Pooch Cafe by Paul Gilligan for October 04, 2017

That bird probably counts AS dog food!

We all know how the Ponch feels about his kibble (though really, there is no one else in that house who would want it). Birds generally eat slowly through the day, a worm here, a berry there. (Unless they are tanking up for the long trip south, in which case they strip the hollies, pyracantha and cotoneaster of late season berries). I digress. If someone feeds Bird-Brain, I hope he/she does not feel the need to gorge on bird seed.

I would think not Poncho. You’ll have to ask Chazz to get some bird seed while he’s getting your dog food, the cats’ food and the fish’s food.

Unless Ponch likes worms and leaves, I don’t think the bird is much competition for him…

Depends on the species of bird. Magpies and crows will eat most anything.. including dog food.

Watching birds of the same kind outside, it sometimes seems that there’s some competition for food going on there too, although with the really little ones, it’s hard to tell.

I know birds can be in the predator category but are they in the carnivore category? Seeds and worms would seem to indicate a tendency towards meat eaters.

We had two dogs in our life, so far, and no, Poncho, they don’t eat that way at all!

One dog was so dainty, that she took out one piece of dog food at a time and ate it before taking another one. The other dog takes a bite and chews it completely, then she has a sip of water, and the takes another bite. People who visited us and meal times were pleasantly surprised at how measured were out dogs’ eating habits.

Birds do eat dog food, when they have access to it. Put some dog food in your bird feeder, or just keep watch on an outdoor dog dish, and you’ll see.

When I worked at our wildlife rescue center we’d mix up canned dog food and birdseed as our basic “baby bird diet.”

We had a parrot that would head to the dogs dish whenever she had a chance.

A lot of the birds around here raid the dog’s dish quite often. They prefer the sunflower seeds in their own feeder, but they definitely do eat dog food.