A general forum for the discussion of hunting with beagles, guns, clothing and other equipment and just talking dawgs! (Tall tales on hunting allowed, but remember, first liar doesn't stand a chance)
I've got a friend. A good friend. We go hunting together all the time, and he has shared his knowledge of dogs with me. So, life is great right? NOT I have a problem I need some advice on. My friend owns about 6 dogs, and every dog looks starved to me. I haven't tried, but I'm guessing I could put my hand around any of his dog's waists and touch fingers and thumbs. You can easily count EVERY rib on his dogs. I hadn't seen his dogs lately, and we went hunting last week. When I saw his dogs, I jumped him about their size. He just laughed and said that's how a dog needs to look, and mine are too fat. It's so bad, that when we got to my house my wife saw one of his dogs and without knowing I already said something began to berate him about the same thing. He just laughs it off. I asked him how much he was feeding, and he said a cup a day. I told him that it wasn't enough if his dogs looked like that. He says they hunt better that way. So, here's my question.....How do I handle this situation? I really feel badly for the dogs, but he doesn't see a problem. Now, I know that hunting beagles are SUPPOSED to be skinny, but not like this. What can I do to persaude him that his dogs need a little more? I really do not want to offend him or make him mad, but at the same time I can't just watch his dogs waste away. Let me know what u think.....
everybody who reads here knows i am new,,, so take what i say for what it is worth,,, but i would think one can tell much more about the dogs by
1)what type of food they are eating
2)what condition the kennel and area that they live is in
3)what is the general health, coat condition, etc of the dogs
i see dogs that are thinner than mine and some of these look better then mine do,,, i know that some of them run better than mine do. i tend to overfeed everything so mine tend to be that way, but to each their own as long as the dogs are healthy.
after reading my 1st post I realize it sounded a little harsh, but what I ment was those are his dogs and to each his own, if his dogs hunt good and have all the things that dosgris said then they are fine, I hunt with some guys that think if thier dogs will still eat then they need it, after a couple hours hunting the same dogs are right around your feet because they are bad overweight
Diamond recomends 1 to 1.5 cups for a 10 to 20 lb. dog. Average size beagle is 20 to 25 lbs. so may be a little light, but I have one here that weighs only 15 lbs. and looks as you describe yet she has access to food 24/7 in a feeder. If the guys feeding good food and they are looking good other than thin I would go easy on the lecturing. You should already have him thinking between you and your wife. Also for what it's worth I have a bigger male I can't keep weight on when I hunt him hard, I supplement his feed and he still looks thin.
I am absolutely dumb founded over this one!!! Friend or not, nobody has the right to abuse their animals. And if anyone here likes it or not when you can count every rib on a hound or wrap your hand around it's waist, and if this is no exageration it IS abuse. I couldn't care less if you feed one cup a day or a hundred you need to adjust depending on the work you are asking your hound to do for you. The idea that you should mind your business or somehow ignore such a situation is sick. I would be careful of anyone that could treat any of their animals this way. Take a look at how many of the people who are in our prisons and mental institutions in this country for commiting unbelievable crimes against other people. Now take a look back in their history and see how many as kids began by torturing animals. Just like there are laws in this country to protect children there are also laws to protect domestic animals. The reason is, they are considered defensless and as such depend on us to treat them humanely. Take whatever tough guy attitudes you want but I for one have to sleep at night and could not do so with the knowledge that I was sitting back allowing this to continue.
Disgusted,
NYH
When my life on earth is ended....this is all I'm gonna say...Lord I've been a hard working pilgrim on the way!
i think u have heard some good advise #1 need to know what type of food he's feeding ole roy just wont cut it at 1 cup a day!!!during hunting season always feed a little more or at least a beeter quality of food !u didnt say if his dogs were stopping hunting before urs?being gave out from a lack of energy?if so and he didnt do anything about it i would contact somebody about it friend or not i wont allow someone to misstreat his dogs, for sure not in a starving manner!!!!
This isn't as simple as it sounds. Obviously a cup a day for a 25 pound dog who is run 40 hours a week is not enough; even with a high quality feed. For a 15 pound dog who isn't run much and the weather is warm, that's probably plenty. There's a big difference between a dog being lean and muscled and being anorexic. Most beagles in hard, field trial condition will have ribs showing but hip bones and vertebrae should not. Muscle in the hindquarters should be evident. Worms and other parasites will of course take their toll and need to be prevented. Some guys look at my hounds and say they're too thin but the guys who really know hounds tell me they're a bit too heavy and they're right. Some dogs will get fat on a handful of feed while others are constantly ravenous no matter how much they're fed. Those owners who successfully compete in trials where endurance is an issue soon learn their dogs' optimum weight and the amount of feed required to keep them there. None of us really have been given enough info here to be making judgements.
No DONT call PETA! PETA is nothing but a bunch of anti-hunting, animal rights FREAKS. PERIOD. Anyone who thinks a child is on the same line as a cat or a pig is a SICKO! I cant believe anyone would even think of calling a bunch of nuts like PETA.
I have a friend that does the same thing. Old timer told him to keep his dogs starved and they will hunt better. Doesnt work. I have seen pups cut back to get started but then they are fed up to get in shape. Animals like humans need calories. If you run a dog alot and dont feed to supplement the calorie burn then your dog will breakdown the muscle tissue. My friend cant figure out why his dogs quit early too. He cant hunt his three days in a row for five plus hours each time. I dont over feed mine by anymeans but if I run the hair off of them I will up their food.
But like everyone says to each his own. A man takes care of his dogs like he sees fit.
most people in prison around here are there because people had their nose where it didn't belong. I don't think it would be possible to put your thumb and finger around a starving chihuahua's stomach let along a beagle, I mean come on put the two fingers togather, now does that seem possible?
How about ASPCA? Any of you ever follow them? I watch the TV show all the time and whenever we make small donations it usually goes to them, they send some nice cards and such. They do provide very sound medical care for animals of all types, that alone is more than the tree huggers have ever done
What is your folks favorite organization to contribute to, if any, that deals with domestic animals?
BTW, Anyone that has ever seen my dogs will never accuse us of underfeeding LOL
WVRAbbithunter,Before you accuse someone of something you better know what you are talking about!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That above post was not made by me!I do not support Peta or anything they do.IF you had took the time to notice,AS soon as I saw that was posted I deleted that post.I will not stoop to the level of name calling on these boards.That are not what they are far!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!If you have a problem with what I said I will be glad to discuss this in private with you.
I've got a friend. A good friend. We go hunting together all the time, and he has shared his knowledge of dogs with me. So, life is great right? NOT 
LOL