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Location: Scottish Borders
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 13,902
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14-12-2007, 11:17 AM
My old rescue bc Kip has always been a fussy eater. I tried raw for awhile and he did enjoy the meat (most days, but he would still have his 'I don't want to eat that' days even with fresh meat). The problem was he wouldn't eat anything else (e.g. veg, fish, bones) to ensure that it was a properly balanced diet.
I now accept that there may be days when he is just not bothered about eating unless it is something really really tasty. In a way, I think it is his own kind of weight control method because he will go for days stuffing one type of food, then not want it for a day or two, then go back to eating it fine again. I wish Hoki was like that, the gutsey so and so she is!
However, I do agree with Mini that while pups are still growing it is important to ensure that they do eat.
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Location: Poodle Heaven!
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 14,297
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14-12-2007, 12:43 PM
Originally Posted by jess 
No offence to anyone here, but personally I don't like the term ''dogs won't starve themselves''....
You couldn't pay me to feed commerical dog food, however if you didn't feed me anything for a week I would eat it myself, as the inbuilt mechanism for survival would kick in, and common sense (for long term survival) would go out the window.
I see it the same with dogs, you can starve them until they eat it... but what is going on.
It could be that they can sense that it is not 'food' and you may well think of that as daft, but my completely raw fed dog Akela who has never had dog food has many times refused to eat a dry food, she sniffs at it and looks at the person who has offered it as if they were mad.
Most 'oils and fats' listed on dog foods are pre-cooked that have been collected from resturants. They have already been used in cooking and are sprayed on pet foods because they 'taste' vaguely of the foods they were cooked in. 'Oils and fats' might seem like something your dog needs, when in actual fact they are used for palatability - without them the kibble is dry cardboard that most dogs (maybe labs!) wouldn't look twice at.
People feeding raw/natural diets will know that to prevent oils going off and turning carcinogenic they should be kept cool and in the dark...
My personal feeling is that if we are having to starve an animal to get them to eat - Especially if that animal will eat other food (you said that your dog will take your cooked food) then we have gone wrong somewhere.
In summary my advice would be to look into a natural balanced diet for her, perhaps in time you might look back and see her annoying habit as a good thing...
Everyone goes on about how healthy a 'natural' diet is basing it on wild canids but wild canids don't actually live that long, most die within their first year and not many go on after about 5 years unless they are really successful or in captivity!
Becky
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Location: dogsville
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,141
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14-12-2007, 01:18 PM
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Location: mordoor
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 770
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14-12-2007, 03:20 PM
I too have a fussy eater and a scavenger in the one house and boy, is that some combination
i think you have gotten some very good advice here, what mini said about the right balance for a puppy i never thought of! and yes coating the kibble in something smelly and tasty is what has been my saving grace.
I do make up dinner from 1/3 meat, 1/3 veg and 1/3 rice and freeze it so i can vary the diet a little.
the way it worked for us was-
start with your own "stew"
work in some kibble adding more every day until
you have 90% kibble and 10% mackarel/meat/cheese etc
just to vary i give a home cooked food every now and then
I now have two healthy dogs who eat their own food with gusto and are both maintaining healthy weights.
This has worked out very well for us so hopefully it may do for you too - good luck
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Location: scunthorpe
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,956
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14-12-2007, 03:28 PM
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Location: Here !
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 4,681
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14-12-2007, 08:14 PM
The suggestion is that the dog has become so fussy it will now only eat what it "WANTS" to eat, as opposed to what it "SHOULD" eat, and therefore 'teaching' teaching the dog that he needs to eat HIS food is the way forward.
I too fed RAW diet and agree with what you say about foods, but in all honesty I have a very fussy dog who almost literally starved himself through being stubborn, and this was after extensive and expensive veterinary tests for 2 years to find out that nothing was wrong, except he is stubborn !
Raw diet is not convenient for everyone, the time, the space, the sources etc, it doesn't suit everyone, so many feed commercial.
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Location: scunthorpe
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,956
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15-12-2007, 03:26 PM
Im trying every option, I dont think I would be able to sustain a raw diet for Flower, especially with Willow eating differently, it would become very time consuming and expensive...im going to try all other possible options first..
xxx
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