Sidebar Question to "Foods Your Dog Goes Crazy About."

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RonandJan

Forums Enthusiast
Here is a question I have been wondering about.

Do our pups actually have favorite foods or do we create what their favorite foods are by always giving certain treats to them?

Example: MMM is seriously a Vermont Sharp Cheddar Cheese connoisseur. As I said in the other thread of the same subject, he will wake from a dead sleep at midnight to come downstairs for this cheese. Now of course, I know he smells it and comes, but if I am getting Dark Chocolate Crystallized Ginger (very strong smell) at midnight he will not even move a muscle in response. Is that because he always gets cheese when he comes. Since he is not allowed the chocolate and has never had it, is this why he never comes for it.

Are they that smart? "Since I never get this, why go after it? Since I ALWAYS get this, it is my favorite?"

Just something to ponder. What do you guys think?
 
I think that some dogs have a preference. I can tell you that Bentley loves peanut butter. He gets excited if anyone is eating anything peanut butter (ice cream, cookie, sandwich, etc...) He likes cheese, but doesn't react the way he does with peanut butter.

Also, liver (real liver) is the end all be all according to him. He falls all over himself trying to get some. He likes it so much we can't use it when we're doing agility because he loses his brain over it!
 
I think, like us, they develop their favourite foods and will go to any length to get them. Sometimes it just takes one little bit. If I am eating potato chips (and I'm not supposed to according to my diet), Emma will appear out of nowhere to get one. If it's toat, forget it - she doesn't wan't it.
 
Um good question. I think they have likes or dislikes. I know Diva gets more excited for string cheese and hotdogs more than anything else. She will become a treat seeking missile if anyone has these items. Ember does not like liver. Ember loves bananas and yogurt ,none of the others care for it. Justice would push his mother in the street for liver. I like popcorn and I will happily share it with the dogs. Ember and Diva love it. Justice will not touch it. he takes it in his mouth and spits it out. Same with apples. He will stare longing at someone eating apples and then gag on it if they give him a piece. My friends dog does not like chicken anything, he will eat it if there is nothing else offered but he picks at it. Now fish, he loves fish flavors of any kind. EMber will not touch fish treats, other than her fish capsule.
 
Mine definately have things they dislike, so I guess they have preferences as well. With Mr D its hard to tell seeing as he will eat almost anything, except raw fruit and vegies and raw fish.

What interests me as dogs have a smaller number of taste buds they supposedly dont have as good a sense of taste as humans. Yet most of our sense of taste actually comes from our sense of smell - so shouldnt that mean dogs have a pretty good sense of taste, leaving aside their atrocious food choices!
 
*Caro I have always wondered that too. They have this amazing wet nose that smells so many things better than us, wouldn't they have a great sense of taste? If that is the case, how in the #@!! can they eat CatCrackers? Cat mess has to smell worse than any other poop.:dead::dead:

McKinley loves popcorn too.

Here is another example of selection with him.

McKinley will beg to lick the bowl after vanilla ice cream, but will not beg to lick the bowl after chocolate ice cream.


(Geez this thread is making Ron and I look like all we do is eat snacks!)
 
I'd have to say that I believe Vash does show a preference to certian food/treats.

For example if I go to the "treat box" which contains some wellness treats, zukes treats, and a bag of pup-eroni (yea I know it's junk food but he likes the stuff :) ) he'll follow me around but if I put the treat in my pocket he'll eventually "forget" about it (and by forget I mean just give up on getting anything at the moment).

If however I go to the refrigerator and pull out the box which contains the hot dog treats, I can't shake him. He'll follow me around the house, jump into my lap, stick his snout in my pockets, try to nudge open my hand to get a treat...he is relentless when it comes to hot dogs.

I have tried not giving my pup a specific treat for a few weeks then give it to him again and that doesn't seem to boost the value of the treat at all in my opinion. I also give Vash some peices of mozarella or peanut butter when he goes into his crate at night, and both of those items seem to have retained their value to him over time. They are more motivating than anything in my "treat box".

High valued items for Vash seem to be something brand spankin new (a new flavor of an old treat, or a new treat all togeather), or old people foods that he gets like mozarella sticks, hot dog peices, and peanut butter.

It's funny that he's so selective, because he spends most of his time on our walks eating dirt/leaves/pine needles/ and mulch. Maybe I should buy a bag of mulch and stick it in the treat box....
 
RonandJan said:
*Caro I have always wondered that too. They have this amazing wet nose that smells so many things better than us, wouldn't they have a great sense of taste? If that is the case, how in the #@!! can they eat CatCrackers? Cat mess has to smell worse than any other poop.:dead::dead:
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I've heard a few explanations for the cat poo thing. The most logical one I heard pointed towards how much higher in protien cat food was, because cats don't absorb as much of it as dogs do. And because of this their poo is also high in protien.

Now I can't even begin to understand how a dogs nose works, but perhaps because they can smell beyond what humans can, they can get past the general "stink" of poop in general and smell what the poo started off as.
 
I believe that they have preferences.

I was using a treat called Rollover for training, which both dogs love. It seemed to be upsetting Ginny's stomach, so I instead switched to chicken hot dogs, which they both seemed to love and was easier on Ginny's tummy.

Well one night at training Sadie seemed very interested in two of the other people in the class. Turned out that they had Rollover. She continued to eat her chicken hot dog pieces but kept an eye on those people for the whole night.
 
jerros said:
It's funny that he's so selective, because he spends most of his time on our walks eating dirt/leaves/pine needles/ and mulch. Maybe I should buy a bag of mulch and stick it in the treat box....
Click to expand...

:lol::lol: I love that idea - can you imagine the look on their faces when they look in the treat box and its full of dirt!
 
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