fussy dog not eating...help! - Pet forum for dogs cats and humans

lucyvanpelt · #1 August 27th, 2005, 03:09 PM

i figured i'd post this here as it's mostly a dog food related question...duffy is now 10 months old and on his third variety of dog food. he started off on med-cal puppy, then had some tummy problems and was switched to med-cal hypoallergenic. eventually, he'd lost interest in the hypo and wouldn't touch it so the vet suggested switching to regular adult med-cal and that's what he's on now.
again, he lost interest in it. at the vet's suggestion, we started adding wet dog food (just those caesar's things from the grocery store). now he'll pick out the wet food and leave the kibble. we have tried everything to "trick" him into eating the kibble. we've added scrambled egg, cooked ground beef, shredded cheese, tuna fish and so on. with everything, he picks out the good stuff. he always eats a few kibbles over the course of the day but no where near his recommended two 1/2 cups per day.
when it comes to his treats or our food (if we do let him have human food its just a piece of bread crust or part of a cracker) he'll gobble it down in seconds. he even paws and cries at the cupboard where his treats are kept.
how can we get him to eat his kibble? should be try a different brand other than med-cal? what are we doing wrong? help!

Prin · #2 August 27th, 2005, 05:17 PM

Medical is not very tasty. I don't blame him for hating it..

Jemma was on Medi-cal allergy food, then wellness chicken before we got her. She hated both. She likes Iams ok, liked Eukanuba a little better, LOVED Purina ProPlan for sensitive stomachs (fishy) and REALLY REALLY LOVES the Solid Gold Wolf King (also quite fishy). I also just got Wellness Fish and Sweet potato for my dad's Jack (the most fishy food I smelled so far) and he was doing all sorts of tricks to get another kibble yesterday.

I think Fishy food is the way to go. Here are the ones I've mentioned in order of budget:
Proplan Sensitive stomach
Wellness Fish and Sweet Potato (MUCH MUCH better than proplan)
Solid Gold Wolf King (comparable to wellness but slightly more expensive).

Websites for the last two:
SOlid Gold Wolf King

Wellness Fish and Sweet Potato

Prin · #3 August 27th, 2005, 05:20 PM

Oops, he's a puppy!! Sorry. This one is quite fishy and has no corn (it's actually hard to find puppy food without corn in it!!)
http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/dogs...ogSup5MixPuppy

What kind of dog is he?

lucyvanpelt · #4 August 27th, 2005, 07:24 PM

thanks for the suggestion...he's a schnauzer/poodle mix.

anyone else?

Prin · #5 August 27th, 2005, 08:59 PM

It has been quiet this week... Back to school...

For a little mix like him, I'm not sure he should still be on puppy food. A lot of small dog breeders say to switch to adult after neutering (approx 6 months). But if you still want to feed puppy food, then ask for samples of the Wellness Super5Mix puppy. If you want to switch to adult, there's the "Just a Wee Bit" which has the same ingredients as the Wolf King, but is made for active little doggies. It has more calories per cup, so your doggy doesn't have to eat his body weight in food a day..

Just a Wee Bit

lucyvanpelt · #6 August 27th, 2005, 10:45 PM

so basically we should try a different premium brand and hope he finds the kibble tastier?

Prin · #7 August 27th, 2005, 10:49 PM

Basically. You don't necessarily have to move up, but if you're buying the medi-cal from the vet, it might not even be that much more expensive.

If it's about allergies or sensitive stomach issues, and you feed a food like Iams, Eukanuba or Purina Dog chow, etc, the allergies or upset tummy will have a good chance of returning. The fishy foods I suggested have no corn, brewer's rice, or wheat, which are the usual suspects for allergies and for poor digestion (soy is hard to digest too BTW).

If this doggy was easy about food, you could probably switch to anything, but given his history, I recommended those foods.

Prin · #8 August 27th, 2005, 10:52 PM

Get samples first! Most places that carry Wellness or Solid Gold should have samples, so ask first because you don't want to waste money on another food he won't like anyway.

coppperbelle · #9 August 28th, 2005, 07:32 PM

I'm with Prin on the dog food choice. I feed Solid Gold, Wolf King and my dogs love it. They love everything however so that it is no shock that they love the Wolf King. What I love about the Solid Gold is how they are doing, their fur is beautiful etc...

I don't think your dog is having a problem with food. I think the problem is, is that he has trained you very well. He spits out the kibble and you spice it up. Try this:
Find a good quality kibble that is easily found in your area and most importantly one you can afford to feed. Put his morning meal down and wait 15 minutes. Don't add anything. If after 15 minutes he doesn't eat it, pick it up and put it away. At dinner do the same thing, again putting it away after 15 minutes. I would cover it to protect it from bugs. Make sure you don't give him treats of any kind. By day two he should start eating.

Prin gave you a few suggestions. While I feed Solid Gold and would recommend it to everyone I also understand that it is hard to find and expensive.
In addition to her list I like the ingredients in Natural Balance. Nutro, Royal Canin and Kirkland also are good foods.

Good luck.

Prin · #10 August 28th, 2005, 09:12 PM

Be careful which Royal canin you look at though. A lot of them have corn and by-products, and you want to stay away from those if your doggy's stomach is sensitive.

lucyvanpelt · #11 August 28th, 2005, 10:54 PM

where do you find the solid gold? think the local petsmart would carry it?

Prin · #12 August 28th, 2005, 11:21 PM

I doubt it. Where are you located? What city?

In eastern Canada, the distributer is Lucid and their website is www.jollypet.com but I can't get it to work tonight. When it does work, you can locate a retailer on the site. Western Canada's distributer site is: http://www.optimaldog.com/

StaceyB · #13 August 28th, 2005, 11:48 PM

The more you change the foods/ and give your dog options the pickier they get. They will wait it out to see if the next choice is even better. Do you leave the food out all the time?

Prin · #14 August 28th, 2005, 11:51 PM

True, but Medi-cal is icky. That's why I said switch first...

StaceyB · #15 August 28th, 2005, 11:55 PM

I don't understand wht vets suggest putting healthy dogs on this food anyway. I'll answer, money.

Prin · #16 August 29th, 2005, 12:00 AM

Good answer.

coppperbelle · #17 August 29th, 2005, 06:03 AM

Yup, money, they get kick backs I guess. I should have mentioned the Royal Canin, Holistic Blend. I don't believe it contains any corn although in truth I haven't looked at it in ages. Most Eagle Pack foods contain corn also.

lucyvanpelt · #18 August 29th, 2005, 10:21 PM

we fed him med-cal from the start because that's what his breeder was feeding him and she was a fan of the food, plus we've been told it's one of the healthiest foods to feed your pets (by the breeder and the vet so who knows if it's necessarily true). we never really considered anything else till he lost interest in the med-cal.

staceyb, we've tried specific feeding times and leaving it out all day and we've ended up leaning toward leaving it out. he sleeps a little late usually so ends up getting his first meal around noon, which is kibble and wet food. since he tends to eat the wet, we leave the kibble out. at dinner, we take it back, add more kibble and wet if needed. this was working for a while but lately it hasn't been so great.

prin, i'm located in central ontario, not far from toronto.

with so much dog food to choose from, this is confusing! are there certain brands i should avoid?? maybe that'll help me find something good.

Prin · #19 August 30th, 2005, 12:12 AM

IAMS, Eukanuba, Purina (Pro Plan is not terrible, but it's not the best either), Science Diet, the breed specific Royal Canin foods, anything from the grocery stores... Hmmm.... Who am I forgetting?

Here's a post I posted from another thread with a list of links for good dog food companies.

Prin · #20 August 30th, 2005, 12:17 AM

The Eastern Canada distributer of Solid Gold and other great foods (Lucid) website never seems to work, but I found their phone number: 905 761 8551. Give them a call and ask them which stores in your area carry the food you decide on.

coppperbelle · #21 August 30th, 2005, 07:41 PM

[QUOTE=Prin]IAMS, Eukanuba, Purina (Pro Plan is not terrible, but it's not the best either), Science Diet, the breed specific Royal Canin foods, anything from the grocery stores... Hmmm.... Who am I forgetting?

My personal pet peeve (Pedigree) foods.

Prin · #22 August 30th, 2005, 10:16 PM

HOW could I forget them? They advertise EVERYWHERE!!

Joey.E.CockersMommy · #23 August 31st, 2005, 10:57 PM

We are in the process of most likely switching and we are still in the process of trying foods. Right now Joey is trying the "just a wee bit by Solid Gold.

Right now we have started adding the Solid Gold Seal meal supplement powder to his current food Eukanuba. As his skin seems dry right now. He loves it now before it seemed like the food would sit in the bowl all day. and now he devours it. When I switch his food I am definately going to keep him on the seal meal supplement.

Prin · #24 September 1st, 2005, 12:54 AM

Just be careful because the sea meal has a bit of flax in it, which might cause itchiness (not in every dog, but just look out for it).

I give it to my doggies but I stopped during ragweed season. I hadn't noticed that Jemma was itchier or anything, I just KNOW she's itchy from ragweed and didn't want to take the chance...

As soon as the first frost comes, they're back on it.

Joey.E.CockersMommy · #25 September 1st, 2005, 07:43 AM

Thats interesting Joey is always scratching. I got him a flea collar but I think is skin is itchy. I am thinking its quite dry here so that is probably why. The lady at the petstore reccomended the sealmeal for his dry skin. He seems to really like. She says it takes a few weeks to notice the diffrence I hope he doesnt start scratching more.

mastifflover · #26 September 1st, 2005, 08:07 AM

Another great thing for dry skin is fish oil capsules. I freeze one in yogurt ice cubes. Great treat and good for them. Also use an oatmeal shampoo this really helps too. But do not bathe your dog often.

BMDLuver · #27 September 1st, 2005, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joey.E.CockersMommy

Thats interesting Joey is always scratching. I got him a flea collar but I think is skin is itchy. I am thinking its quite dry here so that is probably why. The lady at the petstore reccomended the sealmeal for his dry skin. He seems to really like. She says it takes a few weeks to notice the diffrence I hope he doesnt start scratching more.

He may need to be on Kangaroo and Oatmeal, it's by Eukanuba (I know!) but spaniels have a lot of skin issues, stomach issues and allergies so it seems to be one of the best options out there.

lucyvanpelt · #28 September 1st, 2005, 02:10 PM

does anyone else find it strange that some dog food has kangaroo meat in it? i didn't know anything anywhere ate kangaroo. they're so cute. it makes me sad.

jessi76 · #29 September 1st, 2005, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucyvanpelt

does anyone else find it strange that some dog food has kangaroo meat in it? i didn't know anything anywhere ate kangaroo. they're so cute. it makes me sad.

Some people eat kangaroo. It's actually on the menu at a local restaurant I know of.