6 Month Old Lab Behaviour

Question
Hi D-Lee,

Thanks for your advice.
I just have one more question. I've heard that feeding a dog from the table is bad. Do you think that this is true? From your experience, do you think it's a bad idea to give him bones for example?
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Followup To

Question -
Hi,
Thank you so much for taking the time and answering my questions. Charcoal and I really appreciate it.
This is the reason that I'm feeding Charcoal Ol Roy: We purchased this pup when he was two months old from an animal shelter. He was very healthy and a great dog. I bought him the best of everything, including food. I got him the best food that the people at PetCo recommended to me. But a few weeks later we noticed something wrong with Charcoal's skin. He began to itch and bite constantly, non-stop. It began to get SO bad that at times I would find him bleeding. He had no fur left on his ears and his four legs were also hairless. It was horrible, and nobody knew what it was. First we thought it was flees, but it wasn’t. Then we thought it was allergies so we put him on different diets, but that didn’t help. No vet knew what the problem was and none of the medications helped. We were so attached to Charcoal and thought that we would have to give him up because there was nothing we could do to help him.
Then, last month, as I was taking Charcoal out for a walk at a park, a dog lover in the park did what no vet could do. He diagnosed my dog and said that the problem was the fancy dry food that I was feeding him. He told me to stop giving him all of that food and try to give him Ol Roy mixed with some canned food. A few weeks later, I couldn't believe what I was seeing; my Charcoal was finally getting better. Now he almost never scratches and the majority of his fur has grown back. It seems that this food has helped him. That's why I'm a little skeptical about changing his food. I really don't want him to go through that again.
It’s not that the food is too expensive; it’s that I want my puppy to be healthy and the other foods did the opposite of that. I’ve also noticed that he enjoys this food a lot more than he did all of the other foods I gave to him. What do you think?
Do you think that maybe I should keep him on this food for a little bit and then try to gradually change?
Thanks for your time.
ilya

Answer -
Hello Ilya... sorry It seems I'd spelt your name wrong a few times,

Well it could be the meat in the other foods that was bothering him I guess but I've never heard of a dog being allergic to meat before, you could try a bit of vegeiterian foods and see how he does on them they are better quaility then ol roy natural choice is a great one I'd used it at one time because it has no wheat or corn in it my jack russell terrier is allergic to everything lol poor little Luke, dogs will eat anything basicly even when its not good for them a cheap food with not so great ingredients mayt result in a shorter lifespan or other health problems in my option. It really sounds like your dog has allergies to something in the food you had him on before, maybe if you pick through teh ingredent lables on the old foods and compare to the food your feeding now and the natural choice vegeterian you'll find the secrect ingredent that made him itchy and sore(it would be soemthing the norginal food feed has but ol roy doesnt you'll want to be sure any other new food tryed doenst have the ingredent in it of course) You can leave him on that food its up to you, I persoanlly don't like ol roy because of the ingredident's used and wouldnt feed it to any of my three pup's. Mixing some higher end soft food with the ol roy would make for a better diet if you can find allergy related dog food in soft formula i know the natural choice vegeterian comes in canned. Fish and potatoe dog foods are hig quaility and are for dogs with allergys try a small bag with him if you think the price is right and its avalible constantly I had my jack russell on it once but he refused to eat it after a few days.... and is back on his current food which is amoung other thins bothering his allergys again :s. But if you want to keep him on teh olroy and add higher end allergy brand dog foods to it instead of canned ol roy or at lest repalce some of it with it sometimes everyweek I';m sure he would be ok with it and it to me would be a healthier diet. If there is anything else I can help you with feel free to ask I'd be happy to help, Take care... the both of you and enjoy the summer.

Answer
Hi Ilya no problem at all,

Feeding table scraps isnt "bad" exactly it wouldnt kill the dog as long as you didn't give much or offen. Also bones chicken bones and pork chop bones will splinter when chewed and can cause cuts in the sthmic and intestins resulting in internal bleeding and death. Chicken bones also tend to get stuck in a dogs throt. Marrow bones, ham bones or ribs can be given but I persoanlly only give my dogs the knuckles from bision/marrow bones from bisions I get from pet shops. Rib bones splinter sometimes too and for smaller dogs it would be ok but for larger dogs you'd run the risk of piece breaking off. Ham bones seem to have the same problems with larger dogs they break too easily if you do offer them just let him eat the knuckles and then take it and toss it. Table scraps ten dto put weight on any dog, as dogs need sertin amounts of calories per day also(I know this because it mentioned it on the food I'm feeding... but I'm still not sure how much each dog I have needs calorie wise) and if your feeding biscuts , kibble/canned and offen table scraps you run the risk of fattening up your puppy. Also if too many table scrpas are given the dog will favor them and only eat its food later in the day or evening when he relizes he can't get anything better. A dog can get stuck on treats as well with the same problem as feeding table scraps.... my friends lab/golden ret X will come in the living room look and you whine and you get up to leave her outside... instead she walks to the treat cupboard!!!!! She only eats her food late in the vening when shes sure there are no more treats offered.... shes got quite wide hips to prove shes a treat fanatic lol. Soem people feed table scraps some dont its that simple... I give my dog s apiece of carrot or apple sometimes when I'm cutting fruit/veggies up or offer them an apple core sometimes which they really like but I'm not into giving them whats left in my plate when I'm done.... they would be so overweight it just wouldnt be good.

I hope this helps, If you need absultley anything else don't be afraid to ask, Take care,