[Robert B]

Hi, I have a serious problem with my pet not eating. He is an 11 pound silky terrier, name Louie and he is my best hairy friend I have in my life. He said alone my side when I was sick….unconditional love. But, he is a very, very picky eater. I feed him the best……Blue Buffalo dry food mix with hot chicken or some other flavor meet. It’s driving me crazy that I have to heat up some meat and mix it with his dry food. I have been doing it for 6 years now and I’m starting to get all stress out.
I know it’s my fault and I take all the blame. I was looking at some other dry dog companies that sell small kibbles with FLAVOR. But the problem that I’m finding the dog food isn’t really that good for him, they have by-products and other ingredients that’s not good. I really need help on this one and I do appreciate all the help I can get.
My main goal is to get him of the wet mix food and put him on just dry food, that
has flavor, small kibbles and great dog food.

Again, thank you for your help and will check back for your replies.

Bobbart

[Dori]

Please read review on Blue Buffalo and google complaints about Blue Buffalo. Maybe your do is trying to tell you something. As to any suggestions for a dry food I’m sorry that I can’t be of any help there. I feel commercial raw foods to my three toy dogs as well as organic fruits and veggies. I know that quite a few posters seem to like Victor’s Grain Free, Nature’s Logic, Annaemaet (?), Brothers Complete, Nature’s Variety Instinct, Acana, Orijen. Those are just a few that I have read dry food feeders compliment. I’m sure there are others but I don’t know. What you can also do is switch to a dry food (for economic reasons I would suppose) and use a canned or freeze dried food as a topper. Your dog would get better nutrients than merely feeding a dry food. There are many other things that you could add to a dry food to make it more palatable and nutritious.

I hope this bumps up your question and kibble feeders will see and respond. 🙂

[Bobby dog]

Hi Robert B:
Is there a reason you don’t want to continue mixing fresh meats with your dog’s kibble? Many regular posters feed their dogs this way, topping kibble with either fresh healthy meats, canned, or commercial raw. I use a topper for each of my dog’s meals.

Where do you buy food? Annamaet, Wellness, Earthborn, Fromm’s, Nature’s Variety Instinct, Nutrisource, and Precise are some other brands to look into.

[Robert B]

The reason is sometimes, Louie just doesn’t want to eat. Isn’t best for him to not to eat wet
food with dry food because of decay of the teeth? He is very picky eater when it comes to dry food, he will not even it a HARD dog treat….I just don’t know.
Now, every time I make his food, I start to stress because I don’t know if he is going to eat the food and if he doesn’t eat….I feel sorry for him.

Robert

[Robert B]

Sorry, I forgot to mention his food. I purchase his food at Petsmart, Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula, natural chicken and brown rice.
When I smell it, it has no smell to it, no armor……so I don’t blame Louie for not eating that, I wouldn’t….LOL.

Robert

[Bobby dog]

Have you had a dental exam for your dog? Kind of sounds like he might have trouble with harder foods.

Hard food does not keep teeth clean and wet food does not harm teeth. Wet food is a healthy addition to a kibble diet. Brushing his teeth several times a week is one of the best ways to care for his teeth.
Here’s some info on feeding canned foods and dental care.
/choosing-dog-food/canned-or-dry-dog-food/
/choosing-dog-food/dry-dog-food-cleaner-teeth/

[Robert B]

Hi, He needs a cleaning and that’s it. He has great teeth. I think I will start brushing his teeth on what I was reading from the information above. But I still need to find the right food for him.
I thank all of you for all the information you gave me.
Robert

[Bobby dog]

Alright, then it sounds like you just need to find a tasty food for him. At Petsmart take a look at Nutro Ultra, Nutro Natural Choice, Simply Nourish, Wellness, Castor & Pollux, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and Nulo.

Here is a download that provides a menu for adding fresh grocery store foods to your dog’s diet. I follow this meal plan using the fresh foods as toppers for several meals rather than feeding it as a single meal:
http://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DN330EBK

If you reconsider adding a canned topper to your dog’s meals, reduce the amount of kibble so you don’t over feed. Here are some canned and tub foods available at Petsmart: Blue Buffalo, Castor & Pollux, Freshpet, Innova, Nature’s Recipe, Nature’s Variety Instinct, Nature’s Variety Prairie, Nulo, Nutro, Simply Nourish, and Wellness.

Also consider diet rotation. Find at least three different kibbles your dog likes and does well on. Providing variety may help keep his interest in his food. I change kibble brands after each small bag and also switch to a different protein and carb. Here’s some info about diet rotation:
/frequently-asked-questions/diet-rotation-for-dogs/

[jakes mom]

Wellness has kibble just for small breed dogs, he might like that. Also Fresh Pet is a good food, shaped like kibbles but softer, that might appeal to him. You can find it at pet stores as well as places like Target and a lot of grocery stores. It’s refrigerated , has it’s own fridge in the stores. Also comes in a roll form.

[Susan]

Have you tried soaking the kibble in a water to soften the kibble then drain the water, normally when a dog is un well or has pain after eating they start to not eat, has he been tested for Pancreatitis?? I know lower fat foods don’t taste as good but have you tried a lower fat kibble then add some home cooked meats finely cut up,like turkey chicken or pork low fat meats, I mix thru a spoon of boiled pumkin dogs normally like pumkin also pumkin is good for their GI track…You have too work out is he spoilt & knows you’ll give him something else if he doesn’t eat or does he get a sore stomach or wind pain after eating & prefer not to eat….My cat is a bugger he looks in his bowl & then either eats it or turns his nose up cause he knows if he hangs around the kitchen I’ll give him something else or he goes off the a neighbours place & starts whinging….have you tried the Wellness Toy or small breed kibbles……

[Cheryl Pepper Millie Sophie]

Robert,
I would also like to add a dry food that you can order online & have it delivered right to your door.
The name of the company is Horizon Pet Food Co. they are located in Canada
you will want to look at the “AMICUS” line small breed Kibble, good co..
I think Dori mentioned Orijen also small kibble size -a bit higher in fat than Amicus (i don’t know if that is a concern or not) both excellent companies.
Websites: k9cuisine.com
petflow.com
I know k9cuisine sells the 5 lb bags-i prefer smaller bags since my girls don’t eat that much-I also ALWAYS top it with lightly cooked meats (i boil) -I forgot to add these are all grain-free kibbles, I don’t know if you want a grain inclusive kibble or not.
I have to agree with Susan a little plain pumpkin is excellent for the tummy or a bit of a cooked sweet potato just maybe 2 tsps. to coax him to check out what’s inside the bowl!
Good luck, i know how you feel I had a Samoyed Nicholas who never left my side when I was sick- He was the best! I wish I knew then, what I have learned now , I didn’t do enough for him, there wasn’t a site like this with such wonderful, knowledgable people to help.

[Robert B]

I want to thank everyone for your help and great ideas on
helping me find and try different foods for Louie. Below are ideas
from the forum, I’m getting there, so can you read the below information and let me know what you think. So I think I found the Kibbles and toppings.

Freshpet Select Tender Chicken with Vegetables & Brown Rice Dog Food. I can use the above for his topper…what do you think?
http://freshpet.com/products/freshpetselectchickenrecipe/
I check the internet, and can’t find the Fresh Pet food that has the softer kibbles or I’m not looking at the correct Fresh Pet foods?
Can someone help me with the name of the shaped like kibbles for Fresh Pet?

I also might try Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health Adult Deboned Chicken, Brown Rice & Peas Recipe. What do you think?

I thank ALL of you for your help and time with all these great suggestions
Louie also thanks you!!

PS…I will be going to my sister-in- laws for the weekend and will not have a laptop.
I will check for emails when I return on Monday for your replies.

Robert

[Bobby dog]

I think you are off to a very nice start for your best hairy friend! My dog loves Freshpet. My dog and cats also do great on Wellness products, canned and dry. Remember, when feeding kibble with a topper to reduce the kibble to avoid over feeding.

Freshpet has several lines and each line has a kibble shaped food, Freshpet Select, Vital, or Nature’s Fresh. In each line the kibble shaped food is packaged in a plastic bag. Here’s a link to a page featuring each line. Just choose a line and look for food packaged in a bag:
http://freshpet.com/our-foods/our-brands/

The Freshpet Select line also has a shredded chicken food that is packaged in a plastic bag:
http://freshpet.com/products/freshpet-select-fresh-kitchen-home-cooked-chicken-recipe/

Freshpet has a store locator on their site to help you find a retailer. It looks like Petsmart carries the Vital line of foods; grocery stores and Wal-Mart carry Freshpet as well.

Petsmart:
http://www.petsmart.com/gsi/webstore/WFS/PETNA-PETUS-Site/en_US/-/USD/ViewStandardCatalog-Browse;pgid=bRZky3Uq7YZSRpWB6nh5Lmz30000nes-oeFm?CategoryName=800687&CategoryDomainName=PETNA-36&_t=pfm%3Dsearch%26SearchTerm%3Dfreshpet

[Robert B]

Hi ALL,
It looks like I’m going to purchase Wellness Toy Breed Complete Health Adult. For a topper, I will use a sweet potato and also purchase Freshpet Select Tender Chicken with Vegetables & Brown Rice Dog Food.
I will also brush his teeth at least 3 times per week.
I thank all you for your feedback and will update in a few weeks or so
on how Louie is doing.
I will go to the store tomorrow and purchase the above items.
I’m so happy I found this website and all the great people that helped me,

Robert

[Dog_Obsessed]

That sounds great! One suggestion is once you’ve found a few foods that she likes, you could try rotational feeding. No food is perfect nutritionally, and so many dogs can really benefit from it. It can also help picky eaters who get tired of a certain for after a while.

Edit: Oh, Bobby Dog already mentioned that and gave you a link above. Also, you’ve probably already been told this, but remember to transition her slowly to the new food.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 10 months ago by Dog_Obsessed.

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