Advice please?

[D'Elle]

Jester stopped eating when I brought in our first foster dog. After about 5 days I got toooo concerned about it and started putting about 1/5 of a can of canned food in with his food, which made him eat regularly again. After the foster dog left, I went back to giving Jes dry food only, every other day, then every day. But often he wouldn't eat without the canned food. Another foster dog has come and gone since then. But most of the time Jes doesn't want to eat, now, unless I put the canned food on it.

 

My questions: Did I make a Very Bad Move to add canned food to entice him in the first place?

 

Should I stop the canned food entirely and just let him go hungry until he decides to eat the dry food?

 

Should I just decide that he always, or often, gets canned food mixed in, and just let it go? Or is this Spoiling him?

 

Jester is really a very Good Boy. He is easy to live with and doesn't ask for much except a whole lot of exercise and some love. He is my companion; I am crazy about him and want him to be happy. Maybe it's not asking too much for me just to make his food more enticing to him, and I should just give him what he wants.

 

BUT I don't know if it is the best thing to do or not!

Silly situation. Any advice?

thanks

[2 Devils]

My advice - don't give the canned food but that is just me.

 

Is there a time when he will eat like when you first open the bag or first put some food in the container? If so, if you are using a plastic container that could be part of the problem. My acd would go on hunger strikes if the food was in a plastic container for more than a couple days. Once we switched over to a steel container the pickiness went away. We also switched to a steel bowl instead of plastic since she seems to be allergic to plastic (go figure).

 

Good luck,

[Shetlander]

So, are you saying that he went 5 days without eating anything (including any treats or scraps) the first time? If that's the case, I'd be mixing in wet food too. I haven't had a picky eater for a long time but I did have one dog where I needed to encourage him to eat with a dab of wet food.

 

I think this is the kind of question where there really isn't a wrong answer, though not everyone will have the same answer. Now if Jester increases his pickiness ("nope, wrong brand of wet food"), first I'd want to make sure there wasn't anything medical to explain the lack of appetite, then I'd stop any kind of catering.

 

But in the case you describe, with a dog who isn't eating snacks, I'd add something to the dinner bowl-- wet food or maybe experiment with things like cottage cheese also or crumbling a really tasty dry treat among the kibble. My picky eater seemed to need something to wet his appetite, then he'd eat like he remembered oh, yeah, he might be hungry after all.

[juliepoudrier]

I almost always add a "top dressing" to my dogs' food. Not because they are picky eaters, but because it enables me to give them extras I want them to have (like fish, or cottage cheese, or eggs, etc.). Like Liz said, there is no right or wrong answer. If you absolutely don't want to add stuff to the kibble, then don't (though I agree with Liz that I'd make a visit to the vet to make sure there wasn't anything physical going on). If you don't mind adding stuff to the kibble, then go ahead. It's not spoiling.

 

Liz brings up another important point--many brands of kibble spray on a fat mixture that gives the kibble a good smell. If you are buying large bags and it's taking a while to get through them, then it's possible that the kibble is losing that great smell before you get to the end of the bag--therefore less palatable to Jes.

 

I used to use a big plastic trash can to store feed that I mixed together, but after the Diamond thing, I now keep the kibble in its individual bag and put the whole bag(s) down in the can. That might solve the plastic leaching into the fat in the kibble thing, but also help keep the kibble more airtight, which will hold flavor longer. If you are buying larger bags to save money and you have a large freezer, you can also freeze some of the kibble to store it till you're ready to use it.

 

J.

[sandra s.]

Originally posted by juliepoudrier:

Not because they are picky eaters, but because it enables me to give them extras I want them to have (like fish, or cottage cheese, or eggs, etc.).

I totally agree. Considering the wide variety of things they used to eat before the invention of kibble, I think it's good to give them as many different things (dog-suitable of course) as possible.

Besides - whatever happened to GR? - I really enjoy fixing meals for her

 

There's tons of stuff you can add to the kibble. Fish oil, for example (I put that on Kessie's breakfast because she used to have dry skin for a while), or leftovers from your own meals, etc.

[D'Elle]

Thanks for the replies. Yes, he went 5 days without eating ANYthing, but I am pretty certain nothing is wrong with Jester physically, because the moment I put the canned food on he ate it right up, and even not eating for 5 days his energy level never decreased. (amazing but true). I put the canned food on initially to tempt him to eat and aslo to show him that he is the most special one in my heart, as I strongly suspect he was not eating just because his nose was out of joint because I had suddenly showed up with another dog. He was very upset about that. The second foster dog didn't upset him as much. I make sure that he sees the foster dogs going off with their new people, and I think he is catching on that these dogs will come but also they will GO.

 

Jes was never a picky eater before.

 

I think that I will put the canned dog food on occasionally, as a treat, and other times put other things on, just to make it all more interesting for him. I don't eat the same thing every day, after all, nor does my cat (who is seriously indulged). But some days I will not put anything on Jes's kibble and if he chooses not to eat, that's his choice. And if he gets even more picky I will stop altogether. If this sounds unreasonable to anyone I would appreciate the feedback. Just want to do the right thing.

 

I do keep the kibble (Chicken Soup Brand) in a plastic bin, but not the whole bag at a time, just about a third of a bag, just to make it more convenient.

D'Elle

[nancy in AZ]

I think of feeding only kibble the way a groomer friend of mine once put it. Imagine if your diet consisted entirely of bread.

[Shetlander]

Originally posted by nancy in AZ:

I think of feeding only kibble the way a groomer friend of mine once put it. Imagine if your diet consisted entirely of bread.

I think it depends on the dog. All three of mine wolf down their kibble with no problem. In fact, if any one of them were to refuse their dinner, I'd be paging the vet. It would be a very serious symptom. They always want their meals!

[Lunar]

Oreo's always gotten canned food mixed in with her dinner, but she really doesn't care - she'd eat ANYTHING. Zoe is always super excited about her kibble as well, though sometimes I add yogurt.

 

I agree with what the others have said. If it's getting him to eat while the foster dogs are in and out, I don't see any harm in adding canned food. DH still adds some canned to Zeeke's meals (he's a bit of a slow, picky eater - he'll eat the kibble, but he's not too enthused about it). I don't think it's spoiling him.

[Pipedream Farm]

The only time I've had trouble with mine being picky eaters is when they've gained too much weight. Then they like to dump their food out of the bowl and push it under their mats. When I cut their food back or take it away, these problems go away. Just a thought.

Renee

[Meg's mum]

I fed Meg kibble with treats and augmentations from 7 weeks to 6 months. Then I started using Dic Van Pattens Natural Balance Chubs, and one day tried a can. I've been a tiny bit concerned about her thinness. She's thin for even a border collie and isn't very food motivated. But her coat is beautiful, her eyes are bright and she has more energy than a high school football team. I tried the canned version of Natural Balance a few weeks ago and was shocked!!! No more feeding troubles. So I free feed her kibbles now, and she does munch on them, and she gets two cans of Natural Balance and treats and supplements. Skin and bones still but at least I feel like she's got a chance nutritionally until I can pull together the courage and coordination to try her on BARF. My vet is dead set against it.