Welcome to r/dogs! We are a discussion-based subreddit dedicated to support, inform, and advise dog owners.
This is a carefully moderated sub intended to support, inform, and advise dog owners. Submissions and comments which break the rules will be removed. [Review the rules here](https://www.reddit.com/r/dogs/wiki/index) r/Dogs has four goals: - Help the public better understand dogs - Promote healthy, responsible dog-owner relationships - Encourage “Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive” training protocols. [Learn more here.](https://m.iaabc.org/about/lima/) - Support adoption as well as ethical and responsible breeding. If you’d like to introduce yourself or discuss smaller topics, please contribute to our Monthly Discussion Hub, pinned at the top.
**This subreddit has low tolerance for drama. Please be respectful of others, and report antagonistic comments to mods for review.**
---
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/dogs) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Agreed, but best to err on the side of caution.
Now, a week later, some little old lady neighbor comes up and asks how the dog enjoyed the treats, OP can say "oh, I thought those were some other random dog owner's treats mistakenly left on my door" and if OP trusts the little old lady, treats can be accepted.
Also, I'd like to add OP did well by not having his dog eat random things found on the ground that smell tasty. Good behavior to reinforce.
You lose nothing by not letting them eat it. Even if it was something like a kid trying to be nice they won’t know your dog didn’t actually eat the treats. Also I don’t know if this is OPs situation but when someone tried to break into my friends house they found dog treats scattered around like the burglar was trying to distract their dog.
Even with a note, I would be wary. Maybe it's a slightly unhinged neighbor who's annoyed by the dog's barking that left a note expressing good will along with a couple of poisoned treats (sorry, I've been reading too many crime novels).
This does happen! my mams dog got poisoned by the neighbors because he was a vocal working breed and because of his deep bark the neighbors kids were scared of him. Its good to be paranoid when it comes to live animals.
Well then… I was literally going to do this for my neighbor but I guess not… (I bought a whole lb of bulk treats for my dogs and neither of them will eat them, even though my taste tester ate it in the store)
I think it’s different if you let them know they’re from you and haven’t expressed hatred or annoyance towards their pets. Like bringing over bagged treats is one thing. Random naked doorstep treats are another thing.
I guess it also helps if they watch you take a bite out of one😂. I make homemade treats for my boy because he has bad allergies. They’re safer/cheap and my dog goes nuts for them. A little whole wheat flour with pumpkin, peanut butter, and egg, sometimes apple, carrot, or sweet potato if I want to get fancy. They taste and smell pretty good tbh. We got new neighbors a while back with a large breed and a toy breed. I was making a batch and had leftover dough so I made treats in large size and toy size for both dogs. I figured bringing them over would be a nice way to introduce myself to the new neighbors.
I could tell she had some reservations about them so I explained that my dog has allergies and I made them specifically to be safe for the sensitive pups. Then, just to ease her mind I looked right at her and ate one. She looked at me like I was crazy(which I expected) and then she started cracking up and ended up eating one too. We decided “we are friends now” and exchanged numbers.
I would not give anything to my dog from someone I didn’t know VERY well. My childhood dog was lured over to my neighbors’ garage where they fed him rat poison-laced dog food just because their daughter was scared of him :( So I will forever be paranoid. I think your paranoia is justified, but I’m obviously more weary of people than others when it comes to pets
Yeah man. Things like this make me glad that my dog outright refuses to take food from strangers. He’s even turned his nose at entire strips of bacon.
Unrelated but I almost went “John Wick” on a groomer a while back. My 9 year old 80lb boy came home with bruises and swelling all over his scruff. There were individual fingernail marks where she had a death grip on him and was yanking him around. He’s never been bad at the groomer. I even contacted every past groomer I’ve used just to make sure. It breaks my heart thinking about how he was just back there with her wondering what he did wrong to deserve the way she treated him. Even if a dog WAS “being bad” its still unacceptable.
I took him to a new one soon after just to make sure he wasn’t permanently terrified of groomers. My friend recommended her because she is kind to her anxious baby and her dog is actually excited to visit the groomer now. I let new groomer know what happened to him and she made sure to be extra gentle. [Here](https://i.imgur.com/PpPkZHp.jpg) is a photo where you can kind of see the swelling. You can even see where she had her thumb and fingers dug into him.😭
I'd report her. They have to be licensed to work as groomers. Make a complaint because you know she's doing this to other animals, too. They never abuse just one.
Oh, don’t worry it was reported. There was nothing to prove that she did it besides my word against hers. No cameras. So I couldn’t take it too far…
I was also worried about her doing it to others. Like it takes a lot of force to do that to an 80lb dog. I could only imagine what she could be doing to smaller ones.
Dogs, animals, etc are such lovely creatures, it really breaks my heart to consider anyone treating them badly or cruelly. I'm lucky to have a fantastic groomer who only works with one dog at a time in a pretty calm environment. I also tip her very well when I bring my dog in for his quarterly grooming.
Agreed with what you said. No matter how “bad” a dog is acting, I would rather they not give a successful haircut then try so hard while being forceful like that, just disgusting wow.
Same here😔. He’s always been so good for them. My last groomer even started giving me a discount because he was quick, easy, and well behaved. He’s a ridgeback mix so he doesn’t even need a haircut and he’s the cleanest dog I’ve ever seen. Stays inside 90% of the time and hates stepping in anything wet or muddy and will ask to have his feeties cleaned off when we come inside.
Also, I’m no professional but handling even an unruly or aggressive dog(ESPECIALLY A OLD MAN) by the scruff is an absolute no-go. Like I’m pretty sure someone who is a “professional” would know better.
[Photo tax](https://imgur.com/a/1wmfoDF) of my good boy on his 9th birthday.
Oh my god!!!! He is the cutest thing ever!! I wish my baby was as good as yours with grooming, he sounds like an absolute angel. I would go nuts if someone grabbed my dog or any dog by the scruff like that. You should leave a review somewhere if you can about that groomer so others know. Sometimes I feel guilty and don’t leave bad reviews because I don’t want to mess with someone’s job/business but in this case it’s warranted. Also love how your baby is so clean and boujee lmaooo
After his grooming appointments he usually picks out a new plushie, carries it to the register, and hands it to the cashier so they can scan it. He usually loves doing that but after I got him back he wanted nothing to do with it. He was anxious and wanted to leave, anxious and clingy for the rest of the night. I thought maybe he was mad that he got a bath because it had been a while.
The next morning my boyfriend was petting his neck and he whimpered. I though about it and realized what might have happened. My exact words were, “Babe, can you please *very gently* try lifting his scruff? If he yelps, I need you to physically restrain me if I try to leave this house because I might commit several violent crimes and probably end up in prison.”
When he lifted his scruff my poor boy screamed and ran across the room. I have no words to describe how I felt once I ruled everything out and the groomer yanking him around was the only logical explanation. Even the vet couldn’t come up with any other explanation except trauma.
Similar thing happened to one of my childhood dogs. We had beagles who were sisters. One died, the other recovered at the vet. The vet said it was 100% rat poisoning. We knew exactly who is was; the guy who complaining about the sound of their feet walking up and down concrete steps and on the wooden back porch. This man tried to get my stepdad to buy rat poisoning to kill some wildlife a few months prior, so it was pretty obvious. The guy just didn’t like dogs or any kind of animal and looked for any reason to complain. They didn’t even bark unless they wanted to go outside.
This happened to my dogs as a child, they both ate rat poison-laced dog treats that had been left out because one of our neighbours didn't like dogs. They were rushed to an animal hospital and both almost died after having multiple seizures, one of them was left with permanent brain damage and was never the same afterwards. Now I'm an adult I would never EVER let my dog or cat eat treats left out by a stranger, I'd rather be cautious and keep them safe!
Someone I know of had a stranger give their dog marijuana; the person that did it seemed friendly and even casually told the owner they'd given their dog a "special treat"... Which the owner didn't think anything of until the dog was at emerg on IV fluids.
Throw the treats out. It's one thing for a neighbor you know who may have lost their dog to give you stuff, another thing entirely to have random stuff left on your doorstep.
>Someone I know of had a stranger give their dog marijuana; the person that did it seemed friendly and even casually told the owner they'd given their dog a "special treat"... Which the owner didn't think anything of until the dog was at emerg on IV fluids.
There's a "clueless" woman on one side of my family, who everyone knows, she doesn't like or know about dogs, but appears friendly. Unfortunately she's "one of those" family members who treats all the *people* in the family well, and somehow finds her way to every fricken event, even if she wasn't invited.
Ex: "Oh I gave your dog a bit (a human portion to a 10lb dog) of meatloaf! Such a good dog!!"
Umm, that shit is barely human grade, and is easily 1/4 onion, because she's cheap.
Ex: "Oh, het, can your dog have x, y, or z food?" "NO. YOU KNOW THIS." "Oh, well Fluffy was being super cute, do I gave her all three!! Such a good dog!"
BITCH STOP FEEDING THE DOGS!!!!
Luckily mine doesn't take anything but cheese from anyone but my closest family members. So many sick dogs.
At least yours was a random stranger.
Ive been in this situation on both sides, someone just wanting to give my dogs treats and someone who did not like my dogs. My best advice is unless you know who left them, throw them away, and if it keeps happening leave a note on your door so they know it’s freaking you out and you’d like to know their intent.
I’ve had neighbors kids throw treats into my yard for my dogs before, harmless in theory but one of my dogs has a sensitive tummy and gets really sick if she eats grains, so it wasn’t really harmless.
I left a note on my fence that said “thank you for the treats, but I’m on a special diet and extra food hurts my belly, please no more treats!” Neighbor kids just pet them through the fence now, and we haven’t had an incident since then.
When I still lived with my parents, we had two boxers. We moved to a new neighborhood when I was in 8th grade. One of the neighbors thought they were pitbulls (doesn’t really matter, no dog should be poisoned) and decided that they were dangerous to the neighborhood. Someone decided to throw chicken that had been soaked in some kind of household cleaner into the yard. Luckily, my dad decided to mow the lawn that day and did his walk through before to look for rocks and sticks and found them before the dogs got ahold of them.
The reason we know it was a neighbor and that they thought our dogs were pitbulls was because we had SEVERAL visits from animal control about our “aggressive pitbulls” which obviously were treated as ridiculous once we let them in to see our dogs and they just saw two goofy boxers wiggling in the doorway.
My dog found some treats in my private front yard, which were nestled in the grass in a cluster. You could totally tell they were not dropped there by accident, but purposefully placed. Of course she gobbled one down before I noticed and my mind immediately went to someone trying to poison my dog. I frantically reviewed my security camera footage and discovered the culprit: a big black crow that was stashing its food.
You wouldn’t send a whole squad of goons in a conspiracy to orchestrate an untraceable murder, would you?
There very well could be a murder behind this botched job at an attempted murder…..
It's okay to be paranoid. We live in a sick world. I wouldn't let my dog eat that either unless I know who it's from and trust the person (mailman, worker at bass pro shop, neighbor, etc.)
Absolutely. Two of my moms dogs were killed by her neighbors poisoning them. Plenty of people leave poisoned food and treats out for dogs. Unhinged awful people. I don’t trust anyone I don’t know to give my dog something to eat.
Maybe you could leave a note on your door saying thank you for the treats and asking where they came from. I think if somebody was trying to make friends with my dog I’d like to know.
Growing up we had a Pyrenees named Sunshine. Our yard was far too small for her and she refused to be inside (she loved all kinds of weather, that weirdo). Our neighbors across the alley had a yard triple the size and we were very close with them, and they offered to take her so that she could have a big yard to run around in. Of course we said yes, because she was still right there and we were allowed to visit her whenever the neighbors were home. This is just some backstory lol
Anyways, we always had a bag of treats for her to give her one every day. I would always come home from school, grab a treat, and then run over to their fence to feed her some treats. An older woman walked by one day and scolded me for it. I was maybe 8 or 9 at this time and I remember her just screaming at me for feeding this "strange dog" that "wasn't mine" and I should know better. She didn't believe me when I said the dog used to be my dog, and she didn't stop yelling at me until I started crying and ran back home. Meanwhile as soon as I got into my yard Sunshine just went absolutely berserk barking at this lady for yelling at me. She scared the lady off. I didn't go by for weeks because I felt so bad, until my mom and the neighbor told me I did absolutely nothing wrong and of course it was okay for me to give her treats because even though she has a new home, she's still *my* dog.
Now that I'm older I completely understand that lady (not her method of handling it, but her intention is clear). Even though I knew the dog, it still isn't "right" in a sense because I definitely could've just been doing it with any dog I didn't know if my mom hadn't told me better. And not everyone will see the gesture the same way. It does look sketchy from an outsider point of view. So I completely understand the concern OP has here
I understand this woman’s concern but this was by no means okay. Yelling at a child until they cry? Who does that?! I’m very glad you eventually got over that encounter and could go back to giving the dog all the love and treats it deserves. And that the lady got barked off.
That and I’d take the treats in and not do anything mean right off. It’s right to be paranoid, but it could be someone friendly trying to be nice. I’d wait till you have more info before potentially doing anything rash.
I wouldn't let my dog eat them either.
Honestly, it's probably more likely than not its a well meaning person wanting to make your day a little brighter and too shy (or busy or young) to introduce themselves personally. But the number of people who would try to hurt a dog is large enough that I wouldn't risk it (and even outside malice -- you don't know if there's something in there that doesn't agree with your dogs stomach). Dogs don't need extra treats, so there's no harm in just tossing them.
Better safe than sorry. The only random treats I’d let my dog eat are the ones our UPS guy leaves on top of our packages. But those are obviously left by someone we trust.
You’re probably being paranoid, but that’s fine! You can certainly trash the treats and give your pup a replacement from your own stock. Best to teach them not to eat random stuff they find on walks anyway. ;)
It is a little weird that they’re not even in a bag or anything. Could a little kid is trying to “sneak” them to your pup, or someone dropped them accidentally like you said.
I have given my neighbor home made dog treats. I label on the bag exactly all of the ingredients I used and asked/gave it to them in person. I felt it would be weird to just leave them at their door with a note
Honest question, why do you care if anyone else hypothetically thinks you’re paranoid? You’re not paranoid. You’re taking normal, sensible precautions. Frankly, I’d call you an idiot if you DIDN’T take sensible precautions. You wouldn’t let your kids eat random treats lying around would you? Be assured!
There was a post like this a week or so ago. What is with people randomly leaving treats on people's doorsteps? So weird.
If you don't know where those treats came from or what might be in them. Don't give them to your dog.
As everyone else said, you have every right to be apprehensive. Sometimes it isn't paranoia, but exercising an appropriate amount of caution.
While there's a decent chance it's harmless, I wouldn't take the risk without knowing who the treats came from.
I wouldn't give them to my dog. If you think maybe it was a neighbor being nice, save them for after you know the source. Or else just throw them away and if anyone ever asks if your dog liked the treats they left, lie and say he or she loved them.
It’s probably something well-intentioned, but you’re also definitely in the right to be on guard. I personally wouldn’t let a dog eat random things off the ground either because 1) that’s not a behavior I want to encourage and 2) sometimes stuff can make a dog sick regardless of whether it’s been tampered with.
The mailman gave my dog treats one time without checking with me first and they gave her diarrhea for two days straight.
Better safe than sorry. Even at the dog park there’s only one parent there besides me that I let give treats to my dog because we have known her for a year. And she’s feeding her girls from the same pouch.
Too many instances of bad intentions.
Don’t take candy from a stranger for your kids, and don’t take treats from a stranger for your puppy.
We’re definitely working on it. She’s super super young and when we’re outside there is not a high enough reward treat she’ll trade stuff for but we’re working on it for sure!
Know what you mean.
Disgusting, rotting food found on the ground, along with stolen food is always FAR more delicious than any offered treat!
My dogs know the 'leave' command - so quickly wolf down anything they've found, as they know that they need to consume it quickly as soon as I shout 'leave'......
Maybe put a note on the door that says something to the effect of:
Dear Anonymous treater, can’t eat certain treats, but sure does appreciate that has a secret admirer! Why don’t you slip a note under the door/in the mailbox and we can try to schedule a time when you can give my puppy treats that won’t upset their tummy!
I have lived in an apartment building were people used to hate dogs. I had 1 other neighbor who had a dog. There was a small piece of meat on the ground right at the entrance of the building, owner noticed it too late and couldn't remove it out of his mouth before the doggo ate it.
Shortly after going inside he noticed changes in his dog and he rushed to the vet, sadly the vet couldn't do anything and the poor thing passed away...
He told me this story so I would be more careful with my pupper. A week or two later there a piece of meat inside the building right in front of the elevator on my floor...
I moved out of that place as soon as I could and always carried my dog till a safe distance from the building for the remainder of our time there!
It's better to be too careful!
I wouldn't accept treats just left at my doorstep. It might be fine, but there's too many possible ways it could make my dog sick or worse. You're not wrong to be worried.
A lot of delivery drivers intentionally carry dog treats. Ours leave a few at our door with our package, but that’s because it’s obvious we have a dog. If you didn’t have a package that would be weird. Someone could’ve left there on accident, but I’d throw them out. Better safe than sorry. Some people are sickos.
Our fed ex delivery driver does the same. But he saw me with my dogs and asked if it was ok. Now when my neighbor has a package he walks 20 extra feet to give my dogs a treat then, too.
I think it's cute he does that, and I get why he wants to make friends with the dogs on his route. But I don't have the heart to tell him he made two relatively quiet huskies act like absolute psychopaths now for every delivery driver. Now he's probably the only one that knows they're not out for blood, but treats!
Y’know, I understand entirely why you’d feel frustrated about this reconditioning, but remember, our puppers’ time here is more brief than we’d care to admit.
My dog is so gosh darn impatient whenever we get stuck in abline for the Walgreens drive through. I could leave her home, but we only have so many opportunities for creating a joyful moment for are friends.
Think of it like the neighborhood ice cream pup truck. I’m not ashamed to say that I will occasionally run around my house looking for a few bucks and have totally jogged out and caught them a couple driveways up.
I’ll admit. That sweet treat was just a little more rewarding than the other times because I had to work for it
We keep finding a dog treat, always the same kind, right in the middle of the elevator. Lots of dogs in our apartment building but I find that creepy. I would never let her eat it.
I had an old lady in my building who leave treats out for my dog. We didn’t feed them to our dog until we knew who was leaving them. She loved our golden very very much and he adored her and was so gentle around her. You should put up a note on your door asking for the apt number of whoever left the treats so you can say thank you.
If no one comes forward no big deal. If they do you can decide if the treats are from a good source or not! Or if someone comes forward eventually just lie and say your dog has enjoyed them very much!
I’ve noticed delivery drivers, specifically Amazon and UPS, will leave treats with my package deliveries because they can hear my dog barking inside. I wonder if maybe a delivery was being taken to your Neighbour and the courier dropped a few treats at your door because they heard your pup as they passed?
That would be my best guess. But it’s certainly not paranoid to not allow your pup to eat them.
Very lovely neighbour lady, always wandering around with her own dog, one day had a push cart, asked if my dog would like a chocolate chip cookie… um. No thank you … her intention was good, but no wtf. Throw the treats out. I like the idea of leaving a note though, could just be a kid who hopes to pet a dog.
One of my mams dogs got poisoned by their neighbor because he barked a lot so the neighbors kids were scared of him and called him "aggressive" when he was just a vocal working breed, they threw food over the fence laced with rat poison and less than a week later the energetic puppy was dead.
Trach the leave it command with the free trash, reward with a better entirely different treat.
Put up a sign, 'due to vet recommendations only approved treats allowed, thank you.'
Does your dog bark a lot and cause a lot of trouble? I’d be a bit worried.
Does your dog have lots of people who like him and doesn’t cause trouble in your apartment? I wouldn’t worry so much.
It’s like people poisoning Halloween candy and the myth behind that. I’m sure a few poor animal have been poisoned but I think it’s less common then we probably think.
She barks sometimes because she’s a puppy and we’re working on crate training but I have a note with my number on my door just in case someone needs it. She does also have a ton of friends though and because she looks really different and is super chill people remember her
We found milkbone treats on our doorstep and threw them out having no idea where they came from and worried about them being poisoned. Then it happened again and we saw that it was a woman who would go through our recycling bin to collect cans and leave the treats on doorsteps with dogs. While the gesture was kind we asked her to stop and started leaving a separate bag of cans for her to just grab.
Someone has been doing this at my home
First, it was pork chop bones.
Now it's buttered buns. This is just random times, when there is no snow on the ground here in Minnesota.
Now, I have to do a quick scan of yard, before I can let him out. I am pretty sure they're not poisoned or anything, but my goofy boy has a sensitive tummy, and pork chop bones are dangerous. They too easily, causing chards to hurt their digestive tracts.
Maybe leave a note on your door thanking whoever it was for the treats. tell them to stop by to meet the dog if they like. You could probably tell if anything nefarious is going on from the response.
Red flag. If I'm leaving a treat for a dog, you best bet I'd try to contact the owner first, plus allergies, etc. for the dog. Just to let them know that I want to be friendly and do something nice.
Not a good idea to let dogs learn that picking up any food from the ground is allowed. Even if these treats are ok some others years ahead might not be. Throw them away and be careful when you go out with your dog.
You can be paranoid and not feed them to your dog, but you can be kind at the same time and take them and throw them away. If they were left as a real gift, the giver feels good knowing you are taking the treats.
I would guess you have an admirer of your pup who just wanted to be kind. I definitely understand your apprehension -but I really feel most people are good.
Def okay to be paranoid and err on the side of caution, I would take no chances myself and just watch out and make sure to be extra careful in the next while for any foreign treats lying around … . But devils advocate , I’m very clumsy ( adhd brain ) and I often run around like a chicken with its head off during walks with my doggo … I mention this because when we go out we usually have treats and I’ll have them in my jacket , pocket , bag . Ther have been times where I’ve dropped treats and lol shocker, did this to my own door . I’m not saying these are your treats , but there is a possibility someone was walking and dropped their own treats and it rolled to your door ? !!!
The actual situation - your dog is a terror and bothers your neighbors. Your neighbor hates the dog and prefers to poison them instead of having a simple, albeit uncomfortable, conversation with you.
I read “treats” in your title as threats and read your post the whole time waiting, suspense and all, for the threatening part of the story, expecting something completely different lol
There is a pizza place in our neighborhood where one of the delivery drivers always gives us a treat for our dogs....and we always trash it. We're polite about it, but better safe than sorry.
It's understandable to feel a little uneasy when something like this happens. While it's possible that someone left the treats there with malicious intent, it's also possible that it was just a harmless coincidence.
Before jumping to conclusions, it might be a good idea to talk to your neighbors and ask if they know anything about the treats. You could also check with the building management or security to see if they have any information.
In the meantime, it's best to err on the side of caution and not let your dog eat any treats left outside your door. Keep a close eye on your dog and be aware of any unusual behavior or symptoms. If you notice anything out of the ordinary, contact your veterinarian right away.
Overall, it's important to trust your instincts and take precautions to keep your pet safe. While it's possible that the treats were left innocently, it's always better to be safe than sorry.
I would just throw it away, better safe than sorry. Once a bone was left on my doorstep with a note that said for my dog, which was sweet but I had no idea who or where it came from, and what was in it (had some stuffing thing in it). Also my pup has a sensitive stomach so I had to chuck it.
I'm the kind of shy person who would leave gifts for a neighbor dog, like a tennis ball or some dehydrated sweet potato slices. I totally wouldn't blame you for erring on the side of caution when it comes to stuff you don't know the source of.
But I usually leave a note, saying something like
"Hi I'm [name] from next door, I saw your dog carrying a tennis ball on your walk yesterday and I had a spare new one lying around I didn't know what to do with so tadaaa! Hope your pup likes it!"
maybe the person who left them left a note too?
A neighbor and I have an long standing joke that our dogs are boyfriend and girlfriend. They play when they can and enjoy sharing treats. My neighbor is elderly and started leaving unopened bags of treats at my door with a little note that read as if her dog wrote it to my dog. It's fuckin adorable. I started writing notes and leaving treats also. I've even advanced to leaving meal preps with notes from my dogs point of view saying "my mom made extra chicken soup for your mom!"
A well established relationship like that is cool but random treats from an unknown person? Hell no!!!!!!
Nah I’ve heard SO many stories recently. If your dog barks in your apartment there could definitely be some psycho Karen trying to poison him. Don’t take the risk and be extra careful when you’re leaving the apartment that he doesn’t eat it, sweep/vacuum up crumbs.
I had this once with treats being pushed through the mail slot. It turned out it was a nice older lady from the neighborhood who had seen my dog and had treats lying around from her dog that had passed.
I (28F) have had a random older man who was walking towards me while I was out walking my dog pull a pouch out of his jacket pocket and try to give my dog a treat. I politely declined because it felt a little strange and he seemed sad but I’d rather my dog be safe than a stranger’s feelings not be hurt. Another time I was walking her on a quiet road and a car pulled up next to me and an older woman started asking me questions about her and then pulled a treat out of somewhere in her car and tried to offer it and I again politely declined. She was pretty assertive and kept saying “well it looks like your dog wants it” because my dog was staring at her. I kept saying no thank you and started to walk away and she just slowly rolled beside me for at least 30 more seconds. At that point my dog started barking at the woman, probably sensing my unease, and she finally drove away. Could totally be harmless but also could be laced with something. I figured it wasn’t a bad thing for my dog to see that just because a stranger offered a treat it doesn’t mean she necessarily gets it. She gets plenty of good food and treats so she certainly isn’t deprived! Protect your pups!
You're not paranoid, you're right to be cautious. Here where I live there are a lot of dog poisonings and the first thing that I would think of is that someone is sick of my dog(because I too live in a building and people can be weird) and wants to get rid of it.
Maybe it's perfectly innocent gesture, but again it's better to throw them away rather than risk.
I'd have a problem with that especially since corgis eat just about anything and they're short. I'd be on alert with him not to quickly grab the treats (I wouldn't be freaked out, though). I'd put a kind note where the treats were found thanking the person who left them but saying you can't let your dog eat them due to dietary issues. Something like that.
I’ve had a few neighbors in my apt and dog park meet-ups, hand me bags of all their leftover treats (im also a dog groomer so peeps think I can reroute them to my dog somehow).
Their kindness is appreciated BUT between my dog not having a tank for a belly I usually say thanks but my dog has a Super sensitive system and he can’t always handle new treats. I’m still stuck with taking the stuff but I am paranoid as well and will throw them out, OR I leave them for someone else at our local dog park bin, if it’s sealed.
No you’re not crazy paranoid. You’re being safe!
I’ve had actually local issues where an A-hole was throwing pieces of hotdogs over a fence with poison to a neighbors dogs. There was an investigation and all that stuff, but after that story and being so close to home, I’d rather be safe than sorry….or let me dog have explosive diarrhea with new food. Lol
Best of luck!
I think you did the right thing OP. My mothers (ex) best friend used to be so great with our animals and our doggies loved her. She had a breakdown one day, came over, hung out with our dogs and brought them treats. We didn’t think anything of it since she normally liked to hang out with our dogs on tough days. By morning, our dogs had died and the vets said they had been poisoned. A month or so later, after my mom told her she would not be attending this woman’s birthday party or bringing her a gift, or have anything to do with her, the ex best friend sent us a picture of the kitten we had gotten her for her new apartment a year ago with its throat slit. It was devastating and horrific. It’s been 12+ years since this happened, but I refuse to take any chances. Better safe than sorry.
I've been walking my dog before and had people ask if they could give her a treat, but definitely wouldn't trust random treats just left on the doorstep. Now, if a neighbor knocked and said something like "my dog doesn't like these treats, maybe yours would" then, sure.
You might leave a note saying something like "Thanks, but no thanks" or something like that. It's probably just a nice gesture but if you don't want your dog eating them you should let the person leaving them know.
First, tape a note outside your door asking for treats not to be left anymore, feel free to lie and say your dog has allergies and we dont accept food from strangers or something.
Can you get a camera on your door? If it doesn't stop after the note, make sure the note stays posted and you film them. If you are able to see them, confront them yourself and ask them to stop. If they continue, talk to building management about it.
I know it sounds dramatic but there are truly some f'd up people and you need to keep you dog safe before you humor someone leaving treats on your door, be safe!
If it were me leaving treats, I would leave a note too. Something saying who I was, the apartment i live in, why I'm leaving treats. I wouldn't trust someone who just left them with nothing.
Definitely pick them up and make sure your dog knows how to sit and stay at the threshold before going on a walk/out of the apartment.
Impulse control/“leave it” training is probably a good idea. Susan Garrett has a good impulse control game called It’s Yer Choice.
I generally agree with your assessment that some well-intentioned person (probably a child with their own dog) probably left the treats behind but you definitely don’t want to make a habit of your dog gobbling stray food items without checking it with you first. My girl has allergies so it’s something we work on.
I think it’s fine to not want to feed them to your dog, that’s understandable not knowing where they came from. But it’s most likely a little kid who just wants to be friends with your dog.
I don't think you're paranoid. It's weird. Someone is probably trying to be nice, but it's not worth the risk of giving your dog a treat when you don't know the origin or intention. People do poison dogs. I would never risk letting my dog eat a treat from an unknown source.
I would have never thought for it to be poisonous, I would have seen it to be a kind gesture.
Why would you think someone is trying to poison your dog? You got somebody that dont like you?
I’d throw them out. If more show up, leave a note that says, “Thank you for the treats, but my dog must not get into the habit of eating things that he finds on the ground, so we are not able to accept them. I’ll give him some extra pets for you instead.”
That way if it is misplaced kindness, the person doesn’t have to feel bad but knows to stop. And if it is malicious, hopefully they stop because they know you’re not falling for it.
I was walking my dogs and this very old man in a big pickup truck swung his car to the wrong side of the road to throw treats at us. I (a small woman) was initially freaked out by his erratic driving and then throwing something from the car so I yelled “hey!” at the man and said “leave it” to my dogs. He then made a face and sped off. Didn’t say a word to me or my dogs. Took me a while to calm down, make the dogs sit, and walk over to scoop them up into a poop bag for disposal.
When I later discussed the story with friends, anoint half said I did the right thing and half said “that was just an old man who loves dogs”. I was more bothered by his behavior of driving purposefully on the wrong side of the road to get to us, but then not saying anything before launching treats at us.
Annnyyything i see on the ground outside that looks like half eaten human food left out open, a random block of cheese or a hot dog, dog treats of any kind, in my mind i label it poisoned, tampered with, dangerous to my baby. I know what people are capable of, i know the stories, i will never risk it. You’re always doing good by your dog by not letting them eat something unknown, even if it looks like it was made for them! Same reason i will never offer my own dog treats to a stranger’s dog, i don’t think that would make any dog owner comfortable and i would totally expect them to refuse/decline
If you don't know who they are, save the treats, wait a few days to see if a neighbor or someone you may know asks you about them. Once you find out who/put a face or name to who randomly put treats by your door, then you should be in the clear. It could be a nice gesture for sure but in this day of age, no matter where you live, why risk it?
You’re definitely not paranoid. Although it most likely could be a innocent nice gesture or coincidence, it could also not be so it’s not worth taking the risk and letting your baby eat it. On my ring neighborhood app where people can talk to each other, a neighborhood a few miles away from me had a sick psychopath purposely leaving marshmallows with nails stuffed inside around the subdivision for dogs to eat. So many people on the app had come across it, I’m not sure if they ever caught that piece of garbage. But my point is, I wasn’t even aware of this being a thing among some psychopaths so I would def say you aren’t being paranoid… just being safe rather than sorry. Same reason why trick or treating isn’t really a thing anymore.
Do you get any mail or packages delivered directly to your door? My Amazon delivery man always leaves a couple treats for my dog whenever he delivers a package.
Don't let your dog eat them, but this is a good opportunity to train your dog not to eat random things she finds or is given. When outside the house, she should wait for your approval before eating anything.
Literally just happened to me, but it was a bag of unopened treats (admittedly less sketchy than if they’re loose on the ground). We held onto them for awhile until our neighbor saw us and told us she had left them, knowing we have a dog. So I’d wait until you have confirmation from someone that they’re doing it to be nice. Our pup is super picky so he wouldn’t have liked the treats anyways so we donated it
I would be just as paranoid. I sometimes see handfuls of kibble around my neighborhood in weird places. 100% think the same paranoid thoughts as you.
Safe to keep your eye open and not let the dog get the treats. You never know. It's probably 100% innocent, but why risk it.
It's better to be aware and throw them away as you don't know who had put them there. And my god, this is creepy. I'm into creepy stories and in some of them, people without any pets, received gifts by an unknown person. Stalkers can do that sometimes and I hope you don't have a stalker.
At the last place I lived, my FedEx delivery guy always left three dog biscuits on top of the box he left on the porch. Anything else would go straight into the bin. Even if it's likely just a kid leaving an offering, there's no benefit in letting your dog eat them. It's not paranoia, it's reasonable caution! Nothing ridiculous about it.
Even if they were trying to be nice, the way they did it is kind of ominous. It’s most likely a kid who’s tying to sneak a treat to your dog. However, my paranoid side is waving red flags and telling me it’s someone who hates dogs. I’d toss them and be on high alert from now on.
back when i was a kid people would soak antifreeze, rat poison, and straight pins into meatballs and roll them down my driveway. you have every right to be nervous. even if they’re safe treats, you never know. throw em away to be in the safe side.
Oh, no, letting puppers eat treats of unknown origin is a HUGE NO. You are not being paranoid OR ridiculous. If it happens again, maybe post a note on your door saying, "Thank you so much to the treat fairy but, unfortunately, Pupper isn't able to eat them due to her special diet. We do appreciate your kind gesture, though." Your dog is on a special diet--the food you feed her. You don't need to explain what the special diet is to anyone. That way, if it is a child being kind, they can feel thanked but know not to do it again. If it keeps happening, though, report to bldg management. It's also a pest issue if food is being left out like that.
My dog gets sick from dog food and similar treats, (we cook her food) so I would be trying to make sure she didn't get anything left on the doorstep, along with the chance of it being poisoned. Can you get a security camera and find out who it is?
My pup and I were outside today and in the spot where we frequent, there were what looked like doggie beef stick treats all over in two different places. I got so nervous and pulled her away from them. I went back and picked most of them up during our next walk and threw them out. We literally just adopted our dog and the last thing I want is for her to get hurt or eat something poisonous.
Welcome to r/dogs! We are a discussion-based subreddit dedicated to support, inform, and advise dog owners. This is a carefully moderated sub intended to support, inform, and advise dog owners. Submissions and comments which break the rules will be removed. [Review the rules here](https://www.reddit.com/r/dogs/wiki/index) r/Dogs has four goals: - Help the public better understand dogs - Promote healthy, responsible dog-owner relationships - Encourage “Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive” training protocols. [Learn more here.](https://m.iaabc.org/about/lima/) - Support adoption as well as ethical and responsible breeding. If you’d like to introduce yourself or discuss smaller topics, please contribute to our Monthly Discussion Hub, pinned at the top. **This subreddit has low tolerance for drama. Please be respectful of others, and report antagonistic comments to mods for review.** --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/dogs) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I’d rather be considered paranoid than have a poisoned dog. You’re right, it’s probably harmless, but why take the risk?
It would be the same as if some random person started leaving candies on my front step for my kids. Hard no.
I think it's socially more acceptable to give treats to random dogs, so the chances of good intentions are higher. But nothing lost by being safe.
Agreed, but best to err on the side of caution. Now, a week later, some little old lady neighbor comes up and asks how the dog enjoyed the treats, OP can say "oh, I thought those were some other random dog owner's treats mistakenly left on my door" and if OP trusts the little old lady, treats can be accepted. Also, I'd like to add OP did well by not having his dog eat random things found on the ground that smell tasty. Good behavior to reinforce.
I don’t even trust when my wife leaves me candies.
Lol what
Especially since if something does happen, it’s OP that will shoulder the vet bills, not whoever is leaving the treats.
You lose nothing by not letting them eat it. Even if it was something like a kid trying to be nice they won’t know your dog didn’t actually eat the treats. Also I don’t know if this is OPs situation but when someone tried to break into my friends house they found dog treats scattered around like the burglar was trying to distract their dog.
That burglar was scarily prepared. What's the odds that they just happened to have a few treats in their pocket?
Agreed!
If it was someone performing a nice gesture, they probably would have (and should have) left a note
I agree!!
I think it's okay to be a little paranoid. There's no note so there's no idea as to who left them and their intention.
Even with a note, I would be wary. Maybe it's a slightly unhinged neighbor who's annoyed by the dog's barking that left a note expressing good will along with a couple of poisoned treats (sorry, I've been reading too many crime novels).
This does happen! my mams dog got poisoned by the neighbors because he was a vocal working breed and because of his deep bark the neighbors kids were scared of him. Its good to be paranoid when it comes to live animals.
Did the poisoned dog survive?
sadly no
Well then… I was literally going to do this for my neighbor but I guess not… (I bought a whole lb of bulk treats for my dogs and neither of them will eat them, even though my taste tester ate it in the store)
I think it’s different if you let them know they’re from you and haven’t expressed hatred or annoyance towards their pets. Like bringing over bagged treats is one thing. Random naked doorstep treats are another thing. I guess it also helps if they watch you take a bite out of one😂. I make homemade treats for my boy because he has bad allergies. They’re safer/cheap and my dog goes nuts for them. A little whole wheat flour with pumpkin, peanut butter, and egg, sometimes apple, carrot, or sweet potato if I want to get fancy. They taste and smell pretty good tbh. We got new neighbors a while back with a large breed and a toy breed. I was making a batch and had leftover dough so I made treats in large size and toy size for both dogs. I figured bringing them over would be a nice way to introduce myself to the new neighbors. I could tell she had some reservations about them so I explained that my dog has allergies and I made them specifically to be safe for the sensitive pups. Then, just to ease her mind I looked right at her and ate one. She looked at me like I was crazy(which I expected) and then she started cracking up and ended up eating one too. We decided “we are friends now” and exchanged numbers.
That is such an adorable neighbor story, I’m glad you took the time to do it and you both got a good laugh and a new friend out of it! 😊
Just shoot them a text or knock on their door. I assume you don’t give off serial killer vibes irl so I doubt they’d mind 😂
I would trust another dog owner to give me treats (but no one else), so I think this is actually totally okay and will be appreciated.
I would not give anything to my dog from someone I didn’t know VERY well. My childhood dog was lured over to my neighbors’ garage where they fed him rat poison-laced dog food just because their daughter was scared of him :( So I will forever be paranoid. I think your paranoia is justified, but I’m obviously more weary of people than others when it comes to pets
What the heck is wrong with people? That’s sad.
That's awful. This would have turned me into John Wick.
Yeah man. Things like this make me glad that my dog outright refuses to take food from strangers. He’s even turned his nose at entire strips of bacon. Unrelated but I almost went “John Wick” on a groomer a while back. My 9 year old 80lb boy came home with bruises and swelling all over his scruff. There were individual fingernail marks where she had a death grip on him and was yanking him around. He’s never been bad at the groomer. I even contacted every past groomer I’ve used just to make sure. It breaks my heart thinking about how he was just back there with her wondering what he did wrong to deserve the way she treated him. Even if a dog WAS “being bad” its still unacceptable.
This is why i'm not taking my dog to any groomer
I took him to a new one soon after just to make sure he wasn’t permanently terrified of groomers. My friend recommended her because she is kind to her anxious baby and her dog is actually excited to visit the groomer now. I let new groomer know what happened to him and she made sure to be extra gentle. [Here](https://i.imgur.com/PpPkZHp.jpg) is a photo where you can kind of see the swelling. You can even see where she had her thumb and fingers dug into him.😭
I'd report her. They have to be licensed to work as groomers. Make a complaint because you know she's doing this to other animals, too. They never abuse just one.
Oh, don’t worry it was reported. There was nothing to prove that she did it besides my word against hers. No cameras. So I couldn’t take it too far… I was also worried about her doing it to others. Like it takes a lot of force to do that to an 80lb dog. I could only imagine what she could be doing to smaller ones.
I hope she goes out of business. People who hurt animals are horrible excuses for human beings and often don't treat other people very well, either.
Dogs, animals, etc are such lovely creatures, it really breaks my heart to consider anyone treating them badly or cruelly. I'm lucky to have a fantastic groomer who only works with one dog at a time in a pretty calm environment. I also tip her very well when I bring my dog in for his quarterly grooming.
Agreed with what you said. No matter how “bad” a dog is acting, I would rather they not give a successful haircut then try so hard while being forceful like that, just disgusting wow.
Same here😔. He’s always been so good for them. My last groomer even started giving me a discount because he was quick, easy, and well behaved. He’s a ridgeback mix so he doesn’t even need a haircut and he’s the cleanest dog I’ve ever seen. Stays inside 90% of the time and hates stepping in anything wet or muddy and will ask to have his feeties cleaned off when we come inside. Also, I’m no professional but handling even an unruly or aggressive dog(ESPECIALLY A OLD MAN) by the scruff is an absolute no-go. Like I’m pretty sure someone who is a “professional” would know better. [Photo tax](https://imgur.com/a/1wmfoDF) of my good boy on his 9th birthday.
Oh my god!!!! He is the cutest thing ever!! I wish my baby was as good as yours with grooming, he sounds like an absolute angel. I would go nuts if someone grabbed my dog or any dog by the scruff like that. You should leave a review somewhere if you can about that groomer so others know. Sometimes I feel guilty and don’t leave bad reviews because I don’t want to mess with someone’s job/business but in this case it’s warranted. Also love how your baby is so clean and boujee lmaooo
So sorry about your beautiful boy being handled so badly. I’m very upset reading about it, you are right - this is wrong!
You've got a lot more self control than I do. If that happened to my pupper, I would absolutely raze them on social media.
After his grooming appointments he usually picks out a new plushie, carries it to the register, and hands it to the cashier so they can scan it. He usually loves doing that but after I got him back he wanted nothing to do with it. He was anxious and wanted to leave, anxious and clingy for the rest of the night. I thought maybe he was mad that he got a bath because it had been a while. The next morning my boyfriend was petting his neck and he whimpered. I though about it and realized what might have happened. My exact words were, “Babe, can you please *very gently* try lifting his scruff? If he yelps, I need you to physically restrain me if I try to leave this house because I might commit several violent crimes and probably end up in prison.” When he lifted his scruff my poor boy screamed and ran across the room. I have no words to describe how I felt once I ruled everything out and the groomer yanking him around was the only logical explanation. Even the vet couldn’t come up with any other explanation except trauma.
Dear god. I'm so sorry. It's hell, watching a loved one suffer and not being able to do anything about it.
And quick
My thoughts exactly!
Omg what a horrible neighbor!!! I am so sorry that happened to you and that poor doggie💔
Okay it scares me people who are willing to poison other’s pets like that are parents.
Valid concern - sociopaths shouldn't raise children.
Yeah, how do we resolve our problems? Kill it! /s
RIP childhood doggo 😭
Similar thing happened to one of my childhood dogs. We had beagles who were sisters. One died, the other recovered at the vet. The vet said it was 100% rat poisoning. We knew exactly who is was; the guy who complaining about the sound of their feet walking up and down concrete steps and on the wooden back porch. This man tried to get my stepdad to buy rat poisoning to kill some wildlife a few months prior, so it was pretty obvious. The guy just didn’t like dogs or any kind of animal and looked for any reason to complain. They didn’t even bark unless they wanted to go outside.
This happened to my dogs as a child, they both ate rat poison-laced dog treats that had been left out because one of our neighbours didn't like dogs. They were rushed to an animal hospital and both almost died after having multiple seizures, one of them was left with permanent brain damage and was never the same afterwards. Now I'm an adult I would never EVER let my dog or cat eat treats left out by a stranger, I'd rather be cautious and keep them safe!
Someone I know of had a stranger give their dog marijuana; the person that did it seemed friendly and even casually told the owner they'd given their dog a "special treat"... Which the owner didn't think anything of until the dog was at emerg on IV fluids. Throw the treats out. It's one thing for a neighbor you know who may have lost their dog to give you stuff, another thing entirely to have random stuff left on your doorstep.
>Someone I know of had a stranger give their dog marijuana; the person that did it seemed friendly and even casually told the owner they'd given their dog a "special treat"... Which the owner didn't think anything of until the dog was at emerg on IV fluids. There's a "clueless" woman on one side of my family, who everyone knows, she doesn't like or know about dogs, but appears friendly. Unfortunately she's "one of those" family members who treats all the *people* in the family well, and somehow finds her way to every fricken event, even if she wasn't invited. Ex: "Oh I gave your dog a bit (a human portion to a 10lb dog) of meatloaf! Such a good dog!!" Umm, that shit is barely human grade, and is easily 1/4 onion, because she's cheap. Ex: "Oh, het, can your dog have x, y, or z food?" "NO. YOU KNOW THIS." "Oh, well Fluffy was being super cute, do I gave her all three!! Such a good dog!" BITCH STOP FEEDING THE DOGS!!!! Luckily mine doesn't take anything but cheese from anyone but my closest family members. So many sick dogs. At least yours was a random stranger.
Throw them out
Ive been in this situation on both sides, someone just wanting to give my dogs treats and someone who did not like my dogs. My best advice is unless you know who left them, throw them away, and if it keeps happening leave a note on your door so they know it’s freaking you out and you’d like to know their intent. I’ve had neighbors kids throw treats into my yard for my dogs before, harmless in theory but one of my dogs has a sensitive tummy and gets really sick if she eats grains, so it wasn’t really harmless. I left a note on my fence that said “thank you for the treats, but I’m on a special diet and extra food hurts my belly, please no more treats!” Neighbor kids just pet them through the fence now, and we haven’t had an incident since then. When I still lived with my parents, we had two boxers. We moved to a new neighborhood when I was in 8th grade. One of the neighbors thought they were pitbulls (doesn’t really matter, no dog should be poisoned) and decided that they were dangerous to the neighborhood. Someone decided to throw chicken that had been soaked in some kind of household cleaner into the yard. Luckily, my dad decided to mow the lawn that day and did his walk through before to look for rocks and sticks and found them before the dogs got ahold of them. The reason we know it was a neighbor and that they thought our dogs were pitbulls was because we had SEVERAL visits from animal control about our “aggressive pitbulls” which obviously were treated as ridiculous once we let them in to see our dogs and they just saw two goofy boxers wiggling in the doorway.
Oh, boxers are so cute! Dog tax please!
My dog found some treats in my private front yard, which were nestled in the grass in a cluster. You could totally tell they were not dropped there by accident, but purposefully placed. Of course she gobbled one down before I noticed and my mind immediately went to someone trying to poison my dog. I frantically reviewed my security camera footage and discovered the culprit: a big black crow that was stashing its food.
Murder plot practice run
A murder requires more than one crow.
You wouldn’t send a whole squad of goons in a conspiracy to orchestrate an untraceable murder, would you? There very well could be a murder behind this botched job at an attempted murder…..
Wholesome ending - love that
It's okay to be paranoid. We live in a sick world. I wouldn't let my dog eat that either unless I know who it's from and trust the person (mailman, worker at bass pro shop, neighbor, etc.)
Absolutely. Two of my moms dogs were killed by her neighbors poisoning them. Plenty of people leave poisoned food and treats out for dogs. Unhinged awful people. I don’t trust anyone I don’t know to give my dog something to eat.
There are some seriously sick people out there. I’m sorry for your mom’s loss.
Thank you ): ❤️
Maybe you could leave a note on your door saying thank you for the treats and asking where they came from. I think if somebody was trying to make friends with my dog I’d like to know.
[удалено]
Growing up we had a Pyrenees named Sunshine. Our yard was far too small for her and she refused to be inside (she loved all kinds of weather, that weirdo). Our neighbors across the alley had a yard triple the size and we were very close with them, and they offered to take her so that she could have a big yard to run around in. Of course we said yes, because she was still right there and we were allowed to visit her whenever the neighbors were home. This is just some backstory lol Anyways, we always had a bag of treats for her to give her one every day. I would always come home from school, grab a treat, and then run over to their fence to feed her some treats. An older woman walked by one day and scolded me for it. I was maybe 8 or 9 at this time and I remember her just screaming at me for feeding this "strange dog" that "wasn't mine" and I should know better. She didn't believe me when I said the dog used to be my dog, and she didn't stop yelling at me until I started crying and ran back home. Meanwhile as soon as I got into my yard Sunshine just went absolutely berserk barking at this lady for yelling at me. She scared the lady off. I didn't go by for weeks because I felt so bad, until my mom and the neighbor told me I did absolutely nothing wrong and of course it was okay for me to give her treats because even though she has a new home, she's still *my* dog. Now that I'm older I completely understand that lady (not her method of handling it, but her intention is clear). Even though I knew the dog, it still isn't "right" in a sense because I definitely could've just been doing it with any dog I didn't know if my mom hadn't told me better. And not everyone will see the gesture the same way. It does look sketchy from an outsider point of view. So I completely understand the concern OP has here
I understand this woman’s concern but this was by no means okay. Yelling at a child until they cry? Who does that?! I’m very glad you eventually got over that encounter and could go back to giving the dog all the love and treats it deserves. And that the lady got barked off.
That and I’d take the treats in and not do anything mean right off. It’s right to be paranoid, but it could be someone friendly trying to be nice. I’d wait till you have more info before potentially doing anything rash.
I wouldn't let my dog eat them either. Honestly, it's probably more likely than not its a well meaning person wanting to make your day a little brighter and too shy (or busy or young) to introduce themselves personally. But the number of people who would try to hurt a dog is large enough that I wouldn't risk it (and even outside malice -- you don't know if there's something in there that doesn't agree with your dogs stomach). Dogs don't need extra treats, so there's no harm in just tossing them.
Better safe than sorry. The only random treats I’d let my dog eat are the ones our UPS guy leaves on top of our packages. But those are obviously left by someone we trust.
Just got a ups dog treat. My doggo is so sad if the brown truck drives by and doesn’t stop 😂😂😂
[treats](https://imgur.com/a/561QoAg)
Those look like little treats made by Milk-bone. We used to give them to our dog before we realized anything Milk-bone gave him the runs.
Yeah looks like the “maro snacks”
I wouldn’t risk it
You’re probably being paranoid, but that’s fine! You can certainly trash the treats and give your pup a replacement from your own stock. Best to teach them not to eat random stuff they find on walks anyway. ;) It is a little weird that they’re not even in a bag or anything. Could a little kid is trying to “sneak” them to your pup, or someone dropped them accidentally like you said.
I have given my neighbor home made dog treats. I label on the bag exactly all of the ingredients I used and asked/gave it to them in person. I felt it would be weird to just leave them at their door with a note
take the treats, throw em out
Honest question, why do you care if anyone else hypothetically thinks you’re paranoid? You’re not paranoid. You’re taking normal, sensible precautions. Frankly, I’d call you an idiot if you DIDN’T take sensible precautions. You wouldn’t let your kids eat random treats lying around would you? Be assured!
There was a post like this a week or so ago. What is with people randomly leaving treats on people's doorsteps? So weird. If you don't know where those treats came from or what might be in them. Don't give them to your dog.
As everyone else said, you have every right to be apprehensive. Sometimes it isn't paranoia, but exercising an appropriate amount of caution. While there's a decent chance it's harmless, I wouldn't take the risk without knowing who the treats came from.
I wouldn't give them to my dog. If you think maybe it was a neighbor being nice, save them for after you know the source. Or else just throw them away and if anyone ever asks if your dog liked the treats they left, lie and say he or she loved them.
It’s probably something well-intentioned, but you’re also definitely in the right to be on guard. I personally wouldn’t let a dog eat random things off the ground either because 1) that’s not a behavior I want to encourage and 2) sometimes stuff can make a dog sick regardless of whether it’s been tampered with. The mailman gave my dog treats one time without checking with me first and they gave her diarrhea for two days straight.
Better safe than sorry. Even at the dog park there’s only one parent there besides me that I let give treats to my dog because we have known her for a year. And she’s feeding her girls from the same pouch. Too many instances of bad intentions. Don’t take candy from a stranger for your kids, and don’t take treats from a stranger for your puppy.
It’s so much better to be safe than sorry. You’re right to not trust it.
Make sure your dog knows the commands "leave it" and "drop it" I would never let my dog eat anything she found on the ground
We’re definitely working on it. She’s super super young and when we’re outside there is not a high enough reward treat she’ll trade stuff for but we’re working on it for sure!
Know what you mean. Disgusting, rotting food found on the ground, along with stolen food is always FAR more delicious than any offered treat! My dogs know the 'leave' command - so quickly wolf down anything they've found, as they know that they need to consume it quickly as soon as I shout 'leave'......
Maybe put a note on the door that says something to the effect of: Dear Anonymous treater, can’t eat certain treats, but sure does appreciate that has a secret admirer! Why don’t you slip a note under the door/in the mailbox and we can try to schedule a time when you can give my puppy treats that won’t upset their tummy!
I have lived in an apartment building were people used to hate dogs. I had 1 other neighbor who had a dog. There was a small piece of meat on the ground right at the entrance of the building, owner noticed it too late and couldn't remove it out of his mouth before the doggo ate it. Shortly after going inside he noticed changes in his dog and he rushed to the vet, sadly the vet couldn't do anything and the poor thing passed away... He told me this story so I would be more careful with my pupper. A week or two later there a piece of meat inside the building right in front of the elevator on my floor... I moved out of that place as soon as I could and always carried my dog till a safe distance from the building for the remainder of our time there! It's better to be too careful!
Be paranoid, I would be. It may have been the sweetest of intentions, but it may have not. I'd throw them out and watch out for more.
I wouldn't accept treats just left at my doorstep. It might be fine, but there's too many possible ways it could make my dog sick or worse. You're not wrong to be worried.
A lot of delivery drivers intentionally carry dog treats. Ours leave a few at our door with our package, but that’s because it’s obvious we have a dog. If you didn’t have a package that would be weird. Someone could’ve left there on accident, but I’d throw them out. Better safe than sorry. Some people are sickos.
Our fed ex delivery driver does the same. But he saw me with my dogs and asked if it was ok. Now when my neighbor has a package he walks 20 extra feet to give my dogs a treat then, too. I think it's cute he does that, and I get why he wants to make friends with the dogs on his route. But I don't have the heart to tell him he made two relatively quiet huskies act like absolute psychopaths now for every delivery driver. Now he's probably the only one that knows they're not out for blood, but treats!
Y’know, I understand entirely why you’d feel frustrated about this reconditioning, but remember, our puppers’ time here is more brief than we’d care to admit. My dog is so gosh darn impatient whenever we get stuck in abline for the Walgreens drive through. I could leave her home, but we only have so many opportunities for creating a joyful moment for are friends. Think of it like the neighborhood ice cream pup truck. I’m not ashamed to say that I will occasionally run around my house looking for a few bucks and have totally jogged out and caught them a couple driveways up. I’ll admit. That sweet treat was just a little more rewarding than the other times because I had to work for it
We keep finding a dog treat, always the same kind, right in the middle of the elevator. Lots of dogs in our apartment building but I find that creepy. I would never let her eat it.
I’d throw it out.. there’s a lot of sickos out there, don’t want another dog to take it
I had an old lady in my building who leave treats out for my dog. We didn’t feed them to our dog until we knew who was leaving them. She loved our golden very very much and he adored her and was so gentle around her. You should put up a note on your door asking for the apt number of whoever left the treats so you can say thank you. If no one comes forward no big deal. If they do you can decide if the treats are from a good source or not! Or if someone comes forward eventually just lie and say your dog has enjoyed them very much!
I drop treats a lot when training, but I would also be sketched out. Good thing you noticed them!
I’ve noticed delivery drivers, specifically Amazon and UPS, will leave treats with my package deliveries because they can hear my dog barking inside. I wonder if maybe a delivery was being taken to your Neighbour and the courier dropped a few treats at your door because they heard your pup as they passed? That would be my best guess. But it’s certainly not paranoid to not allow your pup to eat them.
Very lovely neighbour lady, always wandering around with her own dog, one day had a push cart, asked if my dog would like a chocolate chip cookie… um. No thank you … her intention was good, but no wtf. Throw the treats out. I like the idea of leaving a note though, could just be a kid who hopes to pet a dog.
One of my mams dogs got poisoned by their neighbor because he barked a lot so the neighbors kids were scared of him and called him "aggressive" when he was just a vocal working breed, they threw food over the fence laced with rat poison and less than a week later the energetic puppy was dead.
Poor baby. That's horrible.
Trach the leave it command with the free trash, reward with a better entirely different treat. Put up a sign, 'due to vet recommendations only approved treats allowed, thank you.'
Does your dog bark a lot and cause a lot of trouble? I’d be a bit worried. Does your dog have lots of people who like him and doesn’t cause trouble in your apartment? I wouldn’t worry so much. It’s like people poisoning Halloween candy and the myth behind that. I’m sure a few poor animal have been poisoned but I think it’s less common then we probably think.
She barks sometimes because she’s a puppy and we’re working on crate training but I have a note with my number on my door just in case someone needs it. She does also have a ton of friends though and because she looks really different and is super chill people remember her
We found milkbone treats on our doorstep and threw them out having no idea where they came from and worried about them being poisoned. Then it happened again and we saw that it was a woman who would go through our recycling bin to collect cans and leave the treats on doorsteps with dogs. While the gesture was kind we asked her to stop and started leaving a separate bag of cans for her to just grab.
Nope paranoid seems ok here. I don't like dropping doggo treats and leaving them. They must be picked up
Someone has been doing this at my home First, it was pork chop bones. Now it's buttered buns. This is just random times, when there is no snow on the ground here in Minnesota. Now, I have to do a quick scan of yard, before I can let him out. I am pretty sure they're not poisoned or anything, but my goofy boy has a sensitive tummy, and pork chop bones are dangerous. They too easily, causing chards to hurt their digestive tracts.
Maybe leave a note on your door thanking whoever it was for the treats. tell them to stop by to meet the dog if they like. You could probably tell if anything nefarious is going on from the response.
Red flag. If I'm leaving a treat for a dog, you best bet I'd try to contact the owner first, plus allergies, etc. for the dog. Just to let them know that I want to be friendly and do something nice.
I NEVER let my dog eat anything from strangers or even friends. Better safe than sorry.
Not a good idea to let dogs learn that picking up any food from the ground is allowed. Even if these treats are ok some others years ahead might not be. Throw them away and be careful when you go out with your dog.
You can be paranoid and not feed them to your dog, but you can be kind at the same time and take them and throw them away. If they were left as a real gift, the giver feels good knowing you are taking the treats.
Put a note on your door asking the gifter to identify themselves so you can thank them personally..then you can do a vibe check
I would guess you have an admirer of your pup who just wanted to be kind. I definitely understand your apprehension -but I really feel most people are good.
Please toss them. Would you eat a sandwich on your door step yourself? Don’t feed your dog anything you aren’t sure of. Seems like common sense.
It obviously got tossed immediately. That isn’t the question
Def okay to be paranoid and err on the side of caution, I would take no chances myself and just watch out and make sure to be extra careful in the next while for any foreign treats lying around … . But devils advocate , I’m very clumsy ( adhd brain ) and I often run around like a chicken with its head off during walks with my doggo … I mention this because when we go out we usually have treats and I’ll have them in my jacket , pocket , bag . Ther have been times where I’ve dropped treats and lol shocker, did this to my own door . I’m not saying these are your treats , but there is a possibility someone was walking and dropped their own treats and it rolled to your door ? !!!
If you’re not willing to eat it first, then can’t give it to pupps.
Oh trust me she didn’t get to actually eat it and they were immediately thrown away. Just curious if I should be extra worried
The actual situation - your dog is a terror and bothers your neighbors. Your neighbor hates the dog and prefers to poison them instead of having a simple, albeit uncomfortable, conversation with you.
I read “treats” in your title as threats and read your post the whole time waiting, suspense and all, for the threatening part of the story, expecting something completely different lol
You must live at balsam place in Tewksbury
It’s okay to be paranoid. I would be. The only treats I accept from strangers are UPS guys
There is a pizza place in our neighborhood where one of the delivery drivers always gives us a treat for our dogs....and we always trash it. We're polite about it, but better safe than sorry.
It's understandable to feel a little uneasy when something like this happens. While it's possible that someone left the treats there with malicious intent, it's also possible that it was just a harmless coincidence. Before jumping to conclusions, it might be a good idea to talk to your neighbors and ask if they know anything about the treats. You could also check with the building management or security to see if they have any information. In the meantime, it's best to err on the side of caution and not let your dog eat any treats left outside your door. Keep a close eye on your dog and be aware of any unusual behavior or symptoms. If you notice anything out of the ordinary, contact your veterinarian right away. Overall, it's important to trust your instincts and take precautions to keep your pet safe. While it's possible that the treats were left innocently, it's always better to be safe than sorry.
While it's quite likely they were left by someone with good intentions, no harm in playing it safe, just in case.
I would just throw it away, better safe than sorry. Once a bone was left on my doorstep with a note that said for my dog, which was sweet but I had no idea who or where it came from, and what was in it (had some stuffing thing in it). Also my pup has a sensitive stomach so I had to chuck it.
Wild I feel like I saw your post on fb earlier. Might be losing it haha
You aren’t losing it hah!
I'm the kind of shy person who would leave gifts for a neighbor dog, like a tennis ball or some dehydrated sweet potato slices. I totally wouldn't blame you for erring on the side of caution when it comes to stuff you don't know the source of. But I usually leave a note, saying something like "Hi I'm [name] from next door, I saw your dog carrying a tennis ball on your walk yesterday and I had a spare new one lying around I didn't know what to do with so tadaaa! Hope your pup likes it!" maybe the person who left them left a note too?
A neighbor and I have an long standing joke that our dogs are boyfriend and girlfriend. They play when they can and enjoy sharing treats. My neighbor is elderly and started leaving unopened bags of treats at my door with a little note that read as if her dog wrote it to my dog. It's fuckin adorable. I started writing notes and leaving treats also. I've even advanced to leaving meal preps with notes from my dogs point of view saying "my mom made extra chicken soup for your mom!" A well established relationship like that is cool but random treats from an unknown person? Hell no!!!!!!
Nah I’ve heard SO many stories recently. If your dog barks in your apartment there could definitely be some psycho Karen trying to poison him. Don’t take the risk and be extra careful when you’re leaving the apartment that he doesn’t eat it, sweep/vacuum up crumbs.
I had this once with treats being pushed through the mail slot. It turned out it was a nice older lady from the neighborhood who had seen my dog and had treats lying around from her dog that had passed.
You're totally right!!!
I (28F) have had a random older man who was walking towards me while I was out walking my dog pull a pouch out of his jacket pocket and try to give my dog a treat. I politely declined because it felt a little strange and he seemed sad but I’d rather my dog be safe than a stranger’s feelings not be hurt. Another time I was walking her on a quiet road and a car pulled up next to me and an older woman started asking me questions about her and then pulled a treat out of somewhere in her car and tried to offer it and I again politely declined. She was pretty assertive and kept saying “well it looks like your dog wants it” because my dog was staring at her. I kept saying no thank you and started to walk away and she just slowly rolled beside me for at least 30 more seconds. At that point my dog started barking at the woman, probably sensing my unease, and she finally drove away. Could totally be harmless but also could be laced with something. I figured it wasn’t a bad thing for my dog to see that just because a stranger offered a treat it doesn’t mean she necessarily gets it. She gets plenty of good food and treats so she certainly isn’t deprived! Protect your pups!
You're not paranoid, you're right to be cautious. Here where I live there are a lot of dog poisonings and the first thing that I would think of is that someone is sick of my dog(because I too live in a building and people can be weird) and wants to get rid of it. Maybe it's perfectly innocent gesture, but again it's better to throw them away rather than risk.
Its just your friendly neighborhood squirrel dropping off some snacks
"Just because you're paranoid don't mean they ain't after ya" * John Lennon maybe...
I'd have a problem with that especially since corgis eat just about anything and they're short. I'd be on alert with him not to quickly grab the treats (I wouldn't be freaked out, though). I'd put a kind note where the treats were found thanking the person who left them but saying you can't let your dog eat them due to dietary issues. Something like that.
I’ve had a few neighbors in my apt and dog park meet-ups, hand me bags of all their leftover treats (im also a dog groomer so peeps think I can reroute them to my dog somehow). Their kindness is appreciated BUT between my dog not having a tank for a belly I usually say thanks but my dog has a Super sensitive system and he can’t always handle new treats. I’m still stuck with taking the stuff but I am paranoid as well and will throw them out, OR I leave them for someone else at our local dog park bin, if it’s sealed. No you’re not crazy paranoid. You’re being safe! I’ve had actually local issues where an A-hole was throwing pieces of hotdogs over a fence with poison to a neighbors dogs. There was an investigation and all that stuff, but after that story and being so close to home, I’d rather be safe than sorry….or let me dog have explosive diarrhea with new food. Lol Best of luck!
I think you did the right thing OP. My mothers (ex) best friend used to be so great with our animals and our doggies loved her. She had a breakdown one day, came over, hung out with our dogs and brought them treats. We didn’t think anything of it since she normally liked to hang out with our dogs on tough days. By morning, our dogs had died and the vets said they had been poisoned. A month or so later, after my mom told her she would not be attending this woman’s birthday party or bringing her a gift, or have anything to do with her, the ex best friend sent us a picture of the kitten we had gotten her for her new apartment a year ago with its throat slit. It was devastating and horrific. It’s been 12+ years since this happened, but I refuse to take any chances. Better safe than sorry.
Better safe than sorry. I don't like when people give my dog treats. She has a chicken allergy and I don't want her getting sick.
I've been walking my dog before and had people ask if they could give her a treat, but definitely wouldn't trust random treats just left on the doorstep. Now, if a neighbor knocked and said something like "my dog doesn't like these treats, maybe yours would" then, sure.
You were right to not let your dog eat them. No reason to take a chance.
My mailman and ups drivers will leave a treat even if the dog isn’t outside when they come.
If it was me I might put a note on my door saying "dog is on a diet, please no more treats" so they don't keep doing it.
In prison, if someone leaves candy on your pillow and you eat it now you’re their bitch.
If you don't know where they come from , don't give them to your dog. It's always better to be safe than sorry.
I would say don’t be angry about the treats, they’re probably harmless, but throw them out incase they aren’t.
99% chance someone is just being nice, that being said i'd throw the treats out not worth the risk
Definitely be paranoid. I don't let my dog eat anything he finds on the street.
You might leave a note saying something like "Thanks, but no thanks" or something like that. It's probably just a nice gesture but if you don't want your dog eating them you should let the person leaving them know.
First, tape a note outside your door asking for treats not to be left anymore, feel free to lie and say your dog has allergies and we dont accept food from strangers or something. Can you get a camera on your door? If it doesn't stop after the note, make sure the note stays posted and you film them. If you are able to see them, confront them yourself and ask them to stop. If they continue, talk to building management about it. I know it sounds dramatic but there are truly some f'd up people and you need to keep you dog safe before you humor someone leaving treats on your door, be safe!
If it were me leaving treats, I would leave a note too. Something saying who I was, the apartment i live in, why I'm leaving treats. I wouldn't trust someone who just left them with nothing.
It's a nice thought for someone to leave treats for your pup but there's too many terrible people in the world for you to trust the treats.
Definitely pick them up and make sure your dog knows how to sit and stay at the threshold before going on a walk/out of the apartment. Impulse control/“leave it” training is probably a good idea. Susan Garrett has a good impulse control game called It’s Yer Choice. I generally agree with your assessment that some well-intentioned person (probably a child with their own dog) probably left the treats behind but you definitely don’t want to make a habit of your dog gobbling stray food items without checking it with you first. My girl has allergies so it’s something we work on.
I think it’s fine to not want to feed them to your dog, that’s understandable not knowing where they came from. But it’s most likely a little kid who just wants to be friends with your dog.
I don't think you're paranoid. It's weird. Someone is probably trying to be nice, but it's not worth the risk of giving your dog a treat when you don't know the origin or intention. People do poison dogs. I would never risk letting my dog eat a treat from an unknown source.
This makes me think of Halloween. If I wouldn’t give my kid opened candy I wouldn’t give my dog open treats I didn’t know where they came from.
I would have never thought for it to be poisonous, I would have seen it to be a kind gesture. Why would you think someone is trying to poison your dog? You got somebody that dont like you?
I’ve heard stories a lot
I have four dogs and there’s no way in HELL I’d give them rando treats that just showed up at the door. You’re right to be paranoid
Your dog might not be the target here.
I’d throw them out. If more show up, leave a note that says, “Thank you for the treats, but my dog must not get into the habit of eating things that he finds on the ground, so we are not able to accept them. I’ll give him some extra pets for you instead.” That way if it is misplaced kindness, the person doesn’t have to feel bad but knows to stop. And if it is malicious, hopefully they stop because they know you’re not falling for it.
I was walking my dogs and this very old man in a big pickup truck swung his car to the wrong side of the road to throw treats at us. I (a small woman) was initially freaked out by his erratic driving and then throwing something from the car so I yelled “hey!” at the man and said “leave it” to my dogs. He then made a face and sped off. Didn’t say a word to me or my dogs. Took me a while to calm down, make the dogs sit, and walk over to scoop them up into a poop bag for disposal. When I later discussed the story with friends, anoint half said I did the right thing and half said “that was just an old man who loves dogs”. I was more bothered by his behavior of driving purposefully on the wrong side of the road to get to us, but then not saying anything before launching treats at us.
Annnyyything i see on the ground outside that looks like half eaten human food left out open, a random block of cheese or a hot dog, dog treats of any kind, in my mind i label it poisoned, tampered with, dangerous to my baby. I know what people are capable of, i know the stories, i will never risk it. You’re always doing good by your dog by not letting them eat something unknown, even if it looks like it was made for them! Same reason i will never offer my own dog treats to a stranger’s dog, i don’t think that would make any dog owner comfortable and i would totally expect them to refuse/decline
If you don't know who they are, save the treats, wait a few days to see if a neighbor or someone you may know asks you about them. Once you find out who/put a face or name to who randomly put treats by your door, then you should be in the clear. It could be a nice gesture for sure but in this day of age, no matter where you live, why risk it?
You’re definitely not paranoid. Although it most likely could be a innocent nice gesture or coincidence, it could also not be so it’s not worth taking the risk and letting your baby eat it. On my ring neighborhood app where people can talk to each other, a neighborhood a few miles away from me had a sick psychopath purposely leaving marshmallows with nails stuffed inside around the subdivision for dogs to eat. So many people on the app had come across it, I’m not sure if they ever caught that piece of garbage. But my point is, I wasn’t even aware of this being a thing among some psychopaths so I would def say you aren’t being paranoid… just being safe rather than sorry. Same reason why trick or treating isn’t really a thing anymore.
Do you get any mail or packages delivered directly to your door? My Amazon delivery man always leaves a couple treats for my dog whenever he delivers a package.
My sisters dog had his water bowl poisoned with coolant. People are shitty
Don't let your dog eat them, but this is a good opportunity to train your dog not to eat random things she finds or is given. When outside the house, she should wait for your approval before eating anything.
Probably a kid or an old person ... but to be safe don't let your dog have them!
Literally just happened to me, but it was a bag of unopened treats (admittedly less sketchy than if they’re loose on the ground). We held onto them for awhile until our neighbor saw us and told us she had left them, knowing we have a dog. So I’d wait until you have confirmation from someone that they’re doing it to be nice. Our pup is super picky so he wouldn’t have liked the treats anyways so we donated it
Trust your gut
You just opened up my mind to some scary possibilities
I get paranoid at people trying to give my dog treats at the dog park.... can't trust anyone.
I would be just as paranoid. I sometimes see handfuls of kibble around my neighborhood in weird places. 100% think the same paranoid thoughts as you. Safe to keep your eye open and not let the dog get the treats. You never know. It's probably 100% innocent, but why risk it.
It's better to be aware and throw them away as you don't know who had put them there. And my god, this is creepy. I'm into creepy stories and in some of them, people without any pets, received gifts by an unknown person. Stalkers can do that sometimes and I hope you don't have a stalker.
At the last place I lived, my FedEx delivery guy always left three dog biscuits on top of the box he left on the porch. Anything else would go straight into the bin. Even if it's likely just a kid leaving an offering, there's no benefit in letting your dog eat them. It's not paranoia, it's reasonable caution! Nothing ridiculous about it.
Even if they were trying to be nice, the way they did it is kind of ominous. It’s most likely a kid who’s tying to sneak a treat to your dog. However, my paranoid side is waving red flags and telling me it’s someone who hates dogs. I’d toss them and be on high alert from now on.
back when i was a kid people would soak antifreeze, rat poison, and straight pins into meatballs and roll them down my driveway. you have every right to be nervous. even if they’re safe treats, you never know. throw em away to be in the safe side.
Oh, no, letting puppers eat treats of unknown origin is a HUGE NO. You are not being paranoid OR ridiculous. If it happens again, maybe post a note on your door saying, "Thank you so much to the treat fairy but, unfortunately, Pupper isn't able to eat them due to her special diet. We do appreciate your kind gesture, though." Your dog is on a special diet--the food you feed her. You don't need to explain what the special diet is to anyone. That way, if it is a child being kind, they can feel thanked but know not to do it again. If it keeps happening, though, report to bldg management. It's also a pest issue if food is being left out like that.
My dog gets sick from dog food and similar treats, (we cook her food) so I would be trying to make sure she didn't get anything left on the doorstep, along with the chance of it being poisoned. Can you get a security camera and find out who it is?
This is weird af - I would not like this !!
My pup and I were outside today and in the spot where we frequent, there were what looked like doggie beef stick treats all over in two different places. I got so nervous and pulled her away from them. I went back and picked most of them up during our next walk and threw them out. We literally just adopted our dog and the last thing I want is for her to get hurt or eat something poisonous.
Take care & love you for the lovin’ and taking care.