When did the world become obsessed with dog treats?

[BigFatLabNoMoreTreats]

Or is it just my area?

TLDR: why does everyone insist on giving a dog a treat and why do they act offended when you say no?

I have working dogs that I train and work, so they are not pets as such so I have not experienced this side of dog ownership.

I am dog sitting a very fat lab, owner is my sister and she swears the dog is on a diet and that they keep to it- she has gone away for nearly six weeks so I have taken dog with the intention of helping him lose some weight as it is affecting his life. Have the measured out food- vet can't understand why he isn't losing, sister swears she is measuring the food.

Turns out she is correct - the problem is the constant treat giving wherever we are. Postman, bakers, pub, random people on the dog walk. Most of these treats are complete crap.

On our day out today Hugo was offered 20 treats, most not even training treats- high calorie dog McDonald's style treats.

I said no, I had to physically stop two people who were genuinely offended when I said no he can't have one. The person said I was starving the dog and he 'looked' hungry. (He looks like he has eaten a whale, he certainly does not look hungry)

Why is this seen as acceptable? I will keep saying no but would be interested to know how do you deal with it if you don't want endless crap being fed to your dog.

(Aside, Hugo has very expensive, allergy free food, sister is keen to give good quality food- but has never thought about the crap he is given- I've spoken to her btw, she had never realised)

This is a thing where I am too. I think it’s mostly people who love dogs but can’t have one for whatever reason, so they like to say hello and give a treat.

It's not acceptable at all. I hate it.

I won't allow anyone to give treats to my dog. I don't really give her a lot of treats myself because I think they become meaningless after a while.

I have said no a few times if people have asked, but, to be truthful very few people try and very few people want to pet her now. It must be very hard when you have a more friendly and approachable looking breed like a Lab, Retriever or Spaniel though...

Yep, I have a Bedlington who attracts a lot of attention. If I let everyone who asks treat her, she’d be fat as a pig 😂 so I keep it to a couple of her “regulars.”

I’m having the same problem with my cat. I didn’t realise the calories in a few Dreamies and she ballooned. Of course it’s different when a dog is being offered treats when he’s out. And labs are so friendly they’re hard to resist.

Not a thing for me, but then I’m an antisocial cow who avoids people like the plague on a walk

My dog has pretty high quality treatos chopped into small pieces (don't tell him), plus cubed paté specifically for training - when I first brought him home as a puppy I hadn't realised just how bulky and crap the standard treats and biscuits were. I share his treats around with his friends and some of the dogs on our walks, but only after asking whether it's okay. They are tiny - half the size of your little fingernail. I'm astonished at the treats that some reciprocate with - huge great gravy bones, strips of bacon-flavoured something or other. We walk about ten miles a day all told, and he's got no problems with weight, so I try not to be too hung up about him getting a bit of junk from friends here and there.

Why do I let him take treats? I want him to be sociable and think that people in general are good and generous, and I want the people we meet to think that they are good and generous and that Bill is a sweetheart, and not the nobhead he actually is (he's 14 months old).

Why do I give them out? Because I have the good stuff and I want to reward my dog sometimes when he's around others. If we're at the dog park and he's playing with friends, it's not fair to only give them out to him. The same goes for our walks, when we run into the same dogs over and over.

TL/DR: people like Hugo and want to be nice, and your sister probably wants to be nice to them. To make life easier, without offending people, you could make up something regarding his diet (testing for allergies for example) or cut down on his main food, or walk him for longer, or leave the house at 4am and avoid all humans?

I do give mine a fair amount of quality treats however he’s very lean so no weight issues with it and we use them in training (I do also use praise and toys to mix it up!).

It does seem like everywhere we go treats are on offer which I don’t like as they’re often the ones full of rubbish. He’s not a huge fan of other people though so generally won’t take a treat from other people which helps!

We use quality treats for our dog, to the extent that he's really not a fan of rubbish ones, and turns his nose up at them (which surprises people as he's a lab, but he's not food oriented).

There's only one person who offers him treats though, so it's not really a thing round here.

I think a postman offering treats is a bit different to other people out and about as they do that so dogs are less intimidated and they're less likely to be bitten when doing their job.

I don't really give her a lot of treats myself because I think they become meaningless after a while

Exactly this. Hugo is typical social lab so his issues aren't really a problem but I find him a little rude- he barges out of the door for example. He never needs to work for the treats so the idea that he has to do something seems alien to him.

I think it’s mostly people who love dogs but can’t have one for whatever reason, so they like to say hello and give a treat.

I'd quite like a baby but can't have one- I do understand what you are saying but strange people's dogs shouldn't fill that hole.

I want him to be sociable and think that people in general are good

I do see your view point but I'm not sure I agree. I'm not comfortable with a dog thinking all people are his friends- I don't want a dog thinking he can go up to any person and that he will get treats. I don't want a dog to see strangers as a source of food and believe a dog can still be sociable without this.
With regards to your treats you are right, very few have high quality treats, and so many are large bits. If they are your friends dogs and are aware you are doing it then there is less of an issue, but I'm talking about strangers really.

No one has ever offered my dog a treat while out and about, I’m feeling left out 😂

I don't agree with this at all, maybe years ago when you had one postie and one round.

Now it increases the chance, multiple posties/delivery drivers not all have treats/like dogs.

A have a healthy, lean dog - his treats are high quality and accounted for in his calorie allowance. Man in my area with the same breed but very fat. Laughs when I tell him not to give my dog treats and says he’s skin and bones. He’s not, he just isn’t built like a hippo like your dog 🤦‍♀️

Another woman is always giving treats to dogs and then bragging about how all the dogs love her so much. No, they love treats not you 🤣

I think mine have maybe been offered treats a handful of times in four years of dog ownership, and only ever where people are offering their own dogs something and ask if they can give mine something too.

Despite being labs, mine have sometimes refused anyway.

I think the only place they really expect treats is at the pet shop till.

I do miss the laugh emoji.

Honestly you are lucky (or your dog is scary....)

Aah I'm very rural so it's pretty much always the same postman or delivery driver. I didn't realise that they swop and change postmen round routes so much in more urban areas.

Very rarely do people offer my dogs treats, so must be where you live.

I let my dog eat any old crap tbh. She always gets some extra sausages off the barbecue when we have one.

She’s an extremely fit and very busy Springer Spaniel. Maybe these people just work on the basis thar not all dogs are overweight?

Yes. I always have the same person and she always has 'a wee piece' in her pocket for the dogs on her round.

People very rarely ask if they can give my dogs treats and I don't ask to treat other people's. The only one I do treat belongs to a man I walk with. The dog has learnt that when I blow my whistle, my dogs get rewarded for coming to me. So he now comes running too. Would be very mean not to reward him.

I used to have a dog with severe allergies. Someone once asked to give him a treat and was most offended when I said no. 'It's only a gravy bone.' It may well be, but that gravy bone will have him up all night with explosive diarrhoea.

And I don't do shop bought treats. Mine have small pieces of left over meat from dinner or homemade tuna or liver bread. So I like to think they are a little healthier and a lot cheaper.

I am also very rural - the only constant is the Evri driver which appears to make our area unique.

Surely it’s bad for their teeth to be constantly snacking

I did wonder this- my nearest village and town are both quite trendy - the sourdough bakers having a bowl of dog treats.

It must happen judging by the response I get when out for a walk from dogs, especially the area where they can be off the lead. Run up, look at me expectedly, get told no treats, then sulky face. If their paws have come on my jeans, apology from dog owner.

I'd forgive postmen/postwomen for treats, no one else.

She’s a very cute, waggy little beagle! I think it must be very area dependant. I’m in a small, dull town in the midlands and it doesn’t seem to be a thing here.

I think its just being sociable - they have a dog treat jar in the charity shops near me and offer them to all the dogs coming into the shop - which is a really kind and I think its a lovely idea! Dogs are your family and I can’t wait to have one when I move and will be lavishing it with attention and treats with long walks to burn off the calorific treats!