Cottage Cheese in Kibble

[Tozzi]

Hi all... Tozzi is now over 8 months and we have done everything to get him to eat... he's just never been interested in kibble... we've tried many types (Innova, Nutro-natural choice, eagle pack, california natural, by nature, super premium kirkland brand, taste of the wild). He ate the by nature mixed with canned pumpkin for loose stools or cottage cheese for about a month and then just started to refuse it - we switched to the super premium kirkland food and he ate dry kibble for awhile, then seemed to get tired of it. We started adding cottage cheese again, but after awhile, he would eat some of the mixture and then we would have to stir up the mixture or shake the bowl to get him interested in the food. he seemed to love our friends dog food, would always try and steal from her bowl - nutro- so we gave it a shot. He still just won't eat kibble...

we spent the last 2 weeks playing hard-ball with him to try and get rid of all the games and only offered dry kibble and giving him up to 15 minutes to eat then taking it away. We offered kibble multiple times during the day, but if he walked away from it, we would pick up the bowl.

He wasn't eating anywhere near what he needed - maybe a cup a day - he would just check out the bowl and leave or if he hadn't eaten in a while, would have a few bites and walk away. he still had plenty of energy, but was losing weight. we've tried feeding him by hand, sliding kibble across the floor one at a time, etc... all worked for a bit until the novelty wore off. my husband even took pictures of when he lined kibbled up his face or along his body.

This morning we gave up and went back to our old tactics - adding cottage cheese to his kibble. He ate the full two cups in his bowl all at once!

Is it ok to give him about 1/2 cup of cottage cheese with each meal (2x a day)??? We've tried mixing canned food with his kibble, but he either licks off the food and ignores the kibble, or doesn't eat it. this seems to be the only thing that gets him to eat all the kibble. I don't want him to have too much calcium, but i don't know what else to do to get him to eat.

[moondog]

It's fine to add the cottage cheese along with his kibble. You could add a little variety by alternating with a scrambled egg, a sardine, etc. Have you ever tried one of the prepared raw diets with him? Has his appetite always been poor or is this something new? It really isn't normal for a dog to lack an appetite....has he had a thorough vet check that includes blood work and I'd even go so far as to say an xray of his belly, too? If not, that would be a good thing to do in order to make sure his health is good.

[Tozzi]

thanks moondog - hot in your area today, we took tozzi to the warner center park to play...

No thorough blood work or anything, but he's seen 3 different vets and all have said he is fine. He's never had much of an appetite unless it's a high value food (boiled ground beef and rice, natural balance food rolls, cheese, plain canned food, another dog's food) - we got him at 10.5 weeks old and he had been eating puppy chow and had giardia. I have no idea how long he was sick, but he was only 11 lbs at the time. We went through 2 rounds of medicine (3 day pill and then a 5 day panacur) and he got a clear bill of health.

we've tried scrambled eggs, but he eats around the food... the cottage cheese seems to work because it's an add-in and coats the kibble. I really just want my dog to eat. I've never had a dog that wasn't excited about food or just gobble up anything that went in their bowl.

the other problem is he has dirty teeth from all the soft stuff... brown spots that brushing doesn't really help - i just got some act mouthwash because I heard that rubbing his teeth with that would help.

[moondog]

The fact that he is willing to eat fresh foods doesn't necessarily make them "high value".....it's more likely that they are simply more tolerable for him so he's willing to eat them. I home-cooked for my previous Rottweiler as she could not tolerate any commercially prepared diets.

I'd still recommend blood work, a belly xray, and a fecal, too. He may have something he's swallowed lingering in his digestive tract (and things can sit there for YEARS sometimes before they are discovered), or perhaps there's a parasite causing irritation in his intestines. I'd make sure to check for those things.

Edited to say: YES, it was HOT here today...and it's supposed to be blistering again tomorrow. I'm not ready yet! Warner Center Park is about a 1/2 mile from where I live! It's a nice park.

[TrinaJ]

I would recommend sardines and cottage cheese together with the kibble. The oil from the sardines is great for their coat and skin and also adds another flavour to the kibble.

You can also add plain yoghurt, raw meat, raw egg with kibble (dinner)

[brunie's mom]

I also think it could be some medical problem. How much does he weigh at 8 months of age?
I would be worried about adding a cup of cottage per day to his kibble...that will really bring up the calcium levels...when combined with a kibble.

If he eats people food....then I would start home cooking or feed raw. Instead of adding cottage cheese to his kibble try adding some raw ground beef...or ground turkey...if he does not like it raw..cook it up lightly.

When a food makes a dog feel sick...they will not eat it. He probably get's so hungry that he eventually eats...but when he eats he feels sick.

Gina

[Marley55]

The first thing I would recommend is a complete medical work up. There could be tons of causes, allergies, parasites, intolerance to foods.

If that comes back clean then I would move on to behavior modification of owners and puppy.

I learned a long time ago with a beautiful bassett puppy we had. He did all the things you described and so did we. Begged him to eat, sat on the floor and hand fed him, you name it. After 2-3 days of eating only enough to keep a bird alive off to the vet we went. A complete work up showed nothing at all.

After we explained all the measures we took to get him to eat the Dr looks at me and says " he has trained you well " I was so MAD !! Who did that vet think he was ...all I wanted was for my dog to eat !! He went on to say put the food down same place time and amount every feeding and then walk away. Come back in 20 minutes pick it up and repeat at next feeding time. 3 days later Watson had re-trained himself that eating was more fun that being hungry.

Good luck finding the cause and a workable solution. I know how frustrating it is.

[jlaack]

I would also recommend a workup at a vet. If there could be a medical explanation it would be better to know now than later. While 3 different vets have said he is healthy there is ton of information provided by a full blood panel that cannot be discovered upon just looking at the dog. This would be my very first step. If everything comes back normal that can you try a raw diet? That would be my recommendation.

[spidey]

I also recommend a work-up at the vet, but cottage cheese is fine. I also wonder how much weight the dog has actually lost? They stop needing as much food as they grow, and some dogs have the good sense not to overeat.

Also:

the other problem is he has dirty teeth from all the soft stuff

We now know that dirty teeth are not caused by soft food, and that hard food does not clean the teeth (unless it's specifically designed to, like the tartar control prescription diets) - think about it: which sticks to your teeth more: a cracker or oatmeal? Teeth are kept clean by brushing (please do not use human mouthwashes or toothpastes, get toothpastes formulated for animals from your vet or the pet store - CET is the most common veterinary brand), rinsing (with a veterinary rinse, NOT a human mouthwash) and chewing.

[Tozzi]

Tozzi is 8.5 mos old - at 8 mos he was 75 pounds and yesterday he weighed in at 72 pounds, although he looks like he's still grown a bit.

we tried the canned sardines and even though i mashed them up and mixed them in with the kibble, he went through the kibble and picked out as much of the fish as he could... maybe the tuna water would work better... guess it is cottage cheese tomorrow morning

[IJF1]

Personally, I would avoid giving cottage cheese daily due to the salt content.

[moondog]

Originally Posted by IJF1

Personally, I would avoid giving cottage cheese daily due to the salt content.

This is a good point, however, there is no salt added cottage cheese available (has 29 mg sodium per cup, compared to 911 mg sodium per cup in regular cottage cheese). If you will be giving it daily, buy the no salt added cottage cheese.

[Pans Daddy]

Hi Tozzi, My fussy eaters really dive into their kibble if I pour about a half cup of almost hot beef bouillon over it just before I plunk it down in front of them. I make it a little weak from the cubes because I don't want them to get too much salt, but the warmth and the aroma really inspire their appetites. I switch to chicken sometimes too.

[BonnieBlue]

You may also want to try low-fat plain yogurt, it would stick to the kibble much like the cottage cheese. Good luck.

[kanesmommy]

This might sound horrible but i DONT take that crap. My dogs eat what they are given. They started being picky and they didnt eat for a day in protest of what was in there bowl. They learned quick to eat what they are given. They eat California Natural and eat it very well