This is a serious question, I’m curious. I feel that pet food these days isn’t that nutritious, and dogs and cats should be hunting for their own food instead of being given this crappy foul tasting “wet food”. In the future, I wanted to buy rabbits, mice, and rats and put them in an enclosure with my dogs to teach them to hunt. Would this be legal? Because I don’t see anything wrong or inhumane about this seeing as people buy live mice for their snakes to eat. So why don’t we do this with dogs and cats? Surely wet food isn’t as good for them?
This Is A Serious Question, I’m Curious. I Feel That Pet Food These Days Isn’t…
8 Responses
instead of buying them from pet stores, look into reptile supply. they will sell frozen/thawed. i also cannot say this would be a nutritionally complete diet. better to fully research raw feeding and put meals together that ARE nutritionally complete. besides, your house pet does not need to learn to hunt…and depending on the breed of your dog(s), they may fail miserably in this task. feed a high quality kibble or feed raw, do not feed live rodents.
and yes, this is considered inhumane, especially considering how it’s basically one step away from animal fighting. can’t you see how that is problematic?
it’s inhumane to feed live to reptiles, too…inhumane and irresponsible, as the rats are just as likely to do serious damage to the animals they were intended to feed.
i cannot fathom why you would only give wet food to your dog. does your dog have a lot of missing teeth? or is there a medical reason you’re feeding wet?
oh, and another thing: cats are an invasive species, especially in the UK. they already kill too many animals for sport. they do not need to be encouraged to kill for food.
A domestic dog is not a wolf even though they may have ancestry in common. A domestic dog does not have the digestive tract of wolves. Raw fed dogs are fed raw meat but they are not expected to kill their own. Personally my dogs eat what I eat as I feel that pet food is sadly lacking. This includes meat, fish, vegetables and a small amount of pasta and rice. I do not eat rats or mice and I wouldn’t give it to them either. Of my seven dogs only two have a small amount of prey drive. I can’t imagine any of them would know what to do with a raw kill. As for snakes….they are a wild animal. I did have snakes many years ago and they ate live rats and mice because they wouldn’t eat anything else. Dogs are not wild animals.
I’m sorry, Laura, I don’t understand where you’re coming from with the whole “inhumane” thing. It wouldn’t be animal fighting purely for entertainment, no. I wanted a hound or working dog to help me to hunt rabbits. Animals are subjected to awful, cruel torture in the meat industry, so I wanted to kill the animal myself. God knows what the chickens in the supermarket experience before they end their miserable lives. Hunting isn’t “inhumane”, it’s natural and incredibly humane compared to the torture that humans put animals through. I feed my dog wet and dry food, but it just seems so nonsensical to me. Hunting would be entertaining for me and the dog.
It wouldn’t be for entertainment but it would be for entertainment.
Your ethics are in question. Be glad I lack ban powers. People who justify allowing their animals fight for their personal amusement disgust me.
There’s nothing wrong with enjoying hunting, is there? It’s nature, we’re omnivores. So cats disgust you because they hunt birds? I’m not saying I would go out and maim an animal for no reason. That’s sick. Why would I get banned just because we have different opinions? I really don’t see what’s wrong with it, honestly.
cats should not be outside. they are an invasive species and have hunted many native rodent and bird species to the point where they are endangered. letting cats outside is irresponsible, plain and simple.
you said you wanted to do this for your entertainment as well as that of your dog. THAT IS PROBLEMATIC. how can you not see this?
I’m sorry, I don’t understand. As a person with aspergers, I find it hard to understand other people’s points of view. Stopping a cat from acting out its natural behaviours is cruel. Hindering it from going outside would be like keeping a dog inside. It seems ludicrous to me. Whereas it’s instinct that cannot be stopped for cats, humans are more of an invasive species that hunt thousands of animals to extinction.
And I am sorry, but I still don’t see how it’s problematic at all. Being out in nature and killing and sharing a meal with my dog is better than eating processed meats is all I’m saying. Sorry if I seem blunt or rude, I’m really not good with communicating. I don’t want to offend anyone c: