Picky dog, maybe kibbles too hard?

Hi,

my 1,5 y/o Zelda has always been picky about her dry food. I don't know which approach is better: keep giving her the same food until she gets hungry enough and eat it all (I know dogs can easily survive without food for couple of days, but for me it's a little bit cruel :( ) or try tweaking it with something tasty, like olive oil, yogurt, can food, cooked meat, etc (but this can make her even more picky, right?).

I've tried many sorts of dry dog food (don't know if you know them all in the US): Belcando, Josera, Happy Dog, Harmony (Taste of the Wild waits for its turn). Different tastes, with and without wheat/rice/corn, for adults, for sensitive dogs, all of it. The food I give her right now is actually a mix of different brands, so she has some choice.. Doesn't matter, she is still picky :( She loves snacks though: pig ears, dried or smoked meat, anything like that (so she has absolutely no problems with chewing something for a long time).

Recently I've bought Belcando Adult Diner and it turned out that the kibbles are extremely big. Zelda doesn't even try to chew them. I've tried mashing few kibbles from my mix and it helped -- she ate it all (took her some time).

Now I don't know what to do. I don't want to switch to wet / cooked food. It doesn't seem she has any problems with her teeth. She had her annual vet check-up last month, everything was fine.

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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on February 26, 2014 at 6:43pm

@ Susan: a tablespoon is a lot of honey" I use this method myself when ragweed becomes an issue and will just take 1/4 of a teaspoon if I'm really bad, and repeat as necessary. I use local, raw, wildflower honey. The honey does not boost the immune system, it gives you a very small dose of what you are allergic to (pollen in this case) and acts homeopathically, so don't add it to food, give it separately. There are ways to boost the immune system and that is really a better way to go as a stronger immune system can tolerate more of a challenge. Honey would do nothing for food allergies.

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Permalink Reply by Linda on February 26, 2014 at 6:37pm

Susan...the same suggestion is given for humans with the honey. Yeah, it's more for windborne allergens since local honey is "made" by bees who take the pollen from plants within your local area and it helps to decrease your sensitivity to them. I am seriously considering giving it a shot for myself and Max...we both seem to suffer from the same allergies. He's on Benadryl from the beginning of August till the first hard frost. Me...I start in spring with tree pollen and then pick up again in mid summer with grass and ragweed not to mention leaf mold in the fall. I figure honey has to be cheaper than all the prescription and OTC allergy meds.