My seven month old toy breed puppy is finally eating a balanced, good quality diet, after several months of nightmare fussiness.  It took a lot of perseverence and hard work on my part to get her to this point.  Unfortunately, well meaning friends and relatives (including hubby) insist on trying to give her titbits - chicken, cheese, biscuits, you name it.  Apart from the extra calories, I am really anxious that she doesn't return to her formerly fussy state.  How can I get my view across to people without seeming like an ogre??  I sometimes feel a bit like a mum who's taken her child to a party and informed the host that she can't have sweets or cake!

Tell them why you don't want her being fed titbits & keep reinforcing it, at the end of the day it's your dogs health & it's you who will end up having to deal with the consequences if she returns to her fussiness!

If your hubby and friends are still giving her tidbits - and she is still eating a balanced, good quality diet - maybe you are worrying too much?  A lot of puppies go through fussy stages and grow up to be real "chow hounds." 

I'd just make sure they are giving her very tiny amounts of healthy things so they don't spoil her appetite - and worry a bit less.  :-)

Quite simply, tell them!!

My nan is a nightmare for this and i have told her she cannot do it. A) Becuase it is not good for Fred and B) Because he has a sensitive tum. When i tell people that want to give him titbits that it actually does him more harm than good and makes him quite poorly, it makes them feel guilty enough not to do it.
My nan feeds my auntys dog (that she dog sits) lots of titbits - cereal, scrambled egg, chocolate :-O eek, and generally anything thats going. She does this because my aunty doesnt care. Nan doesnt do it with Freddie though because she knows the reasons why.
You just need to explin to  people

People often do it when they want to interract with the dog - it's not always that they think the pup needs the food item. I hope that makes sense!

Keep a treat box filled with all the things you think are acceptable and only use these. Also explain that you are training her to work for the treats, and that you need to teach them how to reinforce her behaviours.  Show them how she will sit, stand, paw etc and they'll be so impressed they'll want to join in

It's also worth bearing in mind though that a few of the wrong things aren't likely to do too much damage.  To use your example you might ban a child from eating cake if they had diabetes, or were going to a party every day BUT you'd probably let it go if was an occasional treat.

Go to your vet and ask the nurse who deals with obesity. Ask her for a chart. I have seen several displayed in all four branches of our vet so should be readily available..

IE

1 digestive  biscuit fat content to your dog is equivalent to us eating 10 burgers. That type of thing. Usually illustrated and hang it in the kitchen...
Our vets was quite happy to provide me with one for my great niece for a school project.
I have a Dallie who has awful skin problems and I had to get quite stroppy with a member of my family, (he does not have a dog so he borrows mine), To stop him titbitting my dogs I actually showed him the vet bill for treating my boys skin. I told him he could pay next time..... He used to feed my kids rubbish too !!!!!
He borrows them as well !!!

Hi Miranda,

Does your girl eat dry food or wet - just because I would ask your friends and relatives to swap the titbits with some of her food (obviously this is easier if its dry food, impossible if wet!) Thats what I do with one of my girls, she is quite sensitive and prone to putting weight on. My OH will often try and feed her a crisp or something and I'll tell him off, but we have reached a compromise in that he gives her a couple of biscuits of her dry food, which she loves. I know how you feel though - I really dont like it when people feed treats to my lot without checking first!!

Thanks so much for all the helpful replies.  My girl eats mainly wet, and dry only if it's "doctored", so that isn't a good option for treats.  I do have some commercial dog treats that she loves and I'm always prepared to hand those round, but in moderation.  I'm wondering how I'll get on at Christmas.  I've already printed off an article on how unhealthy some Christmas foods are for dogs, like puddings and rich cakes.  I'm willing for her to have a few bits of turkey after she's eaten her normal food, and if she has to "work" (e.g. do a sit) for it.

I feel like such a meanie at times, but I have the memory of a day spent at a relative's house when she ate nothing but scaps of chicken and cheese - then wouldn't touch her dog food for nearly 24 hours afterwards.  I know it's fun to give them people food treats - but do they really need (and want) them???

Have you tried bits of carrot?

Thanks bilbobaggins for the suggestion - carrots and othe raw veg would make a good alternative treat.  And I'm definitely going to ask the vet nurse for an obesity chart.  That should certainly help - at home, anyway!

Carrot is a great idea. I have just discovered that my Samoyed LOVES carrot pieces and can be persuaded to do many things if I have a carrot piece in my hand....

Im sure I read on here though that carrots have sugar in them - is that correct?

Yep!
But like always.. everything in moderation :)

WHATSUP DOC??
COMPOSITION AND ENERGETIC VALUE
(100 gr.)

Edible part 95%
Water 91.6g
Proteins 1.1g
Lipids 0g
Available sugars 7.6g
Nutritional fiber 3.1g
Energy 33kcal
Sodium 95mg
Potassium 220mg
Iron 0.7mg
Calcium 44mg
Phosphorus 37mg
Niacine 0.7mg
Vitamin C 4mg
Source: Italian National Institue of Nutrition

One carrot 7 inches long and about 1 inch in diameter, yields the following nutrients:
* 27 mg. calcium
* 26 mg. phosphorus
* 0.5 mg. iron
* 34 mg. sodium
* 246 mg. potassium
* 7,930 I.U. vitamin A
* trace amounts of vitamin B-complex
* 6 mg. vitamin C

Another nutritional analysis, performed by Lancaster Laboratories, listed these additional nutrients per 10 ozs of carrot juice:
* 25 mg. magnesium
* 0.6 ppm chromium,
* and a sugar content of about 4% by weight.

i too have a toy breed i also have one very fussy girl who turned her nose up at everything until i got her on track eating a very healthy diet
my children and hubby think giving tid bits are good for the little ones but i kept on telling them that every crisp every bit of cheese mounts up to a whole big meal to there tiny tummies i dont want an over weight dog it isnt good for there health
well we went to the vet for a check up with one of the gang and guess what there was a large poster telling us humans that feeding dogs these foods that my lot loved feeding them can cause serious harm it also pointed out that one crisp = 10 burgers it also showed how this can harm there teeth their breath and there heart
well the hubby read this told the children and anyone who would listen about this poster now no one feeds the dogs but me :) i was so happy we went to the vet that day and we were also told one of them was over weight (the hubby felt guilty) this was affecting how he was showing in the ring too!!

just tell them noooooo!!
hopefully it works

Just to say my theory was proven correct today.  After 3 days of my well-meaning hubby allowing pup to lick his plate clean, she decided dog food wasn't good enough anymore and turned her nose up at breakfast this morning for the first time in weeks!  I managed to get her to eat some lunch after a 20-minute run, but hopefully this will be a lesson learned.  She's obviously just too fussy to be allowed people food; if hubby wants to spoil her, she can have a bit of Schmako!

I was at the vet yesterday and forgot to ask if they had an obesity chart.  I wonder if anyone knows of a website with good info I can put in front of hubby's face??

It doesn't sound like your OH is taking much notice of what you are saying- letting the pup lick his plate clean is not only possibly bad for the pup, but also a habit that will be hard to break. Would he still think this is ok if you had people over for dinner- because your pup won't understand the difference! To me, it sounds like you are putting in all the effort to get your pup on track and he is undoing it all... I can truly relate to this! He needs to understand that his 'kindness' is not only ruining your feeding routine and putting potentially un-friendly food into your pup but also encouraging bad habits. Stick to your guns Miranda53!!! Good luck :-)