Switching Foods

[Breanna Haggerty]

Hi Everyone!  Our puppy Oakley is 3 months and a week and weighs about 20 pounds.  He got him when he was 8 weeks old. He was started on Puppy Chow by our breeder and we kept him on it for a couple more bags after we got him.  We then switched to Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lovers Soul (about two and a half weeks ago) and he wasn't as excited when we brought out his food but he still pretty much ate all of it.  We bought a pretty large bag and aren't quite done with it yet but through the weeks we have seen a decrease in the amount he is eating.  We used to feed him once in the morning, a little snack for lunch and once again at dinner.  Now he only eats about a bowl throughout the whole day, sometimes a little more. He hasn't gotten sick from it or anything so I'm not sure if he just doesn't like it or what.  I don't want to waste the rest of the food so I was wondering if you had any recommendations of other food we could mix with it that may make him enjoy it more? I've heard adding water, or even rice or chicken could help.  Should we just move on to another food once this bag is gone? I know Puppy Chow is bad for dogs and is like candy to them, so I'm not sure if he just misses that and is being stubborn or if he really doesn't like his new food.  We also took him to the vet on Friday for his last round of shots and she said we could be feeding him more. We explained the food issue and she said it's normal for them to eat less when you switch to a higher quality food. Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Breanna, how much of the food in terms of cups per day is he eating? And is he getting any treats? If so, what kind and how many?

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

My Oliver is a picky eater.  I buy chicke liver, cook it and make a pate, I heat up like a tablespoon full with a bit of water and coat his kibble with it.  Both my doodles love the "topers" I put on their food.  I switch up with boild chicken shreeded, pumpkin, and sometimes I just put a tablespoon of canned dog food mixed with the kibble.  It works like a charm :)

[Breanna Haggerty]

We fill his bowl with two cups in the morning. He will usually eat maybe a cup of it, and nibble a little more at lunch time.  We fill it up again at dinner time and again he eats about a cup. We give him Zuke's Peanut Butter Mini Naturals for his treats and he gets maybe 5 a day? They are very little, and if we are trying to teach him a new trick he may get a few more.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

He really does need a little more food each day. He should be eating three cups a day of the CS puppy food, ideally divided into three meals. Two cups in his bowl at one time is too much. Even if he loved it and was really hungry, that's too much food for most puppies that age to take in at one time. Don't put more than one cup at a time in his bowl, and then take the bowl away after 20 minutes.

I would also make sure that you are keeping the food well-sealed; a lot of dogs like the food best when it's freshest. An air-tight container is best.

I would not introduce another food at this point. If you want to switch after you are done with this bag, that's fine, but it's a bad idea to keep switching foods trying to find something a dog "likes". That's the way you create a picky eater. I haven't had a lot of feedback from FG members on this particular food, but if you're going to switch again, I would go with something like Orijen or Acana, which are more calorie dense, or Fromm if you can get it. Most dogs really love Fromm.

You can try adding some small "toppings" to  his food for now to get him more interested, but be aware that you may end up having to do that forever, which is fine if you don't mind doing it. I would not add any rice or other grains, stick with plain proteins. A spoonful of plain boiled white meat chicken diced up very small and thoroughly mixed into the kibble, or a spoonful of chopped hardboiled egg, that kind of thing. A forkful of canned salmon or chunk light tuna in water is very appealing to a lot of dogs, too. Just make sure that whatever you add is in tiny bits well mixed into the kibble so he can't pick it out.

 

 

[Breanna Haggerty]

Thank you for all the input! I think we may have been reading the feeding guidelines incorrectly. Oops! We will try and cut the amount back and spread it out and if that doesn't help we will try some toppings. Thanks again!