related things then smart a$$ ladies coming into pet stores! Ahh! I worked at a pet store for 2 years.. A vet for 2 years before that. Every day i'm on 3 different dog forums reading and learning about dogs.... but no. Of course because i am 'so young' i must not know anything and I must not know that purina is a terrribleeeeee food and that I might as well put my dog down because the food I'm feeding will end up killing him.... :|... really?! 

I'm not claiming to know everything... anything but that but I do know more then the average joe about dogs!

/end rant  

<3the food that works for your dog! End of story. There is no 'best dog food in the world' There is only the best food that works for YOUR DOG.


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

You know you should never switch Linc's food. You just need to ignore all those people who think that the grain-free/raw is the ONLY way to go or the dog just isn't going to be happy and healthy. 

Feed what works; that is what I tell clients if they are trying to find a food. I do say that I feed proplan to my own dog; they can take that as a recommendation or not.

Granted, there are some foods that I would never want any dogs on, but I think that is because you can often times see patterns with the foods and the way the dogs look (according to my vet). I won't name the foods, but still, I think we can all agree that foods such as ol'roy is one of the worst things you can feed.

Other than that, don't fix what isn't broken.
--

@Jamm- I definitely get what you mean by being 'young' and not taken seriously sometimes. People can either take my advice or not; I've had a lot of great experiences that have helped me get where I am today and I consider myself (along with everyone here) to be much more educated on our pets and their needs.


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

Grin and bear it. If they persist I discussing tell them how the other foods make your dog sick. If they persist further .... Dunno ... Maybe say "excuse me but I need to wash my hair/car/dog now."  (And as you walk away you could mutter choice words under your breath! : )

One thing I've discovered about having a dog is how intensely some people parent their pups. Just the same as how some people parent their human kids. There's a book out right now about how the French parent their kids. I gather the gist is that they are more chill and less obsessed. I think a lot of dog owners could chill more, too. 

BTW, I feed PPP too and have been quite happy with how healthy and handsome Tucker has turned out.


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## Always51 (Feb 19, 2012)

tell them all to shove off...it's none of their business what you feed your dog when you didn't ask for them advice...


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## Deb_Bayne (Mar 18, 2011)

I have fed Purina Pro Plan from day one and so did the breeder, went from Large Breed Puppy to Large Breed Adult and Bayne is doing just fine. Weird though I never have people ask me what I feed him. I couldn't care less what food people feed their dogs or pets, it's a choice and every animal is so different. 

However, when people talk about going to McPukes'.... I gag there.


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

I gave my thoughts on Purina above and of course it was good as our dogs did great on Purian as far back as I could remember, and it wa just the chow, not he improved formulas. I don't say a word, but I do cringe when I see someone with 2-3 bags of olRoy in their carts at WalMart, but I don't say anything. I WILL GO OFF on folks who say their dogs don't need heartworm protection b sue they are "inside dogs." I cite my next door neighbor who calimed that and lost both of her dogs to heartworms. The Texas coast is NO PPLACE to go without giving them the prevention. But dog food, that is a different thing.


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## A1Malinois (Oct 28, 2011)

Deb_Bayne said:


> I have fed Purina Pro Plan from day one and so did the breeder, went from Large Breed Puppy to Large Breed Adult and Bayne is doing just fine. Weird though I never have people ask me what I feed him. I couldn't care less what food people feed their dogs or pets, it's a choice and every animal is so different.
> 
> However, when people talk about going to McPukes'.... I gag there.


I used to LOVE McPukes. All until the day I found a piece of bone in my Big mac. Manager said it was a piece of plastic and I showed her how little effort it required to slice my hand open..now imagine if I swallowed that....!!!

Yeah, I just gotta practice the smile, nod and agree theory when people give me lectures on dog food


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## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

3 goldens said:


> I gave my thoughts on Purina above and of course it was good as our dogs did great on Purian as far back as I could remember, and it wa just the chow, not he improved formulas. I don't say a word, but I do cringe when I see someone with 2-3 bags of olRoy in their carts at WalMart, but I don't say anything. I WILL GO OFF on folks who say their dogs don't need heartworm protection b sue they are "inside dogs." I cite my next door neighbor who calimed that and lost both of her dogs to heartworms. The Texas coast is NO PPLACE to go without giving them the prevention. But dog food, that is a different thing.


My 1 Uncle feed Ol'Roy to all of his dogs (6) over the years. They all made old bones. Lived between 14 and +18 years (had the dog for that long).

I would never feed it to mine though.


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## oakleysmommy (Feb 20, 2011)

i just tell them they eat dog food oh i have been there trying to feed all the best diets!! Think i tried them all! Honestly i think there are too many "things" in the ingredients that cause loose stools then we supplement ourselves on top of whats already in the "better" foods. its just too much IMO. My 4 dogs are on ProPlan, doing great no issues. Everyone is an "expert" on dog food it seems yet the only real expert in my opinion is your breeder..if you didnt get from a breeder you stay with what works for your dog


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## Luccagr (Feb 25, 2011)

Each dog takes to the different type of food differently so ignore those who says you're feeding a lousy food. Who are they to judge?


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