Bored

tiffy

She has been eating it for two years and shes just not excited anymore

Well i'm not surprised she's not excited.Would you be, after eating the same food everyday for 2 years? Which brings me to the 'do they get bored' question.I'm pretty certain they do get bored if fed the same thing for every meal,what's there to get excited about when they know what's coming..

Feeding a variety of different foods is so very important IMO. 

Tiffy - You do have choices with EP Holistic. In fact, Eagle Pack recommends that you offer a variety (it is written out somewhere in Eagle Pack holistic line website............). You can always add canned food or fresh food as toppers. Your pet would love them!!

P.S. I would never again feed any pets just one food for the rest of their life.  I did that once and I remember my lab, Bessie, (who had since passed away) would stop eating and would eat only once every other day or so when she was absolutely hungry.  I didn't know much then and gosh, I feel so bad when I think about it.  Now, Niko, my 16 month old lab, gets a variety of food daily (dry food, canned food and home cooked food).  He gets some raw food on weekends.  It is a joy to watch how excited he gets during meal times (including times for his raw treats...).

 Well, I know for a fact that they get really excited over new foods so it would stand to reason that they would lose enthusiasm over the same foods over and over again.

My dogs eat raw food and they get thier breakfast out in their big kennel.  I don't leash them on the way out.  There's no need, they aren't going anywhere.  Onyx goes straight to the kennel and stays there, Crusher goes there and comes back to me a couple times on my way out.  Breakfast is usually chicken, whether its just a cut or an entire chicken.  Somedays, Crusher stays in the kennel while I walk out and takes a bit of time out to chew on Onyx' head while I make my way out there.  The chicken clearly isn't as exciting as it used to be when he first started getting it.  Yesterday they got their first full meal of eggs, frozen.  WELL, you'd have thought I spiked it with cocaine or something.  BOTH dogs were back and forth between me and the kennel at least a dozen times.  Both dogs were jumping up in my face and sniffing at the carton.  They went insane! 

All right, its unanimous, I'll switch it up. 

of course they get bored- and most dogs don't consider plain dry kibble, of any brand, to be food, they eat it because they have no choice. I like pizza and brownies, but if someone tried to feed me pizza and brownies three days in a row I wouldn't like it anymore. I try quite hard to never feed the same thing to my dogs two meals in a row.

mudpuppy

of course they get bored- and most dogs don't consider plain dry kibble, of any brand, to be food, they eat it because they have no choice. I like pizza and brownies, but if someone tried to feed me pizza and brownies three days in a row I wouldn't like it anymore. I try quite hard to never feed the same thing to my dogs two meals in a row.

I think that realistically, this isn't much of an option for most dog owners.  Personally, I try too, but even for me, as a raw feeder, my dogs don't get something different at every meal.   

I homecook so every meal is yummy. Can you give fresh food once in a while? That makes a happy doggie!

It really saddens me that the pet food industry has duped everyone into believing that our pets can survive on a single diet. That can't be any further from the truth.  Dogs ( and cats ) need variety in their diets just as we do for optimum health. A sole diet has been proven to be nutritionally DEFICIENT and the "balanced and complete" statement is not only misleading but downright  inaccurate.  If you ate the same thing day in and day out you would eventually suffer from serious health problems and it's only common sense to conclude that your pet will as well.

 
IMO the best diet ( even for raw feeders ) is a varied diet.  I feed a rotational diet. I couldn't imagine just dumping some dry kibble in a bowl and thinking it, on its own, would be a complete or even appetizing meal.  I buy at least 3 different high quality kibbles in the large or med sized bags, a variety of canned foods ( grain free or 95-100%  meat ) , a variety of frozen raw meals ( medallions or chubs ) and raw meats and RMBs from the local butcher. Every meal is different and my dogs have never turned their nose up at their food unless they were feeling ill for some reason.  In fact, my dogs are so anxious to eat they clean their bowls and look for more.  Their favorite meals besides raw are kibble with raw medallions or patties mashed in as the mixer. They ALWAYS get either that or a spoonful of canned mixed in.  I keep on hand  a fish-based kibble, a game-based kibble and a poultry -based kibble,  and the same goes for the canned and raw foods.  Sometimes I feed complementary combinations.. ie Taste of the Wild  Roasted Venison and a venison canned or raw mixer. Sometimes I'll mix Fish with chicken or Vension with lamb, etc.  Not only are my dogs EXCITED about their food.... they're EXTREMELY healthy with good energy, wonderful coats and great muscle tone.  The only reason they ever go to the vet is for their rabies vax and general check up.

For those of you who think this diet is unfeasible for most... it's not.  There are many sites that ship for free with a minimum purchase.. ie K9 Cusine for one and others who charge for shipping but always offer sales and discounts on top of the sales price.... Petfooddirect.  Surprisingly there are local feed stores and even vet offices, groomers, small pet boutiques and bakeries and even healthfood stores etc....places most people don't think of to check... that sell better quality foods and at reasonable prices.  Some places will even special order from their distributors for you even if they don't normally carry that particular food as long as their distributor carries it.  It's worth looking into.
 

huskymom

 Yesterday they got their first full meal of eggs, frozen. 

Did you just freeze raw eggs and give it to them? I have been thinking of doing that with Lily and Neiko to see what they do. 

 Yup, just threw the whole carton in the freezer.  Next time I might spray the carton with Pam or something as the eggs crack as they freeze and I had a fun time getting some of them out they were stuck pretty good.  They had a great time with them.  Crusher was a little confused at first because his habit is to pick up the egg, raise it a bit and then drop it to break it open.  When it didn't break open anymore he kind of looked at it for a minute before he decided to try it Onyx' way, which is to crush it in her mouth.

24Pawsnclaws

my dogs have never turned their nose up at their food unless they were feeling ill for some reason.  In fact, my dogs are so anxious to eat they clean their bowls and look for more.

Pawsnclaws i agree with everything you have written,but what do you say to die hard kibble only feeders who say the same thing as i highlighted above?? I often say similar things that you have just said on other websites,and there are members who feed ONLY kibble and crap kibble at that!! And they say 'my dogs inhale their food' blah blah blah. I cant argue when they say their dogs act the exact same way as ours do when fed a yummy variety...

Huskymom-I dont mean to be nosy but why do you feed your guys frozen food? I have never had a dog that liked food cold straight from the fridge,lettalone frozen solid,they wont even touch frozen rmb's,not even marrow bones.  

24Pawsnclaws

It really saddens me that the pet food industry has duped everyone into believing that our pets can survive on a single diet. That can't be any further from the truth.  Dogs ( and cats ) need variety in their diets just as we do for optimum health. A sole diet has been proven to be nutritionally DEFICIENT and the "balanced and complete" statement is not only misleading but downright  inaccurate.  If you ate the same thing day in and day out you would eventually suffer from serious health problems and it's only common sense to conclude that your pet will as well.

 

The majority of Pet Owners want quick convenient food to feed their Pets. The # 1 thing they want is easy clean up. Changing diets daily or every meal means less than easy pick up. Accidents in the house. Not that you are not right about varying the diet being better.  The pet food industry is in business to sell to the masses. A site like this gets perhaps less than 1 per cent of the public viewing.

I go by the 80 % rule. What ever kibble I feed I try to add 20 % of something different daily. And rotate the kibble between protein sources every three months.

Look at this site for some tips..

http://www.dogaware.com/dogfeeding.html