FussPot Frenchie

[Eve]

Has anyone ever experienced a fussy eater? Not necessarily due to being unwell.

[phoebesmom]

Yes, Phoebe was horribly fussy, but when I read about what I was actually feeding her, I can empathise. I switched her to a high quality kibble, and I started to cook for her as well - in the morning kibble mixed with something good and in the afternoon homemade. I also add a little bit of cooked minced beef to her kibble, as well as sardines and I can honestly say that she has gone from a very picky eater to one who gobbles down her food in a couple of minutes, and then is still looking around for seconds. Hope this helps.

[franp]

Fussy..NOOOOO,,:rolleyes:

Dari refused to eat on more than one occasion.. In fact for the first four years of her life I had to put the food in her mouth..

Then out of total desperation, I started to feed raw.. Now she screams till I put the food down...

Fran

[ev960d]

hey Eve,

Cola used to be 'fussy' eater..or hmm..so playful until he can't stay to finish his meal. I had to coax him to finish up his food. Eh..it's partly our fault because we loved to stand & watch him eat so much so that he thinks we must do that all the time..if we started to go do other things, he will stop eating & come look for us :mad:

I had to hand feed him sometimes. When he has to starve before neutering operations, he must have felt scared of getting hungry..from then on, he never leaves until he finishes his food..and we, of course realising our mistake, never stand & look at him finish his food..both dog & humans are happy with this 'arrangement' at last :lol:

[Borgan]

The fussy eater perplexes me. "Why must you turn your nose up at this 40$ bag of food, yet gobble up that dust bunny like it's caviar?"

It could be that they dislike whatever it is you're feeding them (we experienced the same thing as Fran), or they could have something like coccidia (an internal parasite found in fecal matter) that's turning their stomach.

Someone should write a book about kibble called, "I'm Just Not That Into You".

[mojo]

We have fed three different "super premium" Whole Dog Journal recommended foods to Mojo. He would sit and stare at us as if putting the food down was some kind of trick, and if he waited long enough someone would put his real food down for him to eat.

Finally we found Natural Balance Duck and Potato and the food is GONE the second it hits his bowl. He absolutely loves this food. Not only does he eat it all, but upon finishing, he licks the bottom of his bowl. He has also gained some weight while on it and looks great. Dogs, like some children, are simply picky about what they eat. Unfortunately there is no secret recipe as all dogs are unique and what one likes, another doesn't. Don't be afraid to try different foods until you find the right one.

[Eve]

Thanks All for the advice. I am relieved to know that my dog is not the only fussy one around. Yes, I have been trying to figure out what she actually enjoys eating but you know, i can't keep on changing her food ever so often, especially if she gets allergic to something or another and then I have another problem on my hands...figuring out what she is allergic too. ('touch wood'!) :( She is no longer interested in Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish kibbles only after going through half a bag of it. I was hoping that she would like it as she needs the omega to improve her skin condition. She is okay with the canned food (Nutripe and Merrick) . Maybe I should change to Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Duck. Nowadays, I have to coax her to eat and handfeed her BUT one night, she ate the canned food with rice all by herself but it was already midnight!!!

[ev960d]

[Quote Eve.. She is okay with the canned food (Nutripe and Merrick)]

Hi Eve,

Just thought about you last night..wondering how Frenchie is doing. hmm...I heard someone from our local website about Merrick..tasted said it's a little on the salty side. Just for your info.

Lilydog, some people adds a little of those baby appetisers when their dogs have poor appetite. Do you think? I'm blessed with a dog who has incredible appetite haha...I think he needs slimming pills haha (kidding)...won't need to dress up as Santa :lol:

[miss heather]

"baby appetizers"....would those be little babies on a cracker with melted cheese

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[ev960d]

Oophs...I'm truly sorry, I meant to say things like Appleton? It's a syrup that helps baby have better appetite? I'm sure there's more brand names in the market but I only can remember appleton.

[mojo]

A while back I was doing some research on Merrick dog food because I was considering it for my dogs. I am by no means a dog food expert, however, Merrick food has a less than sterling reputation. There is a plethora of excellent dog foods available now...without murky pasts. Having said that, maybe Merrick has cleaned up its act.

Lilydog's advice is good; Mojo also seems to eat better when I add a touch of water to the kibble to create a kind of "gruel."

[chrestomancie]

I don't have a frenchie yet but I gave my poms the turkey neck from thanksgiving dinner (raw of course) and they loved it!! You should have heard the bone crunching...appicon

[Eve]

Merrick canned food? Hmmm...should I start to worry about that one too?

[Carolyn]

We have been mixing canned Merrick with Wellness kibble and they both really like it. I haven't heard anything negative about Merrick but haven't really done much research. They love the one called "Turdukin"...turkey, duck and chicken chunks with sweet potato, green beans and carrots.

[gmacleod]

If you look far enough, you'll find unpleasant facts about every pet food out there - from product recalls, cases of salmonella poisoning (that's actually very common) right through to traces of phenobarbitol being found in the foods (which means they're using euthanised pets in the food), and the last time that happened was only a couple of years ago ;)

But then, I'm more interested in what's in the food on a day to day basis than the recalls of another company's food, related only by being made at the same plant ;) What is in the Merrick (and just as importantly, what's not in there) makes it a better looking canned food than just about anything else around. And I'd rather feed that than products that one look at the label tells me is junk, but has never ever been recalled.

IMO Merrick canned foods are one of the best quality products it's currently possible to get.

[mojo]

I'll be the first to admit that by no means am I an expert on dog food. I would also say that I am not inclined to "soap boxes," nor am I paranoid by nature. Much of the time I think people make too much of small issues related to dog food manufacturing and tend to "nit pick" what I would consider good companies manufacturing food with the best interest of the pets in mind.

Now I will say that you don't have to look hard or far to find issues of concern with Merrick food. I have read posts where several people have found packing staples and pieces of "blue" plastic in the canned food. It is also no secret that Merrick has been the subject of two recalls in the past 4 years; one for salmonella poisoning resulting from contaminated treats, and the other for the deaths of multiple (six I believe) dogs. Law suits are pending regarding claims made that a number of bitches have also become sterile as a result of eating contaminated food

True, the dog food company Petcurean, who made Go!Natural was the principal, however, Merrick was manufacturing their food for them at their Texas plant as a result of the mad cow scare in Canada that prohibited Petcurean from using local manufacturing plants.

Garth Merrick owns the largest 4D pick up and disposal service in Texas for dead, dying, diseased, and disabled animals (mostly cows). Merrick also manufactures a food called Beef'n More which is complete garbage.

I knew nothing about this company before I saw their dry kibble at a local pet food store near me. The ingredients looked good, so I did a bit of research..."I'd rather feed that than products that one look at the label tells me is junk, but has never been recalled." This point is well taken, however, how about products that look good and have never been recalled as an option?

[Eve]

I do understand that everyone has their own opinion so well, I am probably gonna start a debate but for my dog's sake and my peace of mind, hee, hee..which brand of canned food has not been recalled and is not junk canned food? :p We have Addiction, Nutripe, Natural Balance...will need to check if there are others...

[gmacleod]

LOL - I'd still buy the Merrick ;) I've heard too many great reports about it from a wide range of people who use the product to be put off by an issue with food produced by the manufacturer for someone else. I note that they also claim the use of human grade meat sources in their foods. That's not especially common in dog food.

As for the others you mention though - they can also be very good. Can you post the ingredients or a link for the Addiction and Nutripe though? I don't find those online, so it's hard to give much of an opinion.

Natural Balance make several different flavours of canned food. Some are excellent, especially those without any grains. I would think that would be a perfectly good choice of canned food, and certainly better than most around.

[Eve]

Hi gmacleod, here's the link for Nutripe ~ http://nutripe.com/Main.htm
Thanks :o

[gmacleod]

Thanks :)

I'd probably take the Natural Balance over the Nutripe (don't like ingredients called "stabilisers"). I do appreciate that it has no grains included though.

Tripe itself is a great thing to feed a dog - very nutritious. If you can get it fresh and unbleached (and can stand the smell) then adding that to his meals is a nice addition. There is a canned form called tripett that appears very good (though I don't have any idea if it's around where you are).

[Eve]

Thanks...gmacleod! Okay, i will stick to Merrick and Natural Balance then...now Frenchie is eating a bit more rather than not eating much. Not quite sure why but its seems as if she got back her appetite. Hopefully, it will not be just for the short term as she is still a puppy.

[gmacleod]

Well, if she's just a puppy then picky periods are normal :) Puppy's appetites are closely related to their growth spurts. During a spurt, their little bodies need all the energy they can get - and the pup will have a good appetite. Between spurts though, their energy needs simply aren't as high - and they won't be as hungry. So we go and get all concerned that the pup is off her food, but in reality she's just responding to the needs of her body.

Anyway - that could be the reason for your pup's recent pickiness, and sudden re-interest in her food. On the upside, the big growth spurts are usually done with by around 5 months and the appetite usually evens out from that point :)