Tired of the same food

[Stacy]

I think this is an easy question. I think Maggie is tired of her food. She's been eating the same thing for a long time, and she's kind of blah on it. She's my most reluctant eater anyway.

She's eating Nature's Variety Instinct Raw Boost Beef. She's much more interested in the other girl's Fromm Whitefish and Potato. For Maggie's next bag of food should I just try the Instinct Raw Boost Chicken? Or should I transition her over to Fromm with the other two? She's done very well on what she's eating, she just doesn't want to eat it.

I'm thinking the Instinct Chicken, but at the same time it would be so easy if they all ate the same thing. The Fromm has grains, the Natue's Variety doesn't. The Nature's Variety is significantly higher calorie. I know I'm overthinking, but her next bag of food is going to auto ship, so I have to decide.

As usual, thanks!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Poor Ned, lol. 

[Stacy]

Ned and Katie are the same size. Katie's such an easy keeper, I think she could go on a hunger strike for a month and not lose any weight - that's a total exaggeration, but you know what I mean. She's also the one who never misses a meal. Even though they are strictly indoor dogs, I sometimes think they don't eat as well when it's really hot out. 

We've had the best weather this week. Highs in the 80s all week with lower humidity. I can really tell a difference in the dogs behavior. They zoom all over and play and don't want to come back in the house. I feel like they've eaten better too. I wish it could stay like this forever.

[ks-man]

So we tried a few different things with Cannoli with mixed results.  We first switched him over to the salmon ala veg which he didn't care about and then the beef ala veg which he liked a little better but still often would leave without touching.  My wife spoke with someone at Pet People and she got Orijen puppy food. He liked that better and would generally eat it though often he wouldn't finish it and in the mornings we would often have to coax him into eating it.  It also is a lot more expensive.

On Thursday and Friday he started getting diarrhea and the vet recommended a bland diet so he had boiled chicken and white rice over the weekend.  He absolutely loved the chicken and rice.  Each morning he would get so excited for breakfast which probably hasn't happened in 4 months.

I'm starting to wean him off his bland diet but am wondering what is the best way to incorporate the chicken and rice as an occasional treat to spice up his regular food.  With the Orijen he is only getting 1 cup of food per meal.  Should I just add 1/4-1/2 cup of white rice every few meals and perhaps a 1/2 cup of chicken as a special reward every now and then?  If I do chicken should it be its own meal with rice?  

I want to make sure he gets his nutritional needs and I'm not a slave in the kitchen to him but I also want him to get something he enjoys from time to time.

Thanks!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I would not give him rice. I promise you that what he loved was the chicken. Rice will add nothing beneficial to his diet, just empty calories that would be better spent on something with some protein or beneficial nutrients in it. 
There's nothing wrong with adding some cooked chicken to his meals, but be aware that you will be creating a monster. If you add anything to his meals that he likes and that entices him to eat, he is eventually going to expect that every time and stop eating plain kibble at all. Many people here have had this happen in just that way. Are you going to be able to give him cooked chicken with every meal his entire life, even if he is being boarded or someone is staying with him while you are on vacation? If you want to start adding something to his meals, I'd choose something that requires less effort and is always available, without a need for refrigeration or cooking. 
Stella & Chewy's Meal Mixer nuggets might be one option to consider. You can crush 3 or 4 of them into his kibble. This is what I do with Jasper.
Orijen is very high in fat, which may have been one reason for the diarrhea. 
And obviously, switching kibble alone didn't have the desired effect of getting him to love his meals. 
I fear you are going down the path of switching foods constantly, looking for that one elusive formula that Cannoli is going to go bonkers over. 
That isn't going to happen.
Please take the time to read through the following discussion. It is my favorite one ever on the topic of trying to find something that a fussy dog will love to eat. It's funny, but there is also a lot of really good information in it, and it may be a wonderful cautionary tale for you. :)
An Ode To Sojo's

[Stacy]

I am finally coming to terms with the fact that Maggie eats what she needs and leaves the rest and she's fine. I switched her to salmon and it's fine. Probably about the same enthusiasm as with the beef. I started putting the meal mixers in there, and it's fine. Treats are fine, as long as they are something her highness decides she wants. She's just not a highly food motivated dog. And it really is fine. She's a good healthy weight. Sometimes she only eats a few bites of breakfast, but then she eats a good dinner. Sometimes she eats half of her food at both meals. I really think some dogs just aren't foodies. You know when she's joyful? When I get out the leash to take her for a walk or when we go for a ride in the car. I think she really is one of those trim dogs who eats to live and doesn't live to eat. I think we're both happier when I'm not chasing her around begging her to finish her food. But I worried a lot before I just kind of gave up. The other two looooove food. We should all probably be more like Maggie.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I know they say the only sure things in life are death and taxes, but there's a third:
"We should all probably be more like Maggie."

Eating to live instead of living to eat, and being joyful about exercise is a pretty darned good prescription for health and longevity. 

[Stacy]

I think it's just such a natural thing to want to feed your dependents. I can't tell you how many parents are just sure their child will die from being NPO for 6 hours. I swear, no one ever died from missing a meal. But it's amazing how worked up I can get about a dog not eating her breakfast. It's taken some time to realize that she doesn't have to be a member of the clean plate club. I have to work on that with myself too. Work is the worst. Just because there is free food sitting there doesn't mean I need to eat it all.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I sat across a desk from dozens and dozens of women whose relationships with food and their bodies were really messed up by well-meaning mothers who loved the clean plate club and had an urgent need to use food to show love. I know that mentality all too well. 

[Stacy]

I need the hand raised emoji for this one. 

It recently really dawned on me that I feed all of the emotions. I'm happy, eat something. Sad, eat something. Stressed, bored, angry, excited. All of those things trigger the impulse to eat something. I need a different response to emotions. But it has to be a healthy response. I can't just convert the urge to eat into retail therapy (oh, but I could.) What is rewarding but not damaging? I can't imagine myself thinking: I had a really good/bad/stressful day at work. Let's celebrate by doing 100 pushups.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Maybe not pushups, but how about putting on your favorite music in the world and dancing? 
A nice glass of red wine is also not damaging and I find it very rewarding, lol.

A hot bath with some potion that smells wonderful to you in the water and candlelight. 

[ks-man]

Thanks for all the responses.  A lot of what you all say makes sense, it just gets so hard in the mornings with respect to keeping the schedule and wanting him to eat something.  We take him to daycare 2-3 days a week and I like to be out of the house at 8am and he won't get back until 6:30pm.  Often I put his breakfast down at 7:15am and he'll just look at it and then lie down.  I'd be fine if he only ate half of it but I get concerned when he eats none of it.  I'm sure he would eat around 10 or 11am but unfortunately that just won't work on these days.  I realize he won't starve by missing a meal but I feel like he should be a few pounds heavier than he is.

I certainly don't want to get him expecting chicken every meal so I'm going to try and just not worry about it when he passes on breakfast.  I want to get him off the bland diet but then may try switching away from the Orijen and back to Fromm.  Karen's comments about the high fat coupled with the almost double the cost makes it not the best food for us moving forward.

Assuming he doesn't eat his breakfast at all (I pull it after about 20 minutes) what do people recommend I do?  If we are home should I offer him food at 10 or 11am or should he not get anything until dinner?  Assuming we wait until dinner how much extra food should I give him?  I doubt he should get his full breakfast and dinner amount but would you save about 150% of his meal amount?

Thanks!

[Stacy]

Here are my easier said than done thoughts.

1. Sometimes if Maggie isn't eating at all I hand her a treat. She eats that, and I don't know what happens, but it almost seems like that bite primes the pump and reminds her that she should be hungry and she eats. 

2. I think that he will learn, if you're consistent about it to eat when the food is available. I would give him a little extra at dinner, but not twice his normal meal. Maybe in the morning he'll be hungry and eat when he's supposed to. 

3. As long as he's not emaciated, being a little thin is better than being a little heavy. It's protective for his joints. And typically they gain weight as they age, so I wouldn't worry too much about those couple of pounds he could stand to gain. I did the same thing with Maggie, but a year and a half later she's gained plenty of weight, and I don't want her to gain more. 

4. Is he getting a good probiotic? Willow especially just does better on it. The other two don't seem to need it, but I definitely notice a difference if she doesn't get it for a week or so. I suspect that she will be a dog who always gets it, even if we start doing every other or every third day.