my dog wont eat dog food

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ladyday37
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat May 08, 2010 6:13 pm

my dog wont eat dog food

Post by ladyday37 »

I have one I dont think Victoria can solve.. I have a **** tzu.. She is 4 years old..I got her from a friend when she was 3. I admit I spoil her by cooking for her, but she was a picky eater when I got her, thats why I cook for her because she would just walk up to the dog food, smell it, turn up her nose and walk away.. I belive the people that had her before me cooked for her as well. I've tried just giving her plain dry dog food (she wont even eat the wet food) knowing a dog will not starve itself, she will just look at it and walk away. I thought maybe the kibbles where to big for her mouth so i would crunch them up and mix them with some food. She would pick out the kibbles and eat the other food. I dont know what to do..I love my little LULU but I know people food is not good for her..How do I get her bac kon dog food.. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Leigha
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Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2009 8:02 am

Re: my dog wont eat dog food

Post by Leigha »

Why is people food not good for her? There are many people on this forum who either cook for their dogs or feed them a raw diet--and the majority of them (if not all) would say that the kibble is worse for her than the people food.

It really depends on what you're cooking for her if it's "bad."

When you make her meals what are you cooking?
ladyday37
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat May 08, 2010 6:13 pm

Re: my dog wont eat dog food

Post by ladyday37 »

I usually cook chicken, gizzards, I have tried brown rice. she ate it once, but doesnt like it anymore..the reason I said people food was no good for her is because I hade read alot of post in other forums that said table food is no good for a dog, besides they dont get the nutrition that dog food provides.. I need some recipies for her.. Here lately I have cooked fish (for me and my husband) and she seems to love it, She also has dry skin and scratches alot. If Iam doing no harm by not feeinding her dog food I will continue to cook for her, but I need some recipies for her...
ladyday37
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat May 08, 2010 6:13 pm

Re: my dog wont eat dog food

Post by ladyday37 »

ladyday37 wrote:I usually cook chicken, gizzards, I have tried brown rice. she ate it once, but doesnt like it anymore..the reason I said people food was no good for her is because I hade read alot of post in other forums that said table food is no good for a dog, besides they dont get the nutrition that dog food provides.. I need some recipies for her.. Here lately I have cooked fish (for me and my husband) and she seems to love it, She also has dry skin and scratches alot. If Iam doing no harm by not feeinding her dog food I will continue to cook for her, but I need some recipies for her...
anyway..I, myself dont blame her for not eating the kibbles..THEY STINK>>>LOL
emmabeth
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Re: my dog wont eat dog food

Post by emmabeth »

You need to do some research on home cooked dog food and on raw diets - raw diets are easier to balance and better for the dogs teeth but it is entirely up to you, just do the research because feeding an unbalanced diet is not a good plan.

The reason people say not to feed 'table' food is because it often results in an unbalanced diet and dogs eating thoroughly unsuitable foods such as those high in carbs fats and sugars (ie, like the thoroughly unsuitable food we as a species tend to eat!). There is a world of difference however between a dog surviving on left overs and scraps of low quality people food, and a dog thriving on a balanced diet of raw or cooked foods that are appropriate to the dogs needs.

Whichever you choose to do though - provide as much variety as you can (which yes, is the total opposite to what you are told to do with complete commercial foods, because if you DO the dog learns there is nicer food out there and it is an incredibly stupid dog indeed who doesnt attempt to work out how to get this nicer food!), as this provides more sources of nutrition and reduces the likelyhood of overloading the dog with one ingredient which I do believe is relevant to food allergies (all those dogs reacting badly to gluten, and all those people doing the same and what do they eat? grain based gluten filled 'cheap' diets!).

Dont automatically leap to the assumption that your dog is just fussy though, it may be that she knows the kibble is bad for her, maybe she associates it with feeling ill after having eaten it. Have you tried her on a completely grain free kibble? (It may not be grains that is her problem, but its interesting she ate rice once and then wouldnt eat it again....grain is one of the commonest things a dog will react badly to.)

If you do go for cooking her food, cook it as lightly as possible - her digestive system is well designed to cope with raw meat and even raw meat that isnt particularly fresh (not that i recommend feeding anything but the freshest, 'cleanest' raw meat available). Their stomach acid is strong and their gut short, to process food quickly and pass potentially dodgy meat through fast.

In comparison a humans stomach acid is not so strong and our digestive tract is longer so food takes longer to go through the system. It means we can make better use of a vegetable based diet (dogs and humans are omnivores, dogs better designed for 'meat - and other stuff' and humans better designed for 'other stuff - and some meat') than dogs can. If you look at the herbivores who are purely vegetarian, their stomach is smaller - those designed to eat lots of juicy, wet high sugar diet (ruminants) have several stomachs and a long gut, those designed to eat dryer poorer quality low sugar diets have a small single stomach and long gut - because vegetable matter takes ages to break down. (Interestingly cows, sheep, horses, deer, rabbits - none of these are particularly suited to a grain based diet either!)

Vegetables should be either blended to a pulp and frozen, or lightly cooked and blended, (not in big chunks and stewed for ages unless your dog is on a diet!) as the teeth and short gut of a dog do not break down vegetable matter very well, as will be evidenced by the remains of chunky raw or cooked veg in their poo should you feed it. Lightly cooking or freezing,and blending break down the food so the dog can get the maximum benefit from it.
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jacksdad
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Joined: Thu Dec 10, 2009 10:48 pm

Re: my dog wont eat dog food

Post by jacksdad »

ladyday37 wrote:I usually cook chicken, gizzards, I have tried brown rice. she ate it once, but doesnt like it anymore..the reason I said people food was no good for her is because I hade read alot of post in other forums that said table food is no good for a dog, besides they dont get the nutrition that dog food provides.. I need some recipies for her.. Here lately I have cooked fish (for me and my husband) and she seems to love it, She also has dry skin and scratches alot. If Iam doing no harm by not feeinding her dog food I will continue to cook for her, but I need some recipies for her...
There is a whole sub forum here that talks about diet and health. Because of what I learned there, I changed from the low quality crappy dog food I was feeding my dog, to the highest quality store bought dog food I can find. things without corn fillers and such. However I consider this a stop gap.

Right now my doggy education (meaning me) time has to go to issues other then diet, but it's something I want to get back to as soon as possible. however, I have learned enough to know that not feeding store bought dog food won't harm your dog, it might actually improve your dog. But you do need to take a little time to learn what is dog safe and how to provide a balanced diet. Which from what little I have learned it's that hard to learn. I just had to make a choice in where I put my learning time right now.

I would encourage you to dig a little deeper into this and be aware there are sometimes reasons given for not feeding "human" food that make no sense when you stop and think about them.
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Pawzk9
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Re: my dog wont eat dog food

Post by Pawzk9 »

There's a good book by Monica Segal (sp?) called K9 Kitchen which has useful advice about balanced home-made diets for dogs. However, if you'd like your dog to eat what you feed her, here's an excellent article
http://dragonflyllama.com/%20DOGS/Writing/TeachEat.html
Getting in a struggle with a dog over eating, switching foods, and adding "better stuff" actually creates picky eaters. Of course, you want to be sure the dog is healthy and that you're not trying to feed stuff for which the dog has an intolerance. Some dogs do very well when they are asked to work for their food instead of simply gifted with it. Makes it more of a priviledge. Sandy in OK
Sandy in OK
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GoofyDog2
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Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2009 2:43 pm
Location: PA, USA

Re: my dog wont eat dog food

Post by GoofyDog2 »

I found this website to be particularly informative about canine (and feline) nutrition and many other topics. The one article in particular that addresses the issues posed about what is good, bad, or just not as good in various foods is the following:
http://www.thepetcenter.com/Article.aspx?id=3412

It validates the claims of those who advocate a BARF diet while at the same time acknowledges that many dogs do well enough on cheap kibble. Personally, I feed my dog raw beef hearts (and blood) mixed with regular Purina kibble and raw, frozen marrow bones as nutritious treats which are also good for dental health, and provide hours of enjoyment. You can get the beef hearts for $1.39/lb or less, and marrow bones for $0.99/lb or less, and I stock up and freeze when they are marked down. I think you should be able to feed your dog with a healthy variety of foods for less than $1/day. :)
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Nettle
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Re: my dog wont eat dog food

Post by Nettle »

The only part of the petcentre article I would challenge is the part about carbohydrates. Dogs are designed to metabolise their carbohydrates from partially digested vegetable matter. As wild dogs, they get this from eating herbivore dung and/or the contents of herbivore intestines. As for our pet dogs, we can liquidise or lightly cook vegetables for them.

Starch carbs won't kill a dog but they are not designed to metabolise them, which is why it is so easy to end up with a fat dog (what the heck do I do with this - I know - I'll turn it into fat). Dogs get their energy from fats. Cereals are only in dog food because they are cheap and easily sourced.

It is not impossible to end up with a fat dog when feeding a proper raw diet - but it is a heck of a lot harder.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

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