Food mixer suggestions?
I know there have been a couple of threads about picky eaters on the forums.. but my 7-month old boy is one hell of a fussy eater and the fact that it's very hard to get him to eat worries me a bit since he is still growing and should, in theory, be wolfing food down.
I have found that variety does get him eating slightly better, so my question is.. what are some suggestions for "wet" foods I can mix with his kibble? I have so far tried a couple of branded wet foods (high quality) which he liked for a short period of time but got sick of. As far as non-dog-brand foods I've tried minced turkey, scrambled egg, and Tuna/ mackerel. He liked all of these but won't eat them more than twice in a row...! What other things shall I try?
I know i should probably just give him the option to eat for 20 mins then take the bowl away, etc.. but he will literally go days without eating, and at his age it's just not healthy. He's never been really food-focused, doesn't care much for treats, always eats very slowly, etc.. It's a funny one.
Any insights would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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If he's not sick and "literally goes days without eating" something is wrong with your observation skills and he is getting food some other way than in his food bowl. Adding wet food or mackerel to make him eat more is not the answer, the answer is either a trip to the Vet (if your observations are accurate) or less/none of anything else he is eating. Less food and no treats or people food until you figure out his needs and what else he may be getting. At 7 months the growth rate slows somewhat, so a bit less appetite would be normal. A stool check would also be a good idea, some pups get roundworms so bad they even get into the stomach. It's not common, but I have seen it.
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Permalink Reply by Jen Giammona on
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we have messed around with linus's food a lot. he likes wellness 95% either chicken or turkey mixed in with his dry food (blue buffalo freedom grain free). that is assuming nothing else is wrong.
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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on
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you are creating the fussy eater. He has learned if he holds out you will offer him something better. A healthy dog will not starve. Pick a kibble, stick to it. Put the food down, give him 15 minutes to eat, then take up the food. No food or treats until dinner. He will learn eventually to eat what you get him and that new better food is not coming. If he goes 4 or more days without eating then a trip to the vet will be in order. He will just get worse and worse the more you mix different stuff into his food and eventually you will have a dog that refuses to eat all together in hopes he will get something better. Corgis are incredibly smart, he is playing you
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Permalink Reply by GPN on
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This is true. Dipper turned up his nose at dry kibble. When he was in his first year I went against vet's advice and let him be a bit heavier (he got up to 29 and change at one point) because--not something I've read about dogs but true of humans--nervous system development is helped with some extra fat when young. So I decided to err on the side of a bit fat while he was growing. Now he is high 26 and low 27 lb range.
Anyhow, I digress. The point is that the fatter he got the pickier he got about his food. And we're only talking a pound or two here. He would turn up his nose at dry kibble. But I did follow the routine of letting him miss a meal when he walked away from it and that changed things in a hurry. Once they get HUNGRY they get much less picky. But they have to KNOW what it is to be hungry.
I think there is another point here. Which is that a dog at or close to ideal weight is always hungry. That's sort of too bad for the dog, but on the other hand it is convenient for the owner as he is always willing to work for treats. A dog who is turning up his nose at food (assuming he is not ill) is a dog that is, in all likelihood, overfed.
My friend owns a mastiff and he says it's the same routine with him. His dog was getting to 200 lbs and the vet said whoa. Now the dog is at about 160 lbs. At 200 lbs that dog would walk away from a bowl of food that wasn't just right. At 160 lbs he will eat anything put in front of him and like it, too.
So no I don't put stuff in the food to make the dog eat it. I put occasional stuff in the food as a treat. Examples include a tablespoon of yogurt; or my picky son, who does not always eat his egg yolks, when he leaves them, I save them for the corgi. One yolk per meal.
I would also add that what with treats for training and bones for chewing and all that, the actual food that the corgi needs is really not that much: I give him 1/4 cup twice a day. It really doesn't look like very much. But the vet, finally, was happy with his weight, and in the end you don't want a dog who weighs too much because of back and hip problems down the road.
Now if I could get someone to feed ME the way I feed the corgi, I'd be healthier too.
GN
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Permalink Reply by Heather & Ellie on
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I think the replies you've gotten so far are partly right, but I would encourage you not to force your puppy to eat something he doesn't like. It's stressful all around. It took me a long time to find food Ellie loved, but now that I've found it, she wolfs it down. The trick for me was mixing in wet food with a little bit of warm water. Have you tried a fish-based food? I heard that's a traditional Corgi diet in Wales, and it worked for me. Ellie gets Wellness whitefish with wet whitefish mixed in.
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Permalink Reply by Rizn on
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Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated. We're going to try being a bit more strict, I know that him being fussy is partly our doing, but I also still do think we maybe haven't found something he loves. He threw up this morning and hasn't eaten now in two days so a visit to the vet is on the cards. He is due to be wormed this month as well. Fingers crossed we get our boy eating healthily again very soon. Heather & Ellie - we have been recommended the same thing, so we'll be giving that a shot. Thank you
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Permalink Reply by Rebecca Marie O'Bryan on
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I know how u feel baden is the same way. i keep him on the natural foods but trying to find.one he likes has been stessful and not mention he's a allergic to some food (chicken) and hates anything with fish or bufflo in it. i had him on merrick whole farms as it was cheap and made with duck Turkey and bufflo but he would refuse to eat it -_- so i found a food called organix tjat uses lamb and has fruits and veggies in it. he ate it for a few day and then just stopped eating so what i did was i put it out at the normal times and when he didn't eat it i picked it up after 20mins. after a day and half he got the message that this is what I'm feeding him and he's not getting anything else.
But from what it sounds like i would take him to the vet just to be sure he is ok anf then try the strict feeding
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Permalink Reply by Patricia A Columbo on
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Did you try dribbling plain yogurt on the food?
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Thanks for the advice both. We've tried being strict but I think we are being strict with the wrong kibble. He's gone 3 days with no food and call me weak but hearing his stomach churning and making all sorts of noise after that long plus seeing him appear weak is just heartbreaking! As for the yoghurt suggestion, he absolutely loooooves yoghurt/cheese/anything dairy. But that is one road I really don't want to go down as its not very good for him, plus that would probably make him that much more fussy! Thanks all
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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For a growing puppy who is that reluctant to eat, I'd take him to the vet for a very thorough going over. Skipping a meal for one day is not so unusual, but not eating for 3?
Yogurt is good for dogs, BUT I'd want a stool sample, blood panel, and physical if it were my dog.
Are you sure he's not getting into a litter box or something else and getting calories that way?
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By the way, several of the tick diseases can really kill their appetite. I'd definitely want a tick panel and a cbc.
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Hey Beth, yes I'm sure, he's not getting food anywhere else, and whilst he used to get loads of treats during the first few months of training, he doesn't get many at all nowadays.
We have booked him in to see the vet tomorrow though, I am keen on really getting him looked at properly.
What is a CBC by the way? Thanks!
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