Dog Community

Posted : 5/22/2006 4:13:43 PM

When my puppy was given a prescription food he LOVED it so much that I couldn't get him to go back to just dry anymore. After numerous attempts at adding a little of this and that, I am afraid that I will never be able to feed him just dry every again. At least that's what our trainer told us. I'm now experimenting will alldifferent canned, because he won't eat every canned, he's beginning to be such a picky eater. I've been trying all the different canned foods to see what he likes. My husband said that he's going to start trying Winston's game - not eating when he doesn't like what I made. I told him that I have no problems letting him starve. However, my furbaby can't go out and get McDonalds on his own.

Debbi

Posted : 5/22/2006 6:01:37 PM

ORIGINAL: winstonsmom

When my puppy was given a prescription food he LOVED it so much that I couldn't get him to go back to just dry anymore. After numerous attempts at adding a little of this and that, I am afraid that I will never be able to feed him just dry every again. At least that's what our trainer told us. I'm now experimenting will alldifferent canned, because he won't eat every canned, he's beginning to be such a picky eater. I've been trying all the different canned foods to see what he likes. My husband said that he's going to start trying Winston's game - not eating when he doesn't like what I made. I told him that I have no problems letting him starve. However, my furbaby can't go out and get McDonalds on his own.

I am afraid of the same thing, since feeding the prescription canned they are getting picky, very picky. So I guess canned with their dry it will be!
LOL at the McDonalds thing!

Edie

Posted : 5/22/2006 8:22:27 PM

Winstonsmom and ziggynemo,what exactly are the names of the prescription canned your dogs were on? Why were they on it?

jaye

Posted : 5/22/2006 8:40:43 PM

if your dogs pickiness bothers you, you can just leave out what you want them to eat and they will eventually. they wont starve. it doesnt really sound like it bothers either of you too much though so in that case never mind )

Debbi

Posted : 5/23/2006 6:18:29 PM

ORIGINAL: Edie

Winstonsmom and ziggynemo,what exactly are the names of the prescription canned your dogs were on? Why were they on it?

Purina E/N for Nemo. He was sick with vomiting for a week and had lost weight, lethargic, very weak and tired. He is back to his old self now.

Debbi

Posted : 5/23/2006 6:20:20 PM

ORIGINAL: jaye

if your dogs pickiness bothers you, you can just leave out what you want them to eat and they will eventually. they wont starve. it doesnt really sound like it bothers either of you too much though so in that case never mind )

No, they will get what they want, for sure! LOL. Lenient mommy!

jessies_mom

Posted : 5/23/2006 6:59:21 PM

Canned foods are not all high in fat, Wellness has 5% in some flavors, much lower than the kibble your feeding

Actually, even at 5% fat Wellness has more fat than most kibble. [

] The way you compare kibble and canned is called a dry matter basis , which is looking at the ingredient analysis after the water is removed. This link explains the formula;

[linkhttp://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/dm.html]http://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/dm.html[/link]

According to the formula, Wellness canned is about 25% fat; 20, which is the reciprocal of 80, divided by 5. I used to think canned food was lower in protein than dry until I learned how to compare dry and canned food ; I now give Jessie a meal of canned food about three times a week.

christina

Posted : 5/25/2006 12:22:13 PM

Winston was on Hill's Science Diet i/d - which is supposed to be VERY bland - but now he won't eat any dry at all. This morning I tried a frozen raw lamb "nugget" that a trainer suggested. What do you know, he inhaled it. I think I'm going to being going over to the raw side going forward. I'll still try to mix in some dry kibble to see if that works - just to get rid of the food I have. We have Artemix Fresh Mix dry and random cans of wet that we've been testing. Today I got some samples of solid gold "raw" kibble and nature's variety kibble, so we'll see. My only gripe with the frozen raw is that its not convenient if we travel and we plan on spending lots of wintery weekends in Florida.

I spend more time on my dog's nutrition than my own. What does that tell you????

christina

Posted : 5/25/2006 12:24:54 PM

Forgot to add - Winston was on the i/d because of a stomach virus he had. He was pooping a mucus like substance, not eating, lethargic, had a fever and remained curled in a ball - with what I describe as "cramp like" contractions. Doc didn't give us an exact diagnosis, but he was dehydrated, got antibiotics and fluids and this demon i/d food. Was back to normal the next day - just his eating habits are all out of whack now.

jessies_mom

Posted : 5/25/2006 1:55:47 PM

I'm glad he is feeling better; it's a shame he got spoiled on canned food so easily. My husband always feeds Jessie unadorned kibble in the morning and she eats it right away even though I frequently feed her canned for lunch or Nature's Variety raw beef medallions ( which I lightly cook) and kibble with homecooked meat and veggies for supper. Nature's Variety and Steve's Real Food for Dogs make freeze dried raw food which is convenient for travel but they're expensive. Um... I guess you can tell that I also worry more about my dog's nutrition than my own. [] In my case it started a few years ago when her allergies had gotten to the point that they bothered her year round and she suffered from frequent skin infections, on her stomach, sides, face, and particularly on her feet. Good luck with feeding Winston; maybe you could mix canned and dry together ,decreasing the amount of canned each day while increasing the amount of dry.

John

Posted : 5/25/2006 3:00:46 PM

ORIGINAL: ziggynemo

ORIGINAL: trackman

I mix canned and dry every meal. I rotate the canned between 5 -6 types/flavors (Cal Nat, Wellness, Pinnacle), switching after each can so they have a change of taste every few days.

When you rotate the food, you don't notice any change in their bowel movements, do you? That is my biggest fear, messing with their intestitnal flora. Their stools have always been firm and a small amount. Now since changing to the canned and dry together, I notice it is more soft and a LOT in volume. I thought I read once that if your dogs poop big amounts like that, it means something, but cant remember what.. LOL

No problems at all - though I'm mixing in only a few forkfuls with each meal. Canned food is just too damn expensive for me to feed it in larger amounts.

jessies_mom

Posted : 5/25/2006 7:42:13 PM

I thought I read once that if your dogs poop big amounts like that, it means something, but cant remember what.. LOL

I've read that it means either that they're being overfed or not digesting the food well.

willowchow

Posted : 5/25/2006 9:52:19 PM

Winston's mom--Those symptoms that you described, especially the pooping mucous, sound like an allergy, not a virus.

Luvntzus

Posted : 5/26/2006 4:45:36 AM

Oh my goodness, the picture of Ziggy and Nemo in their basket is soooooo cute!!! I think pairs of the same breed look so cute together, and especially when it's two adorable Tzus!!

Glad Nemo is back to normal. I think both your guys will appreciate the addition of canned food.

I just started adding Innova EVO canned in the evening and Gingerbread absolutely loved it! He's been eating just dry until now and I feel like I overlooked the "taste factor" in trying to find the best food for him. I'm also going to rotate with adding yogurt, cottage cheese, and cooked chicken.

Debbi

Posted : 5/26/2006 8:15:21 AM

ORIGINAL: Luvntzus

Oh my goodness, the picture of Ziggy and Nemo in their basket is soooooo cute!!! I think pairs of the same breed look so cute together, and especially when it's two adorable Tzus!!

Glad Nemo is back to normal. I think both your guys will appreciate the addition of canned food. I just started adding Innova EVO canned in the evening and Gingerbread absolutely loved it! He's been eating just dry until now and I feel like I overlooked the "taste factor" in trying to find the best food for him. I'm also going to rotate with adding yogurt, cottage cheese, and cooked chicken.

Thanks for the compliment. They are quite adorable! [

]
At first after I stopped giving Nemo the prescription canned food, he wasnt sure about the other canned food I bought. But they have found a few they like, one with lamb and duck and one with turkey, lamb and pasta.
I am just putting a few tablespoons in with their dry, and adding a bit of warm water. So far so good!

Feeding canned and dry together