Question about feeding

[D'Elle]

I feed Jester and Kit a good quality kibble dog food that seems to do well for them. Recently a friend gave me a patty of the Nature's Variety Raw Lamb frozen dog food to try. I took small pieces, (about the size of a tablespoon) thawed, and basically rubbed it all over the kibble in the bowl. I wanted to start small, to be sure it didn't produce the runs or other negative reactions.

 

Both dogs immediately adored it. Jester was doing his before-meal tricks so fast he was a blur. both dogs licked the bowls, and came back to me with huge grins. No negative effects occurred. I found out it is prohibitively expensive to feed them any more than as a tasty topper for the kibble, but even though I am on a very tight budget, I decided to spring for the $30.00 bag of patties, just because it makes the dogs so goldarn HAPPY! I figure a little goes a long way, and if it makes them that happy and is good for them, I want to provide it, so now I put it as a topper on dinner.

 

ONLY PROBLEM....... Now they do not want kibble at all unless it has the topper on it, and they have both started refusing their breakfast, which is plain kibble.

 

QUESTION: Am I "spoiling" them by giving it in the first place? Should I give it to them every meal, or not at all, or just continue with only at dinner and expect that eventually they will start eating breakfast even if it doesn't have it? (Without breakfast they are only eating 1/2 as much as they should).

My concern is that if I run out or am travelling I may not have it to give them, and it will not always be available.....and I'd hate to think I am producing dogs who will be food-picky. This seems very unwise. On the other hand, *I* wouldn't want to eat the same food every meal.......

 

help, please

 

D'Elle

[Sue R]

"Spoiling" them by giving them something they enjoy and that is good for them? I wouldn't say so, at least not at this point. What I wonder is why they refuse the kibble without the treat. Is it because you (as you said you did the first time) "rub" it on the kibble at the evening meal? Or, do they just expect "more" than their plain meal.

 

My dogs get raw beef with their kibble in the morning, and a raw egg with it at night. But, occasionally, they just get the plain kibble, and scarf that down just as quickly as ever.

 

My thought is, that if they were my dogs, to just offer the kibble at normal times, give them five minutes tops to eat or begin to eat it, and then remove if they don't eat. I wouldn't give the patty treat with the meals at all if that's going to be an issue. Let it be a "stand-alone" treat for some other time of day - maybe a "bed-time snack" or post-training session special treat. Or, if you want to feed the treat with the meal, break each portion you feed into two smaller ones, and give one at each meal. I'd probably opt for it being separate for meals, as a special treat or reward associated with something like training, crating, or just coming into the house and being quiet.

 

I have never had a healthy dog that refused a reasonable kibble, and most that were a bit picky would not refuse more than a meal or two before relenting and eating.

 

Best wishes!

[Laurie S.]

"Spoiling" them by giving them something they enjoy and that is good for them? I wouldn't say so, at least not at this point. What I wonder is why they refuse the kibble without the treat. Is it because you (as you said you did the first time) "rub" it on the kibble at the evening meal? Or, do they just expect "more" than their plain meal.

 

My dogs get raw beef with their kibble in the morning, and a raw egg with it at night. But, occasionally, they just get the plain kibble, and scarf that down just as quickly as ever.

 

My thought is, that if they were my dogs, to just offer the kibble at normal times, give them five minutes tops to eat or begin to eat it, and then remove if they don't eat. I wouldn't give the patty treat with the meals at all if that's going to be an issue. Let it be a "stand-alone" treat for some other time of day - maybe a "bed-time snack" or post-training session special treat. Or, if you want to feed the treat with the meal, break each portion you feed into two smaller ones, and give one at each meal. I'd probably opt for it being separate for meals, as a special treat or reward associated with something like training, crating, or just coming into the house and being quiet.

 

I have never had a healthy dog that refused a reasonable kibble, and most that were a bit picky would not refuse more than a meal or two before relenting and eating.

 

Best wishes!

 

 

 

I was wondering how often I can give my Cheyenne a raw egg. I've been giving her one a week, but she loves it and really wants it more often. I have no problem giving her one a day, if it's okay for her.

[JohnLloydJones]

I was wondering how often I can give my Cheyenne a raw egg. I've been giving her one a week, but she loves it and really wants it more often. I have no problem giving her one a day, if it's okay for her.

Probably won't hurt her. I give mine egg twice a week -- other days I give some other topper; maybe wet food, maybe leftover human food, maybe just a little scraping of cheese. I very rarely give raw egg; soft scrambled, boiled or even "ala Becca" (lightly poached). There is some benefit in lightly cooking eggs, though to be honest, it probably doesn't matter much in most cases.

[Laurie S.]

She does love to share my chicken and baby brie cheese. She has very high standards. But then, she also loves Doritos and Cheetos.

[Shetlander]

Do you think Jester is still having some health issues related to the Valley Fever? I'm so unused to dogs refusing food of any kind that my first thought to a turned up nose is illness. With my chow hounds, I'd be very alarmed if they didn't want to eat. For fussy in general dogs, depending on their weight (I've seen some very fat fussy eaters), I will sometimes wet their appetite with a small amount of a treat mixed in to the regular diet. I did this with my last picky eater (5 dogs ago). Otherwise, I figure they'll eat when they get hungry.

 

I'm with Sue in not thinking you are spoiling them by giving them a food they love. It may not be feasible for you to feed them that food entirely, but that is different from spoiling. Then again, I cook Quinn's meals -- not my first choice but for health reasons -- so sprinkling a treat on a meal doesn't sound outrageous to me.

[lrayburn]

My dogs will sometimes turn their noses up at dry kibble after they've spent several days with their dogsitter who puts wetfood and cheese sprinkles on their food. I think they are saying, "Naw, we'll hold out until we get back to John's!" My girls will do this even though they are, ahem, food whores. I just don't worry about it and after missing a meal or two they get over it pretty quick. That said, they don't have any health problems and are in no danger of starvation if they miss a couple of meals! You might switch to feeding them once a day or just keep offering them plain kibble at breakfast until they learn that is the new routine.

Lisa

[D'Elle]

Thanks for all the replies! I decided to start making the raw food topper an occasional thing. I am goiong to use it several meals per week, but not on a regular schedule. Sometimes two meals in a day; sometimes none for 2 days. That way they will never be Expecting it, and the rest of the time they will eat their kibble. After missing one or two meals each without the topper on it, they went back to eating regular kibble, so I think it will just take some time and patience.

 

I also really like the idea of giving the raw food in bits to them as a special treat for the end of training sessions or for being extra good.

Thanks again

D'Elle

[Flamincomet]

I feed my border collie and 2 cats raw full time, and just wanted to drop in and say, be careful about feeding raw and kibble at the same time, as it can make your dog sick. Raw digests much faster than kibble, since a dog's digestive system is designed to digest raw meat, so combining the two will make the raw be held in the stomach for too long, giving bacteria time to grab hold and enter the dog's system. My suggestion would be to feed raw in the morning and kibble at night, or vice versa. That gives time for the kibble to digest so it doesn't interrupt the raw.

 

Autumn

[Root Beer]

Raw digests much faster than kibble, since a dog's digestive system is designed to digest raw meat, so combining the two will make the raw be held in the stomach for too long, giving bacteria time to grab hold and enter the dog's system.

 

I've heard this before, but I've never had a problem with it.

 

I often mix some raw into my kibble fed dog's kibble, and I often mix some kibble into my raw fed dog's raw food. I always feed bones separately, but I've mixed boneless raw and kibble for quite a while now with no ill effects to any of my dogs.

 

However, I do feed a grain free kibble, and that could make a difference.

 

To the OP, I don't consider adding something nice to my dog's food "spoiling" the dog. Especially when that "nice" thing is actually healthy for the dog!

[Pat W.]

I agree with Kristine, I feed grain free kibble and raw without a problem.

[Sue R]

I, too, do the same. I have not seen a problem but I have heard that they digest at different rates. So far, for me, so good but "your results may vary".

[stockdogranch]

I, too, have heard the "raw and kibble digest at different rates" thing. But I have fed mine that combination (daily) for several years with no problems,

A

[Flamincomet]

Grain free kibble will digest at a faster rate than kibble with grain in it, however it is still not as fast as raw. I commented merely as a precaution. Surely many people smoke every day and see no ill effects, but that still isn't a reason to continue doing it when studies have clearly shown smoking is bad for you. (Maybe not the best metaphor but you get my point.) Perhaps I'm just a cautious person, but I would just rather not take the chance.

 

Autumn

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

Dogs are scavengers and their systems can easily handle the challenges offered by a varied diet. Assuming good health to begin with of course. Bone and meat digest at wildly different "rates" and we feed them together. You can mix different components of a diet for a healthy dog with confidence.

 

I agree with simply making the treat variable. And if you don't want to mortgage your home for the treat, it's perfectly all right to use plain ground meat. You can add an ounce or so per cup without throwing anything off (most kibble are vastly oversupplemented with minerals).

[Lewie'sMom]

My dogs will sometimes turn their noses up at dry kibble after they've spent several days with their dogsitter who puts wetfood and cheese sprinkles on their food. I think they are saying, "Naw, we'll hold out until we get back to John's!" My girls will do this even though they are, ahem, food whores. I just don't worry about it and after missing a meal or two they get over it pretty quick. That said, they don't have any health problems and are in no danger of starvation if they miss a couple of meals! You might switch to feeding them once a day or just keep offering them plain kibble at breakfast until they learn that is the new routine.

Lisa