Picky Princess Puppy Poo

[Klynne]

Are dogs picky eaters? I am thinking they are, or at least mine is. I have a pom, that is a year and a half old. She got straight on kibble. Then I decided to give her wet food "as a treat" but it became a daily thing, served along with her dry food. Now when I put down her dry food, she actually snorts at it and walks away. I am thinking she is holding out for the tastier stuff. I guess I am just stupid. I have started to mix baby food in her kibble to get her to eat it. And she does. I don't think it will hurt her. I did not know dogs could be so stubborn. If you have any stories let me know. Thanks.

[Jack Flanders]

Not to gross you out too much but dogs will eat cat crap out of the litter box if left unattended. If they are really hungry, they will eat what you give them. Buck up. You're the adult/human and the the dog is the child.

[zero]

.. DISGRACEFUL child-rearing methods, flan-didely-anders!


I'M PHONING THE POLICE!

[trisherina]

Good grief. Here's the deal. You put nutritious, adequately caloric dog food of the type that you choose with your vet's advice in a bowl. You put it down. The dog has five minutes to eat it. If the food is not eaten, the food goes away and doesn't come back until suppertime, when the same routine takes place. In very short order, your dog will eat the dog food that is served and not waste any time about it either.

Any other routine means your dog is dominating you. Whether your dog is five or fifty pounds, it is still an omnivorous animal, and it grows gradually ever more unpleasant to live in a home with an omnivorous creature who thinks it is completely the boss of you.

[Klynne]

Originally Posted by trisherina

Good grief. Here's the deal. You put nutritious, adequately caloric dog food of the type that you choose with your vet's advice in a bowl. You put it down. The dog has five minutes to eat it. If the food is not eaten, the food goes away and doesn't come back until suppertime, when the same routine takes place. In very short order, your dog will eat the dog food that is served and not waste any time about it either.

Any other routine means your dog is dominating you. Whether your dog is five or fifty pounds, it is still an omnivorous animal, and it grows gradually ever more unpleasant to live in a home with an omnivorous creature who thinks it is completely the boss of you.

I hear you Trish! It is just that I got worried when she refused to eat unless I gave her something mixed into her food to entice her to eat. She should eat one half a cup a food a day. She was down to a 1/4 cup and I got worried. I guess my experience is with sick, elderly cats. A dog won't starve its self right? She does rule me. It is easier for me to give her what she wants, then doing battle with her. I just worry so much. Ok, I will go to battle with her. Wish me luck!

[trisherina]

Oh, she won't starve herself to death, I can assure you of that. That kibble will begin to look like Dom Perignon and Kobe steak after a couple of missed meals.

[Brynn]

We've always referred to the litter box hazard as "Kitty Roca."

No matter what you're feeding the puppy, the feeding routine that Trisherina describes will work.

Anecdotally speaking, though, Mo's concerns about kibble from major manufacturers like Purina ring utterly true to me. Our golden retriever has uncomplainingly eaten various brands of expensive lamb & rice formula kibble from the pet store her entire life. It was drilled into us that dogs should never eat scraps - only dog food.
She's ten and was just diagnosed with advanced lymphoma. We think it might have something to do with the powerful flea "medicine" we put on her faithfully every month, or a steady diet of kibble, or both.

Now she gets the boiled chicken, broth, and brown rice recommended by the vet...as well as toast, flax seed oil pills, slices of luncheon meat to take her tramadol and prednisone with, scrambled eggs, spaghetti, bits of cheddar, green beans, cooked carrots, bits of steak, and now, even bites of pizza (her favorite!) and whatever the hell else she wants to eat because she's a good dog and we're grateful she's not miserably throwing up kibble six times a day anymore in the weeks before she dies. When she starts turning her nose up at baby food - which might be soon - we will put her down.

I had two friends who were "dog people" who always admonished me to only feed a dog kibble and never never never scraps from the table and made me feel so guilty for letting her eat leftover mashed potatoes once, that I never did again.
Dogs are omnivores. I mean, come on - they will eat their own vomit. Their sense of smell is so acute that they can detect the protein in cat feces and "leftover nutrition" in vomit, so it's no wonder they love delicious people food. I honestly think we feed dogs only kibble because it's cheap and convenient and we've been sold a bill of goods. All you have to do is smell it to know that it's really gross.

Nowadays I don't think there's anything wrong with feeding a dog almost the same things you eat yourself - minus the salt, extra unhealthy fats, sugar, carbs as well as certain obvious things that are not good for them - onions, grapes/raisins, chocolate, etc. So with a puppy, I'd probably do things a lot differently than I did before - and save myself years of frustration with chronic skin conditions, infections and expensive vet bills. And at least I'd know exactly what the dog was eating instead of this mysterious kibble.

[funkytuba]

what, klynne, are you trying to turn that dog into a CAT?

[MoJoRiSin]

Klynne, Mo does have a story:

here is installment one....
(scroll down a little to read what Holly from Colorado has to say)
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/iams.html

if you want your dog to live a long happy live without
bladder or some other cancer ______________________ did you know that after they make kibble (do you have any idea what goes in it?) they have to spray it with something in order to make the dogs even eat it.....
I mentioned earlier in the summer about my sisters' Weimeriner becoming ill ... she has not fully recovered and neither have i!
Ma has been ill since approx July 1st with reoccurring fever and body aches lethargy that she is beginning to suspect she caught from being in contact with her sisters sick dog.
^ this story is the truth
You can make your dog homemade food easily
brown rice vegetables and chicken....
If you do your dog will be happier and live longer
just do a web search for
>>homemade dog food<<

ox Love, Mo

[MoJoRiSin]

when mo heard about the egg recall
she knew for sure
it was something in what they (the hens) were being fed

>>I knew that chickens were omnivores
because they eat worms! <<


"Though the company isn't certain about the root cause of the contamination, it believes the source could be tainted meat and bone meal that it received from a third-party supplier for use in feed. An earlier FDA inspection report from the farms said feed samples tested positive for the outbreak strain, but FDA officials quoted in a media report said so far the pathogen has not been found in bone meal from a Minnesota rendering plant that supplied the Iowa company."

source of above quote::

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/con...earing-br.html

[12"razormix]

i suggest dom perignon ( with an ice cube or two ) and a well done kobe steak.

[Klynne]

I think I have won the battle of the food. She is eating. Dang. Cats are easier than dogs. But she has been eating. Took her to the vet for her check up. She is doing fine. I was told she was on the brink of being chubby. I just have to chill. I was so worried about her not eating her food, that I was giving her tons of milk bone biscuits. Come to find out the boyfriend was doing it as well. No wonder she did not want her daily feedings. Oh well, lesson learned.

[Klynne]

Dogs will play you. Did not realize this.