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Help me find a complete food for my almost 1 year old! Getting desperate!

17 replies

EvenBetter · 16/07/2014 23:42

Puppy will be one in August. So will be moving on from puppy food.
She's been on Vets Kitchen Puppy and is fine on it, however she HATES it and actively spits out the biscuits and is uninterested in her dinners even with cooked chicken, rice etc in it.

She is very picky (all treats are fine though! Greek yoghurt, sausages, liver cake, PoundLand shite all eaten happily), like, she's healthy and everything but it seems like she really wouldn't care if you didn't give her her dinner.

Recently she's had a phantom pregnancy and has completely refused to eat Vets Kitchen, so we got a block of raw stuff from a pet shop which you had to add your own carbs etc, to. She ate the meat and left most of the rest.
I've been on that allaboutdogfood website for ages, and it's not helping me decide, there's no category for 'picky fuckers'. Some are very expensive if she turns her nose up at them, and I don't agree with Orijens stance that dogs need to eat like wolves.
(Not doing raw feeding. Nope.)
Hellpppp

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Twrch62 · 16/07/2014 23:59

How about Barking Heads fusspot dog food?
A friends rough collie was like yours, but loves this, all natural ingredients too, Viovet was the cheapest last I looked, do small bags to try as well,

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CastilianHhhhidalgo · 17/07/2014 00:11

The Millie's Wolfheart foods are excellent and although my lot aren't particularly fussy they definitely eat the countryside mix with more gusto than previous foods.

They do little sample bags of 200g for around £1.50 or 700g for around £5.

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LadyTurmoil · 17/07/2014 00:15

Raw feeding is so easy!! Really. It's not about putting your hands inside a rabbit and pulling its guts out. Seriously, you can buy blocks of ready made stuff from many different suppliers. Just defrost and serve (or serve half-frozen).

Don't know if you're a vegetarian, but if you meat/chicken for you and family, then it's just the same for dogs. Really no big deal. Your puppy obviously likes it...

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EvenBetter · 17/07/2014 01:08

I looked at the Barking Heads website and saw Fusspot! Might get a wee sample bag of that, and of Wolfheart, I've read about them, too :)

Lady, we are vegetarians! Haha! She loves carrots normally, and meat from my mums house, and gets bones from the butchers (and sometimes kidneys and liver...boke!!) I'll see if we can get a complete, ready made raw food, because I'd worry too much about adding all the extras she'd need like carbs, ash, vitamins etc. She won't eat tinned dog food (Butchers) and we have a can of Lily's Kitchen here waiting to be tasted, but it's too expensive for long term.

FFS, never had such problems with any of the other greedy bastards dogs with healthy appetites.

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CastilianHhhhidalgo · 17/07/2014 01:23

If tinned is a possibility have a look at brands like Rocco, Rinti, Animonde GranCarno and Bozita on Zooplus.

They're excellent foods, remarkably inoffensive (in fact some smell really good) and they're much cheaper than Lily's Kitchen.

I use one can a day split evenly among my four as an addition to their evening dry food. They go absolutely nuts for it every time.

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fanoftheinvisibleman · 17/07/2014 07:13

You don't add carbs to a raw diet. The idea is just meat and bones with veg optional. Completes like Nutriment, Natural Instinct & Wolftucker.

My raw fed dog loves Millies Wolfheart grain free treats. Kibble.wise I'd try someone like them if you really don't want to go raw.

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Aked · 17/07/2014 10:05

Millies Wolfheart. Everytime.

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Bubble2bubble · 17/07/2014 10:06

I changed mine to Millies Wolfheart from Orijen a few months ago - they definitely love it ( a lot more enthusiastic than about any other dry food ) and their condition is fab.

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ClaimedByMe · 17/07/2014 10:34

I feed my dog barking heads fusspot, if you add a wee drop warm water to it soften it slightly and brings out the smell and the dog goes daft for it makes me gag

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LadyTurmoil · 17/07/2014 10:52

Knew you'd be a vegetarian!! Does make it more awkward, of course, but you can buy fairly "sanitised" packs of raw food now which may be a bit easier for you.

Don't forget they can have fish, especially oily fish like sardines etc. Also egg once a week (raw). If you're worried about vitamins/minerals, I know this stuff is often recommended as an addition. But you don't need added carbs.

Let us know what you end up doing - and we need picture of "picky pup"

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EvenBetter · 17/07/2014 11:28

Millie's Wolfheart looks like a winner!
Is Eden good?

She has just rejected RAW food, minutes ago. Maybe she just doesn't want a breakfast anymore.

Help me find a complete food for my almost 1 year old! Getting desperate!
Help me find a complete food for my almost 1 year old! Getting desperate!
Help me find a complete food for my almost 1 year old! Getting desperate!
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fanoftheinvisibleman · 17/07/2014 11:58

My dog can be picky and went through a really bad spell a few weeks ago. He had barely eaten for 4 weeks and went from.not having an ounce of fat to skinny and bony.

I approached to more experienced raw feeder on a page I use for advice and they reckoned I was overfeeding and therefore it was a combination of overfacing him and allowing him to operate his own feast and famine meaning his eating pattern was irregular. They advised dramatically cutting back his food. It seemed crazy to me to cut the portions to a skinny dog but low and behold, I have yet again had to bow down the the wisdom of experience! He has eaten every scrap since and is covering his bones again.

It might be worth considering amounts you feed?

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LadyTurmoil · 17/07/2014 12:03

How interesting fan. She looks fabulous and glossy even

It is very hot today and if you're feeding her a combination of dry and some raw food, it might be messing up her digestive system anyway.

Just leave it til tonight and try a bit more. Like fan said, she won't deliberately starve herself. As long as she's drinking water, she'll be fine for (and in) a day or two.

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EvenBetter · 17/07/2014 13:43

I just offered her a sardine which she walked away from, the. After some coaxing she swallowed it whole...
I measured out the amount of dry food she's meant to be eating at her age and weight, and she's never eaten anything near that amount, we've been putting less in her bowl because it just ends up sitting there and getting chucked out once it starts to stink in this heat.

She drinks a normal amount and has normal poos, this week has been particularly bad because-I think- of the phantom pregnancy, and this bloody heat. There's nothing more we can do short of forcing the food down her throat, so I'll have to trust that she'll keep herself sustained.

I have a sample of Barking Heads Fusspot coming, and am going to ask Millie's Braveheart for a sample, too.

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LadyTurmoil · 17/07/2014 14:00

It's not surprising the phantom pregnancy is making her off her food, all those damned hormones!

Good sign that she ate the sardine, she just might not feel like much and will improve in time.

I think you're being very brave trying the raw food for her - can't be easy as you're vegetarian. Hope it goes well.

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WeAllHaveWings · 17/07/2014 18:27

Another huge Millie Wolfheart fan here too, cant recommend food and service enough!

(We tried Eden for months, it supposed to be one of the best, but we had loose stools and very smell farts the whole time, changed to Millies Wolfheart country side mix and everything great after 2 days. If you google Eden you will see lots of people have the same problems, it just doesn't suit some dogs.)

They have a fb group you can join and I have seen lots of fussy eaters doing well on it.

The (very nice) owners Mark and June, recommend tough love for fussy eaters - stop feeding snacks, put bowl down for 20 mins, if they don't eat it pick it up and don't feed until next meal, missing a meal or even two wont hurt. They learn quickly if they don't eat it gets removed. You'll never see a dog die of starvation beside a bowl of food!!

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EvenBetter · 30/07/2014 18:46

For the posters who wanted a wee update:
Phantom pregnancy is now over, she'll be neutered on Monday, and is now eating Fusspot by Barking Heads, her appetite is back! I don't think she'll ever be madly excited by the prospect of dinners but at least she's eating some of it now :)

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