Appetite / Food Preference

[jade]

Any suggestions on food that Rotties really love (other than steak, pork, chicken, pig ears, etc)? Our female just turned one year old and is very finicky about what she eats. We've tried many brands of food from the most expensive premium, meat based soy free choice to the average, run of the mill dog food. We've only ever used dry kibble with or without hot water. We have had limited success with certain foods and adding bacon bits, olive oil, pepperoni, etc. She weighs 60 pounds at one year - but doesn't eat like she should. It is not an appetite issue entirely - if I gave her a 30 ounce Porter House, it would be gone in seconds. A big pork roast would be treated the same - it seems to revolve around manufactured dog foods. We have a few friends with Rotties around the same age and the food gets consumed very quickly. We asked her vet about it and she said her weight was fine and she was healthy and not to worry about it. She probably finishes about one in six meals we give her. Also, we're feeding her 2-2.5 cups two times a day - maybe the quantity or frequency needs to changed. Any suggestions??

[Michele Baxter]

Jade,
My girl Lucy eats a natural diet. We feed her raw meat (chicken, beef) or canned mackeral fish in a pinch. She eats steamed veggies (carrots, broccoli, squash, potatoes, etc.) and 3/4 cup of grain(brown rice, barley, etc) and fresh fruits like apples. Cottage cheese, yogurt, and organic apple cidar vinegar. With these she gets vitamin supplements. We have have much success with this. She loves it! Maybe since she likes the meat this would work for your girl. I can give you more specific quantities if you're interested. It really doesn't cost any more than a high quality kibble. You can freeze and thaw in quantities parts of it. And she doesn't get cottage cheese and yogurt in the same meal. The same with veggies, it isn't always the same ones. Hope this helps.

[German Vanegas]

At one year old weighin-in 60 lbs sounds underweight. I believe the biggest mistake is trying out all these different diets. That obviously upsets the digestive system of a dog. The constant and sudden diet changes keeps your dog off-balance. You need to follow a steady diet regimen. Michele's suggestion is a lot more sensible and healthier. I think your dog has not been allowed to settle one diet due to so many variations.

[antonschinkel]

I Agree.
Look for a good brand , see how the dog reacts on it and keep with this brand off food.
Feed her at regular times. When she not eating her food, take it away again.
She will eat it sooner or later and the problem is over....

Good Luck
(Must be difficult taking food away and looking in those brown eyes)

Anton

[jade]

Thanks for the responses - the natural diet sounds good but realistically it will probably be better than we eat most of the time!

Michele I would like to know the quantities of the ingredients if buying for a four week time frame - if you have a chance.

German - I'm not sure Jade's pickiness is from lack of a steady diet regimen - I probably misled you about the number of changes we've made. We have tried five different foods but four of them were for 3 month periods - we just switched again. Maybe 3 months is not long enough to settle / get acclimated to a food? We chose to switch at the end of each 3 month period hoping for a winner. I understand your point however and many of the books we've read reinforce your statements.

If 60 pounds is light, what should she weigh at one year? Hopefully after we correct the issue she'll catch up and reach her normal, healthy weight equilibrium.

When we board her, can we supply the natural diet then as well? I know the vet supplies canned / dry kibble choices - we've read to stay away from canned. If we bring the food I don't see why it would be an issue.

Thanks AGAIN!!

[Mike Bolton]

I solve eating problems by putting the food down 10 minutes and taking away what is not eaten. I feed 2 time a day, 12 hrs apart and all my dogs learn to eat as soon as the bowl hits the floor. It should only take 3 day to teach a dog to eat quickly and never leave food in the bowl.

One of the healthiest foods on the market is INNOVA made by Natura Pet Products. See www.naturapet.com for most information. Use the dealer locator to find a store in your area. Feed ratio is 1 cup for each 25 lbs of weight, sometimes less. The 33# bag of INNOVA will equal most 40# bags of other food.

Also I use NUPRO All Natural Dog Supplement, makes a great gravy and boy do my dogs eat quickly, maintain proper weight and have great skin and coats too.
www.nuprosupplements.com - for more info.

Hope that helps,

Mike

[German Vanegas]

Mike is right. Innova has real meats, fruits, vegetables, grains, probiotics, vitamins, minerals, etc. It is a well-balanced complete nutrition premium dog food. One of my top 5 dog dry foods choices that I recommend.

[Michele Baxter]

Jade-here are the amounts per day that I feed in natural diet:
1 chicken wing or similar piece-feed RAW or approx. 1/4 lb of beef. Feed organ meat 1x week. 1 can of mackeral fish can be divided into two feedings. You can find this in with the tuna at the supermarket.
3/4 cup of grain(brown rice or barley)
2 cups of steamed or raw veggies or
1 cup veggies and 1 medium potato (baked potatoes are high in potassium so I try to feed baked but if necessary you can boil)
Supplements-multivitamin and kelp, and chondroitin/glucosamine supplement
2 Tablespoons ORGANIC apple cidar vinegar
1/2 cup of yogurt or cottage cheese

I feed this 1x per day and good quality dry food for the other meal, or if showing she gets only the 1 natual meal per day. You can buy large family pack of chicken or other meats and freeze and thaw the day before use. The fish is easy to use-it's canned. It doesn't take very long to just steam veggies or chop and feed raw. I zap the potato in microwave-so we have a system that takes no time at all. You can get really creative when you're on the road also! I'll save the potato from dinner or order rice to go! Let me know if you need any other info! By the way, I've heard great things about this Innova food, but unfortunately there are no distributors in my state. I would love to be able to buy locally.