Dog lovers? help with food??
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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!0
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bump thanks a lot for all your replies you are awesome!
Am in UK so is late here but am going to read over all this tomorrow with little `twinkie poodle` and see if we can get him on a better diet..
thanks guys :-)0 -
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.0 -
I don't feel confident answering the carb question, as I'm not a vet. Cheese should be a treat.
Vets aren't really trained in nutrition. They really don't have a lot of knowledge in that area (unless they went out of their way to learn it on their own). I found that out through exploration. They usually sell foods and get kickbacks from companies. They rely on the company to tell them what's healthy. Cheese isn't bad for a dog. It's actually a pretty good snack. In the past, people fed dogs scraps...not this silly dry meal pellet food. That's a modern invention. There's nothing wrong with human grade foods. What isn't good for them is usually what we call spices. If it's bland, it's usually good. If you look at the Freshpet line you'll be surprised at the ingredients. It's definitely not that dry stuff that's hard on the teeth. Also, eating hard food doesn't clean their teeth. You have to care for that. That's a common myth that's out there and it's totally untrue.0 -
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.com0 -
I have two english bulldogs and they LOVE the Natures Variety Raw food. We rotate the proteins, which helps so that they do not develop food allergies. Our one older dog started out with kibble and has had a multitude of health issues, our younger bully has never eaten anything but the raw and is the absolute picture of health! I even convinced my dad to switch his elderly, picky dog over...and he is now better than he was. Garbage in....(just like people)...they will live but not thrive! Most kibbles are full of salt and sugar, that is why so many dogs have teeth issues. I has a vet tell me that it is like brushing their teeth with a cookie. Neither of my dogs have ever had to have their teeth cleaned.
Try it...your dog will LOVE it!0 -
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.0 -
I don't feel confident answering the carb question, as I'm not a vet. Cheese should be a treat.
Vets aren't really trained in nutrition. They really don't have a lot of knowledge in that area (unless they went out of their way to learn it on their own). I found that out through exploration. They usually sell foods and get kickbacks from companies. They rely on the company to tell them what's healthy. Cheese isn't bad for a dog. It's actually a pretty good snack. In the past, people fed dogs scraps...not this silly dry meal pellet food. That's a modern invention. There's nothing wrong with human grade foods. What isn't good for them is usually what we call spices. If it's bland, it's usually good. If you look at the Freshpet line you'll be surprised at the ingredients. It's definitely not that dry stuff that's hard on the teeth. Also, eating hard food doesn't clean their teeth. You have to care for that. That's a common myth that's out there and it's totally untrue.
I agree about limited training in nutrition overall, but I have never received a "kick back" from a fet food company.
Cheese is about as good for dogs as it iis for humans. So, no, not very good. Many dogs are lactose intolerant and it's very high in fat. A toy poodle probably needs about 150 calories a day. One cube of cheese is what? 1/4 or more of the total calorie needs for the day in cheese? Is that how you eat? Probably not.0 -
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.0
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Sigh..... I hope they taught you in vet school that dogs and cats have different guts than people. Specifically shorter and much more acidic. Before you try to scare people off of raw food, I suggest you do some research on it. You can start here: http://www.pointlomapetpantry.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4&Itemid=7Personally, 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.com0 -
I work at a pet store, try the higher quality foods, not any of the commerical ones. The holistic types are the best...and dogs seem to love them (and cats too).0
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I have a Great Pyrenees that is supposed to weigh about 115. He was about 107 when I got him and I couldn't get him to eat anything either. I finally found out that he likes soup. He wants his food to be soupy. I always get myself a roasted chicken at the beginning of each week. At the end of week, I boil the carcass and use the broth for his food the following week. He likes Taste of the Wild dry food with half a can of their canned food, a bit of chicken and chicken broth. And of course, I have to stand there while he eats it or he walks away and won't eat. He's not AT ALL spoiled. But the big, neurotic thing is up to 112 and looks really good. It just took trial and error until we figured out what he likes.
This is him with my daughter.
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I'd give a raw diet a try. Fresh meat, veggies, yogurt, eggs and cheese. Mine love it.0
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I agree about limited training in nutrition overall, but I have never received a "kick back" from a fet food company.
If you don't, than that's great. If I'm totally wrong, than I take it back. I may have misspoken myself. I guess what I meant by kickback is lower prices on foods to sell to the public, not necessarily cash outright - just a better deal. That doesn't mean the food is a really high quality. It's sorta like a doctor, they receive training on new drugs from pharmaceutical reps AFTER medical school. Unfortunately, you're reliant on the dog food companies training you in their new products. That's doesn't mean the foods are actually a good balanced diet.
A lot of the stuff that's dry is junk and isn't even human grade - it's leftovers baked to practically carbon. Also, the issue is whether some of the products are being loaded up with chemicals that are dangerous (places like China do that). There are some reputable new companies that came out and test their foods regularly for chemicals thank goodness. Those appeared after dogs started to die and suddenly, everyone started looking for alternatives.
You're right about toy poodles. They don't need to eat a lot so that's a totally different issue. If you have a bigger dog, the occasional piece of cheese isn't going to harm them. A toy poodle - heck - they are so small you could probably cook a meal for them and just load up a good vitamin mix.
It wouldn't be hard to prepare foods for a dog that size. 0 -
My dogs like that, she just wont eat dog food so we just give her human food, but make sure we dont give her anything spicey and mainly we give her the scraps, like bread crusts and pasta, we dont give her spicey food like curries. Shes quite healthy, shes 10 in 9 days and still acts like a puppy hope this helps 0
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The protein listed on MFP is for people, not dogs. Their nutritional needs are quite different from ours. And hot dogs and processed things are just as bad for dogs as they are for humans ! So - if your dog has no special medical needs - pick a dog food and stick with it. He will turn his nose up at it at first, cause you've trained him to. You've reinforced his behavior with the treats you're giving him. He will not starve. He will pout until he gets hungry, then he'll eat. At this point, he's trained you - not the other way around. I have dogues de borduex, and they would eat whatever they could get their big ole slobbery lips around. But then they would also be knocking me over for what's in my hand at the time. They weigh between 150lbs and 200lbs each. Can't risk it. I put their food down once a day and leave it down for only 10 minutes. If they don't finish it in that time frame, oh well. There's always tomorrow. Your dog will be healthier and happier if you are in charge and he's not.0
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We had to switch our dog to a soft diet a couple years ago. Every week I cook up a batch of pasta, brown rice, veggies and left-overs. Occasionally I will use a food processor to grind up the batch (usually if the left overs have large chunks of meat). He gets this mixed with some canned dog food three times a day.
My suggestion is to try processing his favorites with one or two extras and grind it up. Sometimes it's easier to get them to eat it if it's all mushed together and they have no choice. Also, if you just leave it in the dish, eventually, they will eat it, like it or not.0 -
If my dog doesnt eat her dinner she goes hungry..she has a good quality food...the only extra she has is tripe 3 times a week on the advice of my vet because she is very lean, and even feeding her working dog premium she doesnt keep her weight on..seen the vet its just the way she is...occasionally she gets distracted at dinner time and walks away from her bowl, she has 20 mins to eat it then its gone. I absolutely will not pander to her whims...for heaven sake, dogs will eat anything to survive..dont believe me check out what you see a stray dog eating if it has to.
If there is no health issue preventing the dog from eating then it will eat if you stop spoiling it. And given its a toy..make it work, dont carry it around all the time, take it for long walks, (you may well do already just worth a mention) Poodles were originally hunting dogs til they were turned into handbag ornaments!0 -
Sigh..... I hope they taught you in vet school that dogs and cats have different guts than people. Specifically shorter and much more acidic. Before you try to scare people off of raw food, I suggest you do some research on it. You can start here: http://www.pointlomapetpantry.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4&Itemid=7Personally, 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
I do my research too, just in different places than you do.
Like... A study published in the journal Zoonoses Public Health
The researcher took samples of 166 commercial frozen raw foods at randomly selected pet food stores in Canada. The salmonella prevelance was 21%
Another study published in Canadian vet journal looked at the incidence of salmonella in the stool of dogs fed raw diets. Of the 16 dogs fed raw diets that has tested positive for salmonella, 7 of the dogs were shedding salmonella in their stool for 1 to 7 days after eating the diet.
There are plenty of other good studies out there that show the same findings.0 -
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.
I should have clarified better I would not leave the food down because this is also a training issue. If he doesn't eat in 20 minutes pick it up till the next meal. Repeat.0
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