Dog lovers? help with food??

my lab was like that, did you try diffrent types of dog food, my lab would only eat the more spendy kinds

Sounds like you have a smart dog. He knows better than to eat the junk they try to convince us is healthy pet food.Meat is great, HOWEVER, you need to make sure he is getting a balanced diet. Have you tried the RAW diet? You can get plenty of info on it online. You can either buy pre-packaged or make it yourself at home. It is way better than kibble. Look into Bravo, Nature's Variety, Primal, or Stella & Chewy's.

I use taste of the wild - Pup likes it...when I crack an egg over it, or mix w/ cottage cheese and bits of stew-chunks (beef).

My dog won't eat most dog food brands. She also won't eat most non animal product human food.

Try a higher quality food. These days you can even buy fresh raw prepared dog food. Supplement with whole meaty bones for teeth health.

You CAN make your own, but please do your research. Dogs don't need vegetables, and shouldn't be willing to eat them, haha. They're obligate carnivores, and don't have the correct kind of gut to deal with fibrous foods. Basically, dogs need meat. But you can't just give them meat - they need a calcium source, omega-3s, a non-grain carbohydrate source, etc. Calcium is the big one many recipes online miss, and I've seen puppies with malformed limbs because of poor calcium intake. Ideally you should grind up chicken or rabbit with the bones and some organs. Food grade bonemeal is an acceptable alternative.

Or you could just buy better food.

Make a broth,with no salt,to pour over his food.

He probably needs more fat/protein. We had a toy poodle who was picky like that, in the end the best thing that worked for her was duck. Talk to your vet, but because your dog is so picky a raw food diet might be best for him.

IMO I have found that when we spoil them with these things then they won't what they are supposed to. Is he healthy and normal? IF he is leave the dog food down. He will eat when he is hungry. BTW he is a toy? He may be getting all he needs and you don't realize it. A toy should be getting maybe an 1/8 a cup of food. They over feed our pets on the dog food bag. I was a vet tech I had a breeder that I worked with and her poms also a toy breed got a coffee scoop in the am and in the PM of a high quality dog food plus their little treat tid bits. His tiny tummy may be full up on the chicken bits. But you are right he needs more than that. IF you insist on cooking for hi boil him chicken hearts. Way more of the good stuff he needs.

Leaving the dog food down will cause the oils to dry up making the food unpalatable to the dog, if you are going to leave food down you should toss it back in the bin after about an hour and mix the bin about then pull out a fresh measure of food. Fresh oils make the food more enticing to your pooch.

Does he need carbs?

He likes a little cube of cheese, but I read that dogs are lactose intolerant?

Can he eat just protein?

I buy mashed carrot n swede (frozen) for me and I mix that in with his food, after I have microwaved it lol...don`t just give him frozen chunks

I don't feel confident answering the carb question, as I'm not a vet. Probably no since there's no way wolves get much carbohydrate. We do half high quality dog food half homemade dog food, and I include a small amount of sweet potatoes for carbs. Also, be aware that many seemingly innocuous foods are poisonous to dogs - onion and garlic, for instance. I consulted with our vet, and I suggest you do too.

Cheese should be a treat.

My dog won't eat most dog food brands. She also won't eat most non animal product human food.

Try a higher quality food. These days you can even buy fresh raw prepared dog food. Supplement with whole meaty bones for teeth health.

You CAN make your own, but please do your research. Dogs don't need vegetables, and shouldn't be willing to eat them, haha. They're obligate carnivores, and don't have the correct kind of gut to deal with fibrous foods. Basically, dogs need meat. But you can't just give them meat - they need a calcium source, omega-3s, a non-grain carbohydrate source, etc. Calcium is the big one many recipes online miss, and I've seen puppies with malformed limbs because of poor calcium intake. Ideally you should grind up chicken or rabbit with the bones and some organs. Food grade bonemeal is an acceptable alternative.

Or you could just buy better food.

I agree with your post, except dogs aren't obligate carnivores (cats are).

I feed mine Canidae all life stages. It's expensive, especially for my 3 piggies, but your little one should keep a bag for quite awhile. They love it and are much healthier on it than they were with any other food.

Our dog was picky too, we used to cook up batches of meat or fish (some pet shops sell mince and fish for pets or you can fork out for "proper" meat/fish!) and vegetables with rice and freeze it in meal-sized portions. You could try putting into a food processor to chop up, so it still has texture but too small for him to pick out the bits he doesn't want! As long as he's getting something else to chew on in the day for the sake of his teeth! I know it sounds expensive, but it was cheaper than throwing dog food away!

I have a toy poodle he is nearly 2 (October) I have tried him with alls sorts of dog foods dry and meats and he just turns his nose up.
Any suggestions???

I recommend the Freshpet line. You can find them at Petsmart, Petco, Walmart and even organic stores. They are fresh deli style rolls of precooked fresh meats with veggies and are balanced for diet. You'll find them in a refrigerator. They make sausages with human grade meats and some have carbs like rice - others are more meat based. Our dog loves the vital line and is sensitive to grains. He eats the Turkey version which comes with the following:

"Turkey, Turkey Liver, Spinach, Blueberries, Cranberries, Pomegranate, Carrageenan, Natural Flavors, Broccoli, Inulin, Flaxseed Oil, Green Tea Extract."

This is the link for the company.

http://freshpet.com/our-brands/

We switched because the doctor was concerned that our pet wasn't getting enough liquid and he did what yours does - puts his nose up in the air and refuses to eat. He loves these and we found a big difference in his attitude toward food. The nice part is all you do is cut the right amount for his size, chop it up small (small dog) and put it in the bowl.

Personally, I find that picky eaters are not helped by doctoring their food. First of all, rule out a medical issue. Lots of small breed dogs tend to have problems with teeth that make it difficult for them to eat. In your shoes, I'd find a good quality dog food (read the ingredients and look for lots of meat meals in the top 5). Then, put down a measured amount. Whatever is not eaten gets picked up in about 10 or 15 minutes. Dog gets nothing - no treats, no food until the next meal time, when you put down the exact same food.

There is a concern here, because of the dog's size, of Hypoglycemia. Have some Nutrical on hand, just in case.

Or you could research a raw diet and feed it, since your dog seems to like it. A properly done raw diet is excellent for dogs.

Sigh... This was going to be the first answer I agreed with until the comment about properly done raw diet. THERE IS NO SUCH THING. Dogs get salmonella and pathologic e coli just like people do. It's not safe. Don't do it. Ever. And yes, I am a vet.

Toys poodles have more than their fair share of liver problems that can cause poor appetite so go to your vet and have blood work done, maybe an abdominal ultrasound to have your pup checked out.

If all that is normal, then try switching a high quality food (which in dogs usually means high protein, high fat)
Adding meat, eggs, etc to a dogs food causes deficits in other nutrients - calcium and fat mostly.

To evaluate what you are feeding and to find out about health home cooked meals for dogs, check out BalanceIt.com

http://www.crpf.org.uk/index.php?section=528

I found this organization. It's in the Uk. They might be able to get you some ideas about what's available in the UK. Also, there are some good cooking books for cooking for pets that are out there.

Better Food for Dogs: A Complete Cookbook and Nutrition Guide

This one is written by vets. It tells you what you need to do. We had to cook until they started making fresh foods here. Hopefully, there is something comparable in the UK.

There are a lot of people who go back and forth between the idea of raw or cooked. I decided on a cooked diet but with human grade meat. I felt safer that way. It's also nicer to handle and I'm not dealing with nasty raw meats as dogs can be sloppy eaters. Ick. I can't imagine ours dropping raw meat on the floor. He pulls out pieces to dig and goes and finishes off the last. Raw meat? Ick. But, everyone has different beliefs.