Picky eater, need food suggestions

[Mia]

So in the past few days Mia has been very picky with her food. I used to use BARF chicken but it's so sporadically available at the local dog shop that I switched a few times to raw Nature's variety and a local brand called raw health. She didn't like either and will sometimes only take a bite. I want to put her back on dry kibble which she loved the Merrick's version, but with my other B Nike, dry kibble gives him diareah, no matter how slow I transition the switch. So is there an easier alternative out there to satisfy Mia's pickyness and Nike's dry kibble digestion problems? I was thinking of the canned Merrick, but I am not sure if that would pose the same problem for Nike.

[lvoss]

How about the grain free kibbles. Merrick's has their Before Grain kibble. There is also Evo, Core, Orijen which are all high quality grain free kibbles. It is usually the grains that are what give dogs a problem with kibble. You can also try different protein sources.

[Reddie]

My dogs love Natural Planet Organics.

[MacPack]

Any food change may trigger diarrhea, it can take a week or so for a dog to get used to a new food, either kibble or canned. It took me a lot of trial and error to find a kibble that all 3 of mine liked…and their bodies liked as well. Good luck.

[Reddie]

@MacPack:

Any food change may trigger diarrhea, it can take a week or so for a dog to get used to a new food, either kibble or canned. It took me a lot of trial and error to find a kibble that all 3 of mine liked…and their bodies liked as well. Good luck.

Absolutely right! It takes about 3 weeks for my dogs to switch gradually from one formula to another. We've been through at least a dozen different formulas during the last 5-6 years with different results. I try switching once a year/change the main protein source because they are picky and are getting bored even though I always add some yammy stuff like yogurt or cottage cheese or eggs or canned sardines, canned meat….+ supplements, I also never feed dry, always soaked/mixed.

[DiegosMom]

Another grain free is Taste of the Wild. I know some people dont like it bc its made by Diamond, but it has good ingredients, and mine are doing really well on it. I top it with Wellness 95% canned (Turkey, Chicken, Salmon, etc) because mine dont like dry by itself.

[Mia]

why is it that we feed our dogs better then we feed ourselves lol…I am going to try the Merrick before grain (if my store has it) and try mixing it with the canned. Hopefully the intestinal problems will be kept to a minimum. When you switch dry brands I know they say to mix for a while, but I doubt it would be a good idea to mix the kibble with raw until Nike gets used to it right?

[renaultf1]

@DiegosMom:

Another grain free is Taste of the Wild. I know some people dont like it bc its made by Diamond, but it has good ingredients, and mine are doing really well on it. I top it with Wellness 95% canned (Turkey, Chicken, Salmon, etc) because mine dont like dry by itself.

My biggest concern with Taste of the Wild is that there has been no statement on ethoxyquin (a Carcinogenic fat preservative)…even after there have been requests for Diamond to provide the info.

[tanza]

@Mia:

why is it that we feed our dogs better then we feed ourselves lol…I am going to try the Merrick before grain (if my store has it) and try mixing it with the canned. Hopefully the intestinal problems will be kept to a minimum. When you switch dry brands I know they say to mix for a while, but I doubt it would be a good idea to mix the kibble with raw until Nike gets used to it right?

Kibble should never be mixed with raw… raw is always feed separate... if you are changing and getting them used to it, do a small raw meal and then later feed the regular kibble, but not at the same time

[JazzysMom]

@tanza:

Kibble should never be mixed with raw… raw is always feed separate... if you are changing and getting them used to it, do a small raw meal and then later feed the regular kibble, but not at the same time

Pat, can you explain why?

[tanza]

@JazzysMom:

Pat, can you explain why?

I believe I remember that it has to do with digestion of the raw food and that processed kibble interferes with enzymes in raw food that assists with digestion.

[Mia]

so here is what I tried…Europa which is a veggie mixture with some other stuff such as garlic and kelp. You mix that with water and raw meat and serve. The only problm is that they would not eat it, not even Nike which would eat a tire if he could! So my mother cooked it, and they loved it, is this bad?

[Ninabeana26]

Hi Michelle!

I was told when Dallas was being picky with eating as a pup that it isn't bad to heat up their food but it will probably only make them more picky in the long run. If they like it heated up you are probably always going to have to heat it up to get them to eat. I feed Dallas kibble, blue buffalo adult & he's been doing great on it. Although I have always fed Dallas kibble so I wouldn't know if he would get sick switching.

[Mia]

Mia doesn't like blue buffalo lol…she's just like her momma was when I was young, I would eat nothing but cereal lol...I guess it's coming back to bite me in the butt. I actually just cook it then put it in the fridge, so I could make quite a large batch and freeze it. So we'll see, hope it works

[Kananga]

I've been feeding my B Blue Buffalo Wilderness. He absolutely loves it. And he's usually very picky with food/treats. He rarely accepts treats unless he has time to inspect it. This food he will just inhale.

[Benkura]

I have an extremely fussy eater who I find it really hard to keep any weight on. I feed him dry kibble but need to add canned meat to it or sprinkle some live cake into it to encourage him to eat. His favourite is scrambled eggs mixed with the kibble. If I give him that then I know he will eat.

[nomrbddgs]

Just a bit on the raw diet-raw digests at a different rate than kibble. Feeding raw with kibble does interrupt the digestion process. They will have diarrhea any time you switch over. No matter how careful you are. I would try something that is raw based, but baked. I know Origen up here is like that-it also has no grains. But there is also Wilderness that is based on the same lines. I find, though, that it has grains in it. Depends on how you feel about grains. It really will be trial and error. I would try treating with the dry kibble first and then building up rather than using the kibble as a meal. Just MO.