Good foods to mix with dry dog food

Hi All

Ive got a 11 week old black lab and he would pick at his food all day when it was just the dry kibble - so ive been mixing in half a sachet of pedigree wet puppy food or a few tsp of cottage cheese to his JWB kibble and he eats it all now.


Firstly is it ok to add cottage cheese?

And secondly whats some other good foods to add to his dry kibble?

I was thinking maybe some cooked mince or chicken??

Thanks

Hi

Are you leaving him food down all day? if you are, this will encourage picky eating. Just feed four set meals a day (drop this down to three at 12 weeks), leave the food down for an alloted time each meal (say 10 minutes) and then pick it up. He'll soon learn that if he doesn't eat it all it will get taken away. A healthy dog won't starve itself and Labs are very rarely fussy eaters, so it shouldn't take him long to catch on at all.

As for mixing dry with the wet, you want to avoid cottage cheese. You should avoid giving your puppy anything that contains calcium until he is fully mature.

I would not mix anything very high value (cooked chicken, mince, etc.) with his JWB as you may be making a rod for your own back there. You don't want a dog that will only eat dry when it is mixed with fresh meat.

Try Butchers Tripe mix. I get a pack of 6 tins from Tesco or Wilkinsons or something for £3.50 (I think) and just put a small amount in with each of my dogs meals. One of these packs lasts a couple of weeks.

Im not leaving the food down all day, im giving him 4 meals soon to be 3 meals a day from today.

He just wouldnt eat much of the dry kibble without some real encouragement and then it was only a few mouthfuls going back & forth until i started adding some other bits, like - cottage cheese, mince, wet dogg food, sardines & tuna.

I'll try the butcher tripe mx deifnately and see how it goes

I was about to suggest adding tinned fish such as sardines, pilchards etc but you beat me to it. I used to sometimes add a bit of gravy to my dogs kibble, not great though as there is too much salt etc in it.

How about adding hot water to the kibble then letting it soak in a bit whilst cooling. It's far more palatable to a dog if its warm and moist.

While I once had one, picky Labs are few and far between. The worst thing you can do is to bribe a dog with rich foods into eating more than it needs. Instead, Put down the dish with what the dog should eat, and give it 15 minutes to eat. Then take it up. Do not give it anything to eat until its next scheduled meal. In a few days, it should be eating what it needs. Continue to check its ribs and adjust the food as needed. This is not easy. I had a Shepherd go 3 days on a few nibbles. I was a wreck, but she was fine. It is almost unknown for a healthy dog not to eat what it needs. Unfortunately, in too many cases, it is less than the package says, and less than the owner thinks the dog should have. Many dogs are quite good at holding out for tastier chow. Like kids, sometimes it calls for tough love.

You should be feeding a puppy chow now. Switching to an adult chow for the larger breeds at 4 months, slows growth and helps develop sturdier joints.

Your dog definitely should be narrower at the waist than the hips and chest. You should be able to easily feel the ribs, but not see them. Each dog is different. Standard recommendations are a good place to start, but each dog must have its food and exercise adjusted to its individual needs.

Oh, if you aren't feeding 4 meals a day, don't worry about it. Labs do fine on 3 meals a day from 6 weeks on and can be cut back to 2 at 3 months. My Raven turned 3 months last week and lunch is shrinking. It will be gone by the end of the week. I trust the dog guide school that breeds 300 Labradors a year more than the pet owners here. They used to wait until 4 months, but I haven't seen any difference in the ones that I have cut the third meal out at 3 months.

There was an extensive discussion of weight in a recent newsletter from a service dog school.

''Obesity is the number one nutritional disease affecting dogs. It's estimated that 25-45% of dogs in the US are obese. Studies have shown that joint and locomotive problems increase by 57%, circulatory problems by 74%, respiratory problems by 52%, skin problems by 40% and cancer by 50% in animals that are overweight.

Large breed dogs that are overweight also are more prone to developing hip dysplasia. Obesity is especially dangerous for young puppies, as their underdeveloped frame cannot support the extra poundage that it must carry.''

Hi again

Which James Wellbeloved flavour are you feeding? some of their flavours (such as turkey) are pretty bland smelling, so presumably pretty bland tasting. Others such as the lamb flavour are much stronger smelling and are therefore more enticing. If you soak the kibble in hot water and leave it to cool, this further brings out the flavours and makes it more appetizing. So, next time you purchase a sack of JWB, it might be worth while trying another flavour. Do it slowly of course (as he is young still) by mixing 75% of the old food with 25% of the new, then 50% old and 50% new, and so on, over a period of a about a week.

As I said, I would definitely NOT be adding things like mince, tuna, sardines and so on unless you want to be doing that for life. You'll definitely be making a rod for your own back as the odds are he will flat out reject plain kibble, and even reject tinned dog food, by holding out for the 'good stuff'.

Our dog tended to prefer his dry food mixed with water, especially when he was a puppy. You can also get bottles of gravy made for mixing with dog food (better on salt/sugar levels than human gracy) although not sure how well this would go down for a puppy.

It's important to not get your dog used to getting fresh meat etc mixed in with a meal unless you want to do that all his life as he will keep expecting it.

I tend to agree with the idea that a healthy dog won't starve itself needlessly so if you put it down and he's not eating it then maybe it would be worth checking there is no medical reason for his food refusal (if you haven't already). Other than that maybe it might be worth trying a different flavour of the food, or a change of food?

Hope you manage to sort the problem out because I know it's a worry when they are not eating.

Please do NOT listen to this 'advice'. Puppies should be on 3 meals until they are 6 months UNLESS the puppy flat out refuses one of it's meals each day. Stick with the instructions your breeder gave you with regard to feeding amounts.

Cheers thanks for all of the replies.

Ill defiantely continue to feed 3 meals a day + ill try adding hot water to his food tomorrow and see how it goes.

Cant help but worry thats all, lol!!

Yes, reject the advice of somebody trained and mentored by professionals for that of an ordinary dog owner knowing little more than you. 50 years of doing the same wrong things doesn't make anybody a reliable source of info.