aunt feeds dog only hotdogs

Hello. I dont own a dog, but signed up to ask about my aunts smaller dog. I'm not sure what kind it is, but she only feeds it hotdogs. Im wanting to know how bad it is, and how she should go about weening him off of them. I figured I would let the thread go for a few days then have her look at the responses. So dont flame or she wont see it. I'm looking for help, not abuse.

on one hand, hotdogs are just meat. But it just doesn't seem like it can be healthy when thats the only thing it eats.

yick no way are hotdogs a food that should be fed alone. Is she open to feeding a high quality food? Sure the dog may protest in the beginning and refuse to eat but if you wait enough days they will break down and eat the food out of hunger. If she is determined to feed people food I suggest a consult with Mordy to get a home cooked diet started. However this may include like 10 or more ingredients including vitamins ect that your aunt may not want to undertake.

I would equate it to your aunt as thus--can you imagine if you ate just hotdogs every day? Sure you may not die but it is in no way a balanced diet--the dog is probably lacking many minerals/vitamins/nutrients needed to be adequately being fed.

hot dogs arnt meat in my opinion. they're just scraps barley fit for human consumption on occasion.let alone dog consumption always.

as far as i know canidae is the best dogfood in the USA. it is what dogs should be eating. or maybe a raw diet with all the recalls. thats chicken necks, lamb offcuts. vegies etc. can cook up some pasta to add.
cooking for your dogs can be a lot of fun.

or research the brands well and find a good one that hasn't been effected byt he recall.

Yeah, hotdogs are NOT good. Like girlbuffalo said, hotdogs lack a LOT of nutrients a dog needs. I highly suggest you take a look at http://www.dogfoodproject.com

Here are some very good dog foods you should try and look for.....

Innove EVO is a grain-free diet made from high quality ingredients.
http://www.evopet.com/default.asp

Canidae is not a grain-free diet but is a very good food for the price.
http://www.canidae.com

Eagle Pack Holistic is another grain free food you should look at.
http://www.eaglepack.com/Pages/HS_Home.html

I would rank this food right up their with Innova EVO. Grain free, few ingredients.
http://www.naturapet.com/brands/california-natural.asp

I would say since she is probably already against feeding kibble, try raw. It's simple once you do some research and it's very inexpensive for a little dog.

Good luck in convincing your aunt to change. Your dog will thank you a TON!

feeding hotdogs everyday is probably just as good as feeding crapaful *cough* I mean, beneful :lol-sign:

Good advice from everyone, really good links from Lizmo. Help they help!

My mother-in-law fed her dog hot dogs (the red ones-yuck!) his entire life. His teeth all fell out and mouth always reeked! I've always tried talking her into feeding him a balanced diet but to no avail. He just died a few months ago at age 13. Go figure!

Hot dogs are made of pretty gross stuff. Basically, it's all the bits of meat that humans wouldn't eat if they recognized it, so they grind it up. I would recommend a high quality kibble.

Feeding hotdogs is no where near a balanced diet and I would definitely expect a dog fed only hot dogs to live a shorter life, have poorer quality health, etc. My guess is that the dog is picky so I'd recommend feeding canned food. It's probably the same price as feeding hotdogs. Here are a few healthy ones that aren't affected by the recall:

Canidae
Innova
EVO
California Natural
Wellness

Those would be my top choices, but I think even the junky dog food brands at the grocery store would be more nutritionally complete than hotdogs.

Eagle Pack doesn't make a grain free food and California Natural is not grain free either.

theres some major problems with hotdogs as a main meat source.
there generally meat of not quite sure sources, sure we know its "beef" but what parts of the cow? and what else is mixed in there? the other BIG problem with hotdogs is they are VERY high in salt! just like with people that consume too much salt, kidney and bladder stones are more likely to occur as are seiours heart and water retnetion problems.

feeding only hotdogs will also end up helping along the tooth decay common in small breeds, theres nothing in hotdogs to help remove the tartar from the teeth (this is also the problem with an only wet food dieat, teeth MUST be brushed or Raw bones to chew on must be provided)

as a treat, hotdogs actually work great, but one hotdog should be cut up into tiny peices and should last enough for many training sessions. as a meal, its like eating mc'donalds all your life...its junk food, theres no balance in it. just like people dogs need a balanced diet.

good luck!