Fasting your dog...Who does!!

[Helen]

I would feel dreadful taking my dogs out for exercise on a Sunday morning and then giving no breakfast 

but that's really it isn't it - YOU would feel bad - it's debatable that the dogs would 

not singling you out Bracken as everyone on this thread has said THEY would feel bad.  It's just our conditioning not the dogs    If they're in the vet's on a drip and nil by mouth we think nothing of it but by physically not giving them food it hurts us more than it would them 

[Toni-UK]

I suppose it depends on your opinion of cruelty - if I'm truly honest I think that over-feeding and under-exercising dogs is cruel....and there are an awful lot of obese dogs out there.  

I wouldn't have a problem fasting my dog - he does it himself sometimes anyway - as long as they have free access to water a day it is not cruel.

(oh and yes OH and I have actually FORGOTTEN to feed Jarvis on some very rare occasions - he didn't even notice   )

Agree with this....

Although obesity in dogs is cruel in some peoples eyes (mine included) it can also be sheer ignorance on the owners behalf of exactly what they are doing to their dog.

Bluegirl is far from cruel,and certainly not ignorant.She has explained in depth the reasons why she does this and what she believes the benefits are.
I wouldn't like to have to fast my dog,though i have when she was ill with a bug but Bluegirls dogs have been raised that way and are used to it.

[hollyd443]

My ears wouldn't be able to take it if I missed one of Rio's meals! I was an hour later than usual feeding her this evening and you'd think she hadn't been fed for a month  Mika velcros herself to my side breathing fish breath all over me demanding her dinner also, I sware they can tell the time 

[Toni-UK]

My ears wouldn't be able to take it if I missed one of Rio's meals! I was an hour later than usual feeding her this evening and you'd think she hadn't been fed for a month  Mika velcros herself to my side breathing fish breath all over me demanding her dinner also, I sware they can tell the time 

Ruby can tell the time,she paws at me at 5pm every evening,or sits in front of me and does "the stare" 
though i do ignore her sometimes 

[Danni and Freya]

And Freya  they have incredible body clocks

[bracken]

I would feel dreadful taking my dogs out for exercise on a Sunday morning and then giving no breakfast 

but that's really it isn't it - YOU would feel bad - it's debatable that the dogs would 

not singling you out Bracken as everyone on this thread has said THEY would feel bad.  It's just our conditioning not the dogs    If they're in the vet's on a drip and nil by mouth we think nothing of it but by physically not giving them food it hurts us more than it would them 

I agree Helen..but it makes me feel happy 

[vixen]

When I had GSDs I used to fast them one day a week.
I think I had read in one of Juliette Bairacli Levy's books of the benefits of weekly fasting.
I haven't tried it with my cocker girls as since they have been spayed and I have cut down on their food intake, they seem to be food obessed.  
I get the 'stare' too. 

[Monstersspaniel]

I suppose it depends on your opinion of cruelty - if I'm truly honest I think that over-feeding and under-exercising dogs is cruel....and there are an awful lot of obese dogs out there.  

I wouldn't have a problem fasting my dog - he does it himself sometimes anyway - as long as they have free access to water a day it is not cruel.

(oh and yes OH and I have actually FORGOTTEN to feed Jarvis on some very rare occasions - he didn't even notice   )

so starving your dog to keep their weight level is fine??
I agree their are a lot of fat dogs out their but starving them to keep a steady weight is wrong
like I said unless their is a seriously good reason for doing it why bother???

[Danni and Freya]

I suppose it depends on your opinion of cruelty - if I'm truly honest I think that over-feeding and under-exercising dogs is cruel....and there are an awful lot of obese dogs out there.  

I wouldn't have a problem fasting my dog - he does it himself sometimes anyway - as long as they have free access to water a day it is not cruel.

(oh and yes OH and I have actually FORGOTTEN to feed Jarvis on some very rare occasions - he didn't even notice   )

so starving your dog to keep their weight level is fine??
I agree their are a lot of fat dogs out their but starving them to keep a steady weight is wrong
like I said unless their is a seriously good reason for doing it why bother???

I'm not sure thats what Helen or any of us meant  Just making the comparison between people saying this is cruel when infact obesity in dogs kills them and ruins thier quality of life. When compared fasting is not cruel at all in my eyes

[bluegirl]

I suppose it depends on your opinion of cruelty - if I'm truly honest I think that over-feeding and under-exercising dogs is cruel....and there are an awful lot of obese dogs out there.  

I wouldn't have a problem fasting my dog - he does it himself sometimes anyway - as long as they have free access to water a day it is not cruel.

(oh and yes OH and I have actually FORGOTTEN to feed Jarvis on some very rare occasions - he didn't even notice   )

so starving your dog to keep their weight level is fine??
I agree their are a lot of fat dogs out their but starving them to keep a steady weight is wrong
like I said unless their is a seriously good reason for doing it why bother???

I Think you are jumping to the wrong conclusion there. No on said starving a dog keeps their weigh level. Starving for extended periods of time reduces weight and if starvation is  prolonged (and I'm talking weeks here not 24 hrs here) it is life threatening. What has been said is fasting can be beneficial to a dogs health (please see link Helen provided or try google search), whereas obesity in any animal has been scientifically proven not to be healthy and so encouraging obesity could be classed as cruel.

I also think you stated no dog should be fasted unless it is for medical reasons. Well then I guess I fast for medical reasons because I wish my dogs to remain as healthy as possible  especially as they hit old age and if by fasting I may achieve this as research suggests, then surely it is for medical reasons and you would have no further objection to that, based on what you said in your previous post on this thread.

[Helen]

I suppose it depends on your opinion of cruelty - if I'm truly honest I think that over-feeding and under-exercising dogs is cruel....and there are an awful lot of obese dogs out there.  

I wouldn't have a problem fasting my dog - he does it himself sometimes anyway - as long as they have free access to water a day it is not cruel.

(oh and yes OH and I have actually FORGOTTEN to feed Jarvis on some very rare occasions - he didn't even notice   )

so starving your dog to keep their weight level is fine??
I agree their are a lot of fat dogs out their but starving them to keep a steady weight is wrong
like I said unless their is a seriously good reason for doing it why bother???

as others have said, you've misconstrued.   You stated anyone that fasts their dog is cruel.  I stated that it depends on what you believe is cruel - my idea of cruelty is killing a dog with kindness with too much food.  I in no way said, or believe, that fasting your dog is a way to make it slimmer.  If you check the link I posted above, you'll find some research into the subject.

Your posts are coming across as really rude and antagonistic.  I know you're young but labelling other very knowledgeable col'ers as cruel is really not on, and could not be more wrong in this case.

[LurcherGirl]

I know this used to be done when I was a kid, I have never done it and wouldn't ever do it! I know how I feel when I am hungry, wouldn't want my dogs to feel like that for a whole day! 

[Loudon]

Gosh, this is really interesting. I remember seeing a TV prog (Michael Palin?) and the huskies were only fed 2/3 times a week and I wondered why. Also a prog on POW's in Japanese camps and how strangely a lot of the survivors lived to a ripe old age after years of malnourishment/starvation.

But Bluegirl a 6 day fast for yourself!! That is willpower.

[praia]

I fast my raw fed (prey model) adult dogs once every other week.  We do the gorge and fast method so it's not as if they're being starved.  Fasting has nothing to do with keeping a dog's weight down.

Sometimes they self fast, the spaniel in particular.   He'll refrain from eating for a day or two, but eating has always been a chore for him.  Playing nonstop has always been his passion in life.  

It's easy to dismiss something you're not really informed about as useless or cruel.  It's always best to educate oneself about the topic before jumping to conclusions about why some people choose to do the things they do with their own dogs.  Even if you've done your homework and still disagree with it, there's always a way to share your opinion without shooting others down.  

Agreed with what others have said about what one's beliefs about cruelty.  How about you consider the people on the other side of the spectrum who strictly feed their dogs a prey model raw diet... to some of them, feeding a dog food that isn't species appropriate like kibble is selfish and cruel...

[supergirl]

Have to say that I find this very interesting.  When I had my first spaniel she would regularly refuse to eat and when Misha was an only dog she would also refuse food on odd days.